A Look Back at the Spartans' Performances on Friday Nights
Michigan State Football (4-6) host the Purdue Boilermakers (1-9) on Friday night at Spartan Stadium.
The Spartans are familiar with playing on Fridays, this will be their third Friday night game of the season. Lets take a look to see how the Spartans have faired in the past under the Friday night lights.
10/4/24: No. 6 Oregon 31, Michigan State 10
The Spartans' most recent Friday night game was when the Green and White traveled to Eugene to face the Big Ten favorites.
Michigan State hung in there with big plays from defensive back Charles Brantley and linebacker Jordan Turner, intercepting passes from Heisman Trophy candidate Dillon Gabriel in the red zone.
But the Ducks high-powered offense ultimately prevailed, beating the Spartans through the air. Ducks wide receiver Tez Johnson caught 10 passes for 84 yards and tight end Terrance Ferguson caught two passes for 82 yards.
This was the Spartans' third straight loss and their second consecutive loss against a top-ten team in the country.
8/30/24: Michigan State 16, Florida Atlantic 10
The first game of Jonathan Smith’s regime as Spartans head coach wasn’t the dominating performance fans expected.
Despite starting slowly, the Spartans still held a 13-point lead at halftime, and when it looked like the Spartans were going to pull away, some of their prevailing issues came to light.
This was also the highly anticipated debut of transfer quarterback Aidan Chiles. In the red zone, quarterback Chiles threw an interception, stalling the third red zone drive of the game with a turnover. However, he did score with his legs, securing his first rushing touchdown of the season.
The Spartans also struggled to contain Owls quarterback Cam Fancher, who rushed for 67 yards. But the Spartans' defense held strong with multiple fourth-down stops to hold on to the one-score victory.
11/24/23: No. 11 Penn State 42, Michigan State 0
This game was the end of a rather forgettable season for the Spartans against the Nittany Lions closing the season in a neutral site game at the home of the Detroit Lions, Ford Field.
Michigan State was completely shut down by the Nittany Lions. Over 60 minutes, the Spartans were only able to gain 53 total yards on offense.
Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar dominated, throwing for 292 yards and two touchdowns.
Due to conference expansion, this was the final time that the Land Grant Trophy was played for in the last game of the season. The two Big Ten squads will play again in 2025 in East Lansing.
9/1/23: Michigan State 31, Central Michigan 7
This was the first start for former Spartans quarterback Noah Kim after winning the preseason quarterback battle. Kim threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns in the 24-point win.
Four weeks later Kim was benched for quarterback Katin Houser.
This was the game in which former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions was allegedly on the sidelines for Central Michigan breaking down Michigan State signs. This has caused a rift between the Michigan State and Central Michigan athletic departments.
This was a good start for the Spartans season but the entire program would be flipped upside down a week later with the dismissal of Mel Tucker.
9/2/22: No. 15 Michigan State 35, Western Michigan 13
Coming off the magical 2021 season with a Peach Bowl win, the expectations for head coach Mel Tucker and the Spartans to win were at their peak. The Spartans entered the season ranked 15th in the country with hopes of reaching the four-team College Football Playoff.
Opening the 2022 season, the Spartans picked up right where they left off with a statement 22-point victory.
Former quarterback Peyton Thorne threw for four touchdowns to four different receivers. Thorne joined Connor Cook with the most four-touchdown games in program history with at least four.
The Spartans dominated on the ground with former Spartan running back Jalen Berger rushing for 120 yards and a touchdown.
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