Post-Game Notes: Nebraska

GAME NOTES
• Before the game, MSU honored its 29 Spartan Seniors, who were playing their final home game at Spartan Stadium. Nov. 4 marks the earliest calendar date Michigan State has finished its home season since Oct. 27, 1900. In collaboration with the Big Ten Conference and the conference's broadcast partners, Michigan State will close the 2023 regular season by hosting Penn State at Detroit's Ford Field in a primetime showcase on NBC on Friday, Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m.

SERIES
• Saturday was the 13th meeting between Michigan State and Nebraska . . . the Spartans have won three in a row in East Lansing (2014, 2021, 2023) as part of taking a 3-2 lead in games at Spartan Stadium . . . MSU is now 4-4 against Nebraska in Big Ten games, and the Spartans trimmed the Huskers lead in the all-time series to 9-4.

OFFENSE
• The Spartans scored on their opening possession for the second straight game and the first time at home this season . . . MSU scored on its opening possession in the third time in the last four games, also doing so at Rutgers (10/14) and at Minnesota (10/28).

• MSU combined to throw for 232 passing yards on Saturday, the Spartans' second-most in a Big Ten game and the most overall since 274 vs. Maryland (9/23) . . . redshirt freshman quarterback Katin Houser threw for 165 yards, freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt threw for 25 yards, while senior wide receiver Alante Brown threw for 42 yards . . . Houser was 13-of-20 passing for 165 yards with one TD, while Leavitt was 1-for-2 for 25 yards and one TD and Brown was 1-for-1 for 42 yards on a double pass play to fellow senior wide receiver Montorie Foster Jr.

• Houser tossed his third TD pass of the season on an 11-yard strike to Christian Fitzpatrick and is now 64-of-109 passing for 674 yards . . . Houser has at 10 completions in each of his last four starts . . . he also had 10 rushes for 13 yards Saturday afternoon.

• Leavitt was 1-for-2 for a TD Saturday, now with a TD pass in back-to-back games after throwing the first TD pass of his Spartan career last week at Minnesota . . . he played two series in the game.

• Brown completed not just the first pass of his MSU career, but his collegiate career, and it came against his old teammates, as Brown transferred to Michigan State from Nebraska during the offseason.

• Sophomore wide receiver Tyrell Henry made the first start of his Spartan career and went on to snag a career-high four catches for a career-best 54 yards, marking his second straight game with a career-high catches after last week's previous career-high tying three receptions at Minnesota, along with three vs. Maryland (9/23) . . . Henry's 54 yards betters his previous top mark of his career-best of 33 yards vs. Maryland.

• Redshirt junior wide receiver Christian Fitzpatrick snared the first TD catch of his career with the 11-yard TD catch from Houser in the second quarter . . . Fitzpatrick finished with two catches for 15 yards, his fourth game this season with multiple receptions.

• Senior wide receiver Montorie Foster Jr. had four catches for a career-high 94 yards with one TD catch in his final game in Spartan Stadium . . . Foster now has two TD receptions on the season, both coming in the last four games, also with a TD catch in the Rutgers game . . . the 94 yards betters Foster's previous career-high of 79 yards vs. Iowa (9/30/23).

• Redshirt sophomore running back Nate Carter had 50 yards on 15 carries, marking the fifth game this season with 50 or more rushing yards, as well as having 15-plus carries in eight of the nine games this season.

DEFENSE
• MSU posted 7.0 sacks and 12.0 tackles for loss Saturday, which are both the most in a Big Ten game this season . . . the 7.0 sacks ties a season high, matching 7.0 vs. Richmond (9/9), while the 12.0 TFLs was the second-most this season, behind 13.0 from the Richmond game.

• The Michigan State defense has had nine takeaways in the last four games as part of 15 total takeaways in nine games this season.

• Michigan State held Nebraska to 283 yards of total offense, marking the fifth time this season MSU has held its opponents to under 300 yards of total offense (Central Michigan, Richmond, Iowa, Rutgers, Nebraska).

• With two interceptions and a fumble recovery Saturday, the Spartan defense had three takeaways for the second game in a row, tying a season high for the third time this season, all coming in the last four games, as MSU had three takeaways on two fumble recoveries and an interception last game at Minnesota (10/28) and also had three takeaways vs. Rutgers (10/14), also with two interceptions and a fumble recovery.

• The Spartans snared multiple interceptions in a game for the third time this season, also doing so in the Minnesota and Rutgers games . . . Michigan State's defense has snagged at least one oskie in six of the last seven games as part of in total of seven of the nine games this season.

• Sophomore defensive back Jaden Mangham had a team and game-high tying seven tackles, including 1.0 tackle for loss and also snaring his team-leading fourth interception of the season, along with one pass break-up, his third PBU of the season . . . it was Mangham's second straight game with an interception after one oskie last week at Minnesota, and also had one vs. Washington (9/16) . . . Mangham chalked up a pass defended in the fourth game in a row and was his second game with both an INT and a PBU in the same game, also doing so in the Washington game . . . he now has a total of a team-leading seven passes defended with four INTs and three PBUs on the season.

• Graduate linebacker Aaron Brule matched not only his jersey number but also matched Mangham with seven tackles, adding 1.0 tackle for loss on 1.0 sack . . . Brule has 4.0 TFLs in his last five games as part of 6.5 total TFLs and 4.0 sacks on the season, leading the Spartan defense in both . . . Brule has logged five or more tackles in five of the nine games this season.

• Sophomore defensive back Dillon Tatum logged two career-highs with two pass break-ups and 2.0 tackles for loss, finishing with six total tackles . . . Saturday was Tatum's third-straight game with at least one pass break-up as part now leading MSU with seven pass break-ups on the season . . . Tatum also now has 2.5 TFLs on the season, as the 2.0 tackles for loss Saturday were his first since 0.5 TFL in the season-opener vs. Central Michigan (9/1).

• Four Spartan defensive backs all made their first career starts in redshirt freshman Caleb Coley, sophomore Ade Willie, freshman Brandon Lewis and redshirt junior Khary Crump.

SPECIAL TEAMS
• Graduate senior placekicker Jonathan Kim split the uprights on a 35-yard field goal on MSU's opening possession of the game to start the Spartans' scoring Saturday afternoon, adding a 50-yarder in the third quarter . . . Kim has made at least one field goal in seven of the nine games and Saturday's two field goals was his second straight game with multiple field goals and the third time total this season, but the first time at home, as the previous two times were on the road, last week at Minnesota (10/28) and splitting the uprights a career-high three times at Iowa (9/30) . . . Kim is now 11-of-15 on the season, including 6-of-6 on field goals of 30-39 yards and 3-for-5 on 50+ yards . . . Kim added two PATs Saturday and is now 14-of-14 on the season.

• Redshirt freshman punter Ryan Eckley had a career-high tying seven punts for a 48.3 ypp average, his second-highest of his career behind 48.8 ypp at Iowa (9/30) . . . Eckley boomed a career-high five punts of 50+ yards, highlighted by a game-long 57-yarder, adding two 53-yarders, along with one of 51 yards and one 50-yarder . . . Eckley now has 15 punts this season of 50+ yards . . . he also had two inside the 20 on Saturday, with both going inside the 10, and now has 14 inside the 20 for the season, including seven inside the 10.

Players Mentioned

Alante Brown

Aaron Brule

Nate Carter

Caleb Coley

Khary Crump

Ryan Eckley

Christian Fitzpatrick

Montorie Foster Jr.

Tyrell Henry

Katin Houser

Jonathan Kim

Sam Leavitt

Brandon Lewis

Jaden Mangham

Dillon Tatum

Ade Willie

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