Friday, September 2
East Lansing, MI
7 P.M.
Michigan State University
1-0 , 0-0
35
vs
13
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Western Michigan
0-1 , 0-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Western Mich.
3
0
10
0
13
Michigan St.
7
14
0
14
35
No. 15/14 Michigan State Opens Season with 35-13 Win Over Western Michigan
9/2/2022 11:07:00 PM | Football
EAST LANSING, Mich. – No. 15/14 Michigan State scored two touchdowns in less than three minutes in the fourth quarter to break open a close game en route to a 35-13 win over Western Michigan in front of 73,928 fans at Spartan Stadium Friday night.
Redshirt junior quarterback Payton Thorne completed 12-of-24 passes for 233 yards and threw four touchdown passes to lead the way for the Spartans, while redshirt sophomore Jalen Berger had 16 carries for 120 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore wide receiver Keon Coleman caught four passes for 84 yards, including one touchdown, while redshirt junior wide receiver Tre Mosley had two catches for 51 yards and a score and freshman Germie Bernard caught a 44-yard touchdown pass.
Junior safety Angelo Grose and graduate linebacker Ben VanSumeren had 11 tackles apiece to lead the defense, while redshirt sophomore linebacker Cal Haladay and sophomore cornerback Charles Brantley each had 10 tackles. Senior linebacker Jacoby Windmon had seven tackles, four sacks for a loss of 17 yards and one forced fumble.
"I was proud of the effort from our football team tonight," said MSU head coach Mel Tucker. "Western, they're very well coached and they gave us everything we could handle, and I have a lot of respect for that football team. We've got a lot of work to do, but I like what I saw in the locker room after the game from our team and from our leaders. It's a hungry football team, and we know we need to get better, and it was just a very mature locker room after the game."
Western Michigan got on the board first as Palmer Domschke hit a 27-yard field goal with 6:31 left in the first quarter, but the Spartans scored touchdowns on their next three drives to take a 21-3 lead.
Bernard scored his first career touchdown as Thorne connected on a 44-yard score to the true freshman from Las Vegas with 4:37 remaining in the first quarter.
MSU pushed its lead to 14-3 on a one-handed grab in the left corner of the south end zone by Daniel Barker, marking the Illinois' transfer first career touchdown wearing the Green and White.
The Spartans took a 21-3 advantage on Coleman's 41-yard touchdown reception with 12:26 left in the second quarter.
Following a Spartan turnover on their first possession of the second half, the Broncos took advantage with a seven-play, 67-yard drive, capped by a Sean Tyler 4-yard touchdown run at the 8:20 mark to make it 21-10.
The Broncos made it a one-possession game on Domschke's second field goal of the night, this time from 42 yards out with 49 seconds left in the third quarter.
Michigan State responded with an eight-play, 91-yard touchdown drive to take a 28-13 lead. Berger, whose 50-yard run set up MSU in the red zone, finished the drive on fourth down with a 1-yard score, his first TD as a Spartan.
On the next possession, Western Michigan took over with 6:28 on the clock and moved to near midfield before turning it over on downs at its 43-yard line. Taking over with 4:07 left, Thorne threw a pass up the middle on the first play and connected with Mosley for the touchdown, giving the Spartans a 35-13 lead.
Michigan State returns to action Saturday, Sept. 10 to host Akron at 4 p.m. in Spartan Stadium.
Redshirt junior quarterback Payton Thorne completed 12-of-24 passes for 233 yards and threw four touchdown passes to lead the way for the Spartans, while redshirt sophomore Jalen Berger had 16 carries for 120 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore wide receiver Keon Coleman caught four passes for 84 yards, including one touchdown, while redshirt junior wide receiver Tre Mosley had two catches for 51 yards and a score and freshman Germie Bernard caught a 44-yard touchdown pass.
Junior safety Angelo Grose and graduate linebacker Ben VanSumeren had 11 tackles apiece to lead the defense, while redshirt sophomore linebacker Cal Haladay and sophomore cornerback Charles Brantley each had 10 tackles. Senior linebacker Jacoby Windmon had seven tackles, four sacks for a loss of 17 yards and one forced fumble.
"I was proud of the effort from our football team tonight," said MSU head coach Mel Tucker. "Western, they're very well coached and they gave us everything we could handle, and I have a lot of respect for that football team. We've got a lot of work to do, but I like what I saw in the locker room after the game from our team and from our leaders. It's a hungry football team, and we know we need to get better, and it was just a very mature locker room after the game."
Western Michigan got on the board first as Palmer Domschke hit a 27-yard field goal with 6:31 left in the first quarter, but the Spartans scored touchdowns on their next three drives to take a 21-3 lead.
Bernard scored his first career touchdown as Thorne connected on a 44-yard score to the true freshman from Las Vegas with 4:37 remaining in the first quarter.
MSU pushed its lead to 14-3 on a one-handed grab in the left corner of the south end zone by Daniel Barker, marking the Illinois' transfer first career touchdown wearing the Green and White.
The Spartans took a 21-3 advantage on Coleman's 41-yard touchdown reception with 12:26 left in the second quarter.
Following a Spartan turnover on their first possession of the second half, the Broncos took advantage with a seven-play, 67-yard drive, capped by a Sean Tyler 4-yard touchdown run at the 8:20 mark to make it 21-10.
The Broncos made it a one-possession game on Domschke's second field goal of the night, this time from 42 yards out with 49 seconds left in the third quarter.
Michigan State responded with an eight-play, 91-yard touchdown drive to take a 28-13 lead. Berger, whose 50-yard run set up MSU in the red zone, finished the drive on fourth down with a 1-yard score, his first TD as a Spartan.
On the next possession, Western Michigan took over with 6:28 on the clock and moved to near midfield before turning it over on downs at its 43-yard line. Taking over with 4:07 left, Thorne threw a pass up the middle on the first play and connected with Mosley for the touchdown, giving the Spartans a 35-13 lead.
Michigan State returns to action Saturday, Sept. 10 to host Akron at 4 p.m. in Spartan Stadium.
Team Stats
WMU
MSU
Total Yards
334
430
Pass Yards
193
233
Rushing Yards
141
197
Penalty Yards
76
30
1st Downs
19
20
3rd Downs
6
3
4th Downs
2
1
TOP
37:22
22:38
1st Quarter
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WMU 3, MSU 0
WMU - Domschke,Palmer 27 yd field goal 10 plays, 66 yards, TOP 04:57
WMU 3, MSU 7
MSU - Bernard,Germie 44 yd pass from Thorne,Payton (Stone,Jack kick) 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:54
2nd Quarter
WMU 3, MSU 14
MSU - Barker,Daniel 13 yd pass from Thorne,Payton (Stone,Jack kick) 7 plays, 45 yards, TOP 02:21
WMU 3, MSU 21
MSU - Coleman,Keon 41 yd pass from Thorne,Payton (Stone,Jack kick) 2 plays, 50 yards, TOP 00:44
3rd Quarter
WMU 10, MSU 21
WMU - Tyler,Sean 4 yd run (Domschke,Palmer kick), 7 plays, 67 yards, TOP 03:43
WMU 13, MSU 21
WMU - Domschke,Palmer 42 yd field goal 10 plays, 48 yards, TOP 04:40
4th Quarter
WMU 13, MSU 28
MSU - Berger,Jalen 1 yd run (Stone,Jack kick), 8 plays, 91 yards, TOP 03:48
WMU 13, MSU 35
MSU - Mosley,Tre 43 yd pass from Thorne,Payton (Stone,Jack kick) 1 plays, 43 yards, TOP 00:06
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
12
TD
4
YDS
233
INT
1
Players Mentioned
TE
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RB
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WR
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DB
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WR
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DB
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LB
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