Friday, August 30
East Lansing, MI
7 PM
Michigan State University
1-0 , 0-0
16
vs
10
Florida Atlantic
0-1 , 0-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Fla. Atlantic
0
3
7
0
10
Michigan St.
2
14
0
0
16
Michigan State Tops Florida Atlantic, 16-10, in Season Opener
8/30/2024 11:39:00 PM | Football
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State defeated Florida Atlantic, 16-10, in the 2024 season opener Friday night before a crowd of 70,271 at Spartan Stadium in the Spartan head coaching debut of Jonathan Smith.
The Spartan defense recorded seven sacks, 10 tackles for loss and had two interceptions in the win. MSU also held FAU to 2-of-15 on third-down conversions and made three fourth-down stops.
"Obviously, we try to win the game and we got that done," said Smith. "I do think the crowd was awesome and actually impacted the game. I look at us defensively with some of those stops on third down, fourth down, the crowd noise and energy got into it. I really appreciate everybody coming out and helping us there."
Fifth-year graduate senior defensive back Angelo Grose led the Spartans with a game-high 12 tackles; he also forced a fumble and returned an interception 15 yards. Seven different Spartans contributed on the sacks.
Offensively, sixth-year graduate Kay'ron Lynch-Adams became the fourth consecutive transfer running back to rush for 100 yards in his Spartan debut, compiling 101 yards on just nine carries, including a 63-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
Making his first career start, sophomore quarterback Aidan Chiles was 10-of-24 passing for 114 yards and two interceptions, while also rushing for an 11-yard score.
The Spartans drove the ball into the red zone four times, but only converted once.
"Game ones, you are going to learn a lot about your team, and we got a lot to work on," said Smith. "I did learn and was pleased with the response in this group. We all played for four quarters; you win the game in four quarters."
SCORING SUMMARY
After a Ryan Eckley punt that was downed at the 1, the Spartans took advantage on the next play as D'Quan Douse sacked FAU quarterback Cam Fancher in the end zone with 7:49 left in the first quarter.
Following a Nikai Martinez interception he returned 41 yards to the FAU 18-yard line, the Spartans scored their first touchdown of the season at the 11:15 mark in the second quarter on Chiles' 11-yard scamper into the end zone to go up, 9-0.
MSU extended its lead to 16-0 as Lynch-Adams busted loosed for a 63-yard touchdown, his first career TD as a Spartan and the second-longest of his career, with 9:07 left in the first half.
The Owls got on the board with a 43-yard field goal by Morgan Suarez before halftime.
FAU scored its only touchdown of the game on a fourth-and-1 at the end of the third quarter as Cam Fancher found Jayshon Platt in the end zone for a 10-yard TD pass.
Neither team scored in the fourth quarter. The Owls turned the ball over on downs all three of their possessions in the final 15 minutes, including their last possession with just 1:23 left in the game.
MSU ran out the clock to preserve the win, MSU's 24th consecutive over a nonconference opponent in a home opener.
"It's game one, we got a lot of work to clean up," said Smith. "Obviously, some things we want to do a whole lot better. First is taking care of the ball. We got three opportunities in the red zone, and we turned the thing over. We get those, we are feeling a whole lot different, it's 21 points.
"I want to give some credit to FAU. I thought those guys played hard. That defense contested, especially on the back end. Quarterback played great extending plays; he was a challenge back there. Two teams playing really hard there, but we came out on top."
UP NEXT
Michigan State returns to action next Saturday, Sept. 7 at Maryland. The game will begin at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
The Spartan defense recorded seven sacks, 10 tackles for loss and had two interceptions in the win. MSU also held FAU to 2-of-15 on third-down conversions and made three fourth-down stops.
"Obviously, we try to win the game and we got that done," said Smith. "I do think the crowd was awesome and actually impacted the game. I look at us defensively with some of those stops on third down, fourth down, the crowd noise and energy got into it. I really appreciate everybody coming out and helping us there."
Fifth-year graduate senior defensive back Angelo Grose led the Spartans with a game-high 12 tackles; he also forced a fumble and returned an interception 15 yards. Seven different Spartans contributed on the sacks.
Offensively, sixth-year graduate Kay'ron Lynch-Adams became the fourth consecutive transfer running back to rush for 100 yards in his Spartan debut, compiling 101 yards on just nine carries, including a 63-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
Making his first career start, sophomore quarterback Aidan Chiles was 10-of-24 passing for 114 yards and two interceptions, while also rushing for an 11-yard score.
The Spartans drove the ball into the red zone four times, but only converted once.
"Game ones, you are going to learn a lot about your team, and we got a lot to work on," said Smith. "I did learn and was pleased with the response in this group. We all played for four quarters; you win the game in four quarters."
Congrats on your first win as a Spartan, @Coach_Smith! pic.twitter.com/m1xkJxv4oh
— Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) August 31, 2024
SCORING SUMMARY
After a Ryan Eckley punt that was downed at the 1, the Spartans took advantage on the next play as D'Quan Douse sacked FAU quarterback Cam Fancher in the end zone with 7:49 left in the first quarter.
Following a Nikai Martinez interception he returned 41 yards to the FAU 18-yard line, the Spartans scored their first touchdown of the season at the 11:15 mark in the second quarter on Chiles' 11-yard scamper into the end zone to go up, 9-0.
MSU extended its lead to 16-0 as Lynch-Adams busted loosed for a 63-yard touchdown, his first career TD as a Spartan and the second-longest of his career, with 9:07 left in the first half.
The Owls got on the board with a 43-yard field goal by Morgan Suarez before halftime.
FAU scored its only touchdown of the game on a fourth-and-1 at the end of the third quarter as Cam Fancher found Jayshon Platt in the end zone for a 10-yard TD pass.
Neither team scored in the fourth quarter. The Owls turned the ball over on downs all three of their possessions in the final 15 minutes, including their last possession with just 1:23 left in the game.
MSU ran out the clock to preserve the win, MSU's 24th consecutive over a nonconference opponent in a home opener.
"It's game one, we got a lot of work to clean up," said Smith. "Obviously, some things we want to do a whole lot better. First is taking care of the ball. We got three opportunities in the red zone, and we turned the thing over. We get those, we are feeling a whole lot different, it's 21 points.
"I want to give some credit to FAU. I thought those guys played hard. That defense contested, especially on the back end. Quarterback played great extending plays; he was a challenge back there. Two teams playing really hard there, but we came out on top."
UP NEXT
Michigan State returns to action next Saturday, Sept. 7 at Maryland. The game will begin at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
Team Stats
FAU
MSU
Total Yards
248
293
Pass Yards
116
114
Rushing Yards
132
179
Penalty Yards
55
140
1st Downs
19
15
3rd Downs
2
3
4th Downs
2
1
TOP
29:19
30:21
1st Quarter
FAU 0, MSU 2
MSU - Douse,D'Quan 0 yd safety
2nd Quarter
FAU 0, MSU 9
MSU - Chiles,Aidan 11 yd run (Kim,Jonathan kick), 3 plays, 18 yards, TOP 00:48
FAU 0, MSU 16
MSU - Lynch-Adams,Kay'Ron 63 yd run (Kim,Jonathan kick), 1 plays, 63 yards, TOP 00:10
FAU 3, MSU 16
FAU - Suarez,Morgan 43 yd field goal 8 plays, 52 yards, TOP 04:20
3rd Quarter
FAU 10, MSU 16
FAU - Platt,Jayshon 10 yd pass from Fancher,Cam (Suarez,Morgan kick) 7 plays, 40 yards, TOP 02:52
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
10
TD
0
YDS
114
INT
2
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
P
/ Football
DB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
DB
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