Post-Game Notes: Western Michigan
8/30/2025 2:25:00 AM | Football
GAME NOTES
• Michigan State improved 11-0 in home Friday night games to start the season since 2011 and 14-2 overall in Friday night games during that same time span.
• MSU head coach Jonathan Smith is 2-0 in Friday night season openers at Michigan State as the Spartans topped Florida Atlantic, 16-10, during his MSU head coaching debut on Aug. 30, 2024.
• The Spartans improved to 89-37-3 (.702) all-time in season openers, including 23-4 (.852) in its last 27 openers . . . in addition, the Spartans are 107-22 (.829) all-time in home openers, including victories in 26 of the past 27 years (only loss: 2020 vs. Rutgers on Oct. 24, 2020).
• MSU has won 25 consecutive home openers against non-conference opposition, dating back to 1999.
• Friday was MSU's second-straight home opener played in the month of August after last year's season-opener on Aug. 30, beating Florida Atlantic . . . the Spartans improved to 10-2 all-time in games played in August, with the lone losses coming in the 1998 season opener on Aug. 29, 1998, losing at home to Colorado State (23-16) and the 2008 openers on Aug. 30, 2008, at California (38-31).
SERIES NOTES
• Friday's game marked the 18th meeting between Michigan State and Western Michigan and Friday night's Victory for MSU was the Spartans' 14th-straight win over WMU that dates back to 1921 . . . MSU now leads the all-time series, 16-2, in the series that began in 1908 . . . the Spartans lead the series in games played in East Lansing, 15-2.
OFFENSE NOTES
• Junior quarterback Aidan Chiles was 17-of-23 passing for 155 yards with one TD pass and no INT . . . it was Chiles' seventh-straight game with at least one TD pass dating back to the final six games of 2024 season, as well as his 14th career game with at least one TD toss . . . Chiles also ran his streak to four games in a row without an INT dating back to the final three games of last season . . . Chiles had a career-high tying 26-yard run in the second quarter to set up Makhi Frazier's TD before halftime.
• Sophomore running back Makhi Frazier made his first career start and carried the ball for career highs of 14 times for 103 yards and one touchdown, marking the first Spartan running back with a 100-yard outing since Nathan Carter (current Atlanta Falcons RB) had 118 yards vs. Michigan last season on Oct. 26, 2024 . . . Frazier scored his first TD as a Spartan with a 9-yard scoring scamper in the second quarter.
• Frazier's 103 yards marks the fifth-straight season that the Spartans had a 100-yard rusher in the season-opener after Kay'ron Lynch-Adams last season, preceding Nathan Carter in 2023, along with Jalen Berger in 2022 and Kenneth Walker III in 2021.
• Fellow sophomore running back Brandon Tullis also scored the first TD of his Spartan career with a 12-yard run for MSU's opening score in the first quarter . . . Tullis finished with seven carries for 52 yards, also both career-bests, after just seven rushing attempts for 20 yards in 2024.
• Redshirt senior running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver made his Spartan debut Friday night after transferring from Sacramento State, and he added eight carries for 17 yards.
• Senior wide receiver Omari Kelly also made his Spartan debut in Friday night's season-opener, after transferring from Middle Tennessee, and he had seven receptions for 75 yards . . . Kelly had three catches during one MSU drive spanning the end of the first quarter and start of the second quarter, with two of the three going for first downs . . . on the night, five of Kelly's seven catches went for first downs, while adding one rush for 8 yards that also went for first downs, giving Kelly six first downs.
• Sophomore wide receiver Nick Marsh had five receptions for 32 yards, including a 7-yard TD catch from Chiles in the second stanza to put MSU ahead, 14-0 . . . it was Marsh's fourth career TD catch . . . Marsh had a stretch of a catch on three-straight plays in the third quarter.
• Redshirt junior tight end Michael Masunas tied a career-high with two catches, going for 22 yards . . . both of Masunas' catches went for first downs . . . his first catch of the night set up MSU's second TD of the night, as his 8-yard reception got the Spartans a first down at the WMU 7, and Chiles hit Marsh for the 7-yard scoring pass on the next play.
DEFENSE NOTES
• The Spartan defensive unit limited Western Michigan to zero offensive points and just 29 rushing yards on 24 attempts, registered four quarterback sacks and 12 tackles for loss . . . WMU's lone score came on an interception return late in the fourth quarter.
• MSU's four sacks were its most since notching seven sacks vs. Nebraska on Nov. 4, 2023.
• The Michigan State defense registered 12.0 tackles for loss to go with the 4.0 sacks . . . it's the MSU defense's fourth-straight season opener with 10.0 tackles for loss last year vs. Florida Atlantic, preceding 10.0 vs. Central Michigan (Sept. 1. 2023) and 11.0 vs. Western Michigan (Sept. 2, 2022).
• MSU's defense recorded a safety for the second-straight season-opener Friday night as redshirt-junior defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren and junior defensive lineman Jalen Thompson combined for a tackle for loss for a safety, which was the MSU defense's first safety since D'Quan Douse in last year's season-opener vs. Florida Atlantic (Aug. 30).
• VanSumeren finished with a career-best five tackles in making his 13th-consecutive career start on the D-line.
• With the 29 rushing yards allowed, the Spartan defense has held the opposition to less than 30 yards in two of its last three games after limiting Purdue to -4 yards rushing in last season's penultimate game on Nov. 22, 2024, as well as the third time in the last 10 games after holding Prairie View A&M to just 17 yards in game three last year on Sept. 14, 2024.
• WMU's 217 yards of total offense was the fewest by the MSU defense since holding PVAMU to 140 yards on Sept. 14 last season.
• MSU snared one interception Friday night, marking the second-straight game dating back to last year's season-finale with at least one interception and for the third time in last five games and eighth time in last 13 games since last year's season-opener.
• Junior linebacker Jordan Hall spearheaded the Spartan defense with eight tackles, including a career-high 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack . . . the 2.5 TFLs tops his previous career-best of 2.0 TFL vs. Minnesota (10/28/23).
• Redshirt-senior linebacker Wayne Matthews III added six stops with 0.5 TFL, and added his first interception of his collegiate career, which included three seasons at Old Dominion (2021-23); he is in his second season at MSU . . . with the six stops, Matthews tied his MSU high, with six stops vs. Maryland last season.
• Redshirt-senior defensive back Armorion Smith made his first career start and was the honorary game captain, notching one tackle.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
• Ray Guy Award Watch List member redshirt-junior punter/placekicker Ryan Eckley had six punts for a 51.3 ypp average, marking his seventh career game with a 50.0 ypp average . . . Eckley had two punts downed at the 1-yard line, which led to MSU's safety . . . the two punts at the 1 were part of the career-high tying four punts inside the 20 . . . Eckley had a game-long 59-yards . . . Eckley also handled kickoff duties and field goal duties Friday night, with four kickoffs for a 64.5 ypk average with two touchbacks, and had a 46-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, sailing just wide left . . . the four kickoffs and one field goal attempt were all the first of his Spartan career.
• Walk-on senior kicker Blake Sislo made his collegiate debut after transferring to MSU from Davenport, where he did not see any game action, and he split the uprights on all three of his extra points for the Spartans Friday night.
