Post-Game Notes: Rutgers

SERIES
• Saturday was the 15th all-time meeting between Michigan State and Rutgers, and the Spartans still lead the overall series, 10-5, including an 8-2 mark in Big Ten action . . . MSU is 5-2 against Rutgers in Piscataway and Saturday marked the first loss in Big Ten play, with the Spartans now leading 4-1 . . . Saturday was also the second straight one-score match-up after last year's 27-21 Victory for MSU.

OFFENSE
• Michigan State scored on its opening possession for the first time this season with the opening drive 13-yard TD pass from redshirt freshman quarterback Katin Houser to senior wide receiver Montorie Foster Jr.

• MSU's 14-play, 75-yard scoring drive in 7:28 to open the game was the Spartans' longest TD scoring drive of the season by plays and longest overall by time, matching a 14-play drive that resulted in a field goal last time out at Iowa (9/30/23) and the 7:28 tops the previous longest drive of 6:09 on the aforementioned FG drive, and bettering the longest TD drive of 5:25 vs. Washington (9/16/23).

• The Spartans then added a 10-play, 50-yard FG drive in 1:31 along with a 14-play, 80-yard TD drive in 6:28 in the third quarter for MSU's first game with multiple drives of 10+ yards this season . . . Michigan State doubled its double-digit scoring drives, as MSU had three Saturday after coming in with three.

• Redshirt freshman quarterback Katin Houser made the first start of his Spartan career and his fifth appearance this season . . . Houser completed his first four passes on the way to finishing the day 18-of-29 passing for 133 yards and two touchdowns . . . Houser threw his first career TD pass on MSU's opening drive with a 13-yard scoring pass to senior wide receiver Montorie Foster Jr. . . . he also rushed for a 12-yard rushing TD in the second quarter part of eight carries for 21 yards . . . the rushing score was Houser's second rushing TD of the season, joining a 4-yard run vs. Washington (9/16/23).

• Graduate senior wide receiver Tre Mosley led MSU with a game-high tying six receptions for 36 yards, including a 4-yard TD catch in the third quarter . . . Mosley has caught at least one reception in 23-consecutive games and in 40 of 42 career games played . . . it was Mosley's second TD catch of the season and the 10th of his career, moving up to No. 18 on MSU's career receptions list (121), tied for No. 25 on MSU's career TDs list (10) and No. 32 on MSU's career receiving yards list (1,404).

• Senior wide receiver Montorie Foster Jr. snared his first TD catch of the season and third of his career with the 13-yard TD reception on MSU's opening possession . . . Foster finished with five catches for 48 yards, as he now
has 19 catches for 194 yards over the last three games, an average of 6.3 receptions for 64.6 yards per game, after five receptions for 80 yards through the first three games of the season, an average of 1.7 receptions and 26.7 yards per game.

• Redshirt sophomore running back Nate Carter led MSU with a season-high tying 20 carries for 52 yards, matching his season-high for carries for the second game in a row after 20 in the Iowa game (9/30/23) . . . Carter has had at least 17 carries in each of the six games.

• Redshirt junior running back Jalen Berger had 11 rushes for 49 yards, both season-highs as he returns to full speed after missing two games with an injury . . . the 11 carries for 49 yards betters his previous season-bests of eight rushes for 24 yards in the season-opener vs. Central Michigan (9/1/23).

• Graduate senior running back Harold Joiner III had one rush for six yards, his first rushing attempt since Sept. 10, 2022 vs. Akron.

DEFENSE
• MSU snared multiple interceptions in a game for the first time this season with freshman defensive back Chance Rucker and sophomore defensive back Jaden Mangham snaring interceptions . . . Saturday was also the Spartan defense's first game with two interceptions since Oct. 16, 2021, vs. Indiana.

• It was Michigan State's fourth straight game with an interception and the Spartans have snared at least one oskie in five of the six games this season . . . sophomore defensive back Jaden Mangham started the streak with an interception vs. Washington (9/16/23), then senior defensive back Angelo Grose had an interception in back-to-back weeks vs. Maryland (9/23/23) and at Iowa (9/30/23), before Rucker and Mangham's oskies on Saturday.

• Freshman defensive back Chance Rucker caught his first career interception with the second-quarter oskie . . . Rucker now has three passes defended on the season with two pass break-ups . . . Rucker added three tackles.

• Sophomore defensive back Jaden Mangham picked off his second pass of the season and he now has three passes defended this season, adding one pass break-up . . . Mangham added five tackles, giving him 17 tackles in the last three games and Saturday was his third game with five or more stops, with six vs. Central Michigan (9/1/23) and a career-high eight vs. Washington (9/16/23).

• Redshirt junior linebacker Cal Haladay's first tackle of the game came on a sack in the second quarter, which was his 250th career tackle . . . Haladay finished with a team-high and game-best tying eight tackles, marking back-to-back games with eight stops and fifth outing with five or more stops in the six games, including fourth with seven or more stops . . . Haladay entered Saturday ranked No. 33 on the NCAA career tackles list for active FBS players . . . now up to 257 career tackles, Haladay moves up to No. 37 on Michigan State's career tackles list.

• Senior defensive back Angelo Grose had a pass break-up Saturday, marking his team-leading sixth pass defended this season, with at least one in the last three games and five of the six games,

SPECIAL TEAMS
• Graduate senior placekicker Jonathan Kim made a 37-yard field goal in the waning seconds of the second quarter and Kim now has at least one field goal in five of the six games, part of 7-of-9 for the season and is now 4-of-4 on field goals of 30-39 yards . . . Kim added three PATs to finish Saturday with six points, his fourth game of six or more points . . . the three PATs is tied for his second-highest of the season, behind the career-high four vs. Richmond (9/9/23) and matching three vs. Central Michigan (9/1/23).

Michigan State University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Jalen Berger

Nate Carter

Montorie Foster Jr.

Angelo Grose

Cal Haladay

Katin Houser

Harold Joiner III

Jonathan Kim

Jaden Mangham

Tre Mosley

Chance Rucker

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