Spartans Host Boston College Saturday in Prime-Time Showdown

Game 2: Michigan State (1-0) vs. Boston College (1-0)

Date: Saturday, Sept. 6
Kickoff: 7:36 p.m. ET
Location: East Lansing, Mich.
Stadium: Spartan Stadium (74,866)
Surface: Natural Grass
Game Notes: MSU | Boston College

►GAME DAY INFORMATION
Game Day Central (Parking/Tailgating/Timeline)

Parking: Parking lots will open at 11 a.m. on Saturday. | Parking Map

Game Day Updates: Fans can sign up to receive game day updates from MSU Police and Public Safety this season by texting SPARTANFB25 to 888777. Updates will include safety information, potential game delays, traffic suggestions, etc.

Additional Links:
• Construction/Traffic Information
• Purchase Tickets
• The Munn Tailgate Information

►BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: NBC
Streaming/Mobile: Peacock
Announcers: Noah Eagle (play-by-play), Todd Blackledge (analyst), Kathryn Tappen (sidelines)
Live Stats: msuspartans.com | Live Stats

Radio: Spartan Media Network | Affiliate Listings
Play-by-Play: Dalton Shetler
Analyst: Jehuu Caulcrick
Sidelines: Tre Mosley
Broadcast Host: Will Tieman
Website/Mobile: msuspartans.com/watch, MSU Spartans app, Tune In radio
Flagship Stations: Lansing: WMMQ (94.9 FM)/WJIM (1240 AM); Detroit: WJR (760 AM); Grand Rapids: WBFX (101.3 FM)
Affiliates: 23 affiliates listed at msuspartans.com
Satellite: SiriusXM Ch. 85 | SiriusXM App
Pregame Show: Begins at 6 p.m.

►SERIES INFORMATION
All-Time Series: BC leads, 5-1-1
Series in East Lansing: Tied, 1-1
Last Meeting: BC 23, MSU 19 (2024 in Chestnut Hill, Mass.)
Current Series Streak: 2 by BC

►HEAD COACHES
MSU Head Coach: Jonathan Smith
MSU Record: 6-7 (second year)
Overall Record: 40-42 (eighth year)
Record vs. BC: 0-1

BC Head Coach: Bill O'Brien
BC Record: 8-6 (second year)
Overall NCAA Record: 23-15 (fourth year)
Record vs. MSU: 1-0

►SPARTAN FOOTBALL NEWS AND NOTES
• Michigan State hosts Boston College in a prime-time showdown Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Spartan Stadium. The game will be televised nationally on NBC and streamed on Peacock with Noah Eagle (play-by-play), Todd Blackledge (analyst) and Kathryn Tappen (sidelines) on the call.

• The Spartans (1-0) won their fifth consecutive season opener with a 23-6 victory over Western Michigan last Friday in East Lansing, while Boston College (1-0) beat Fordham, 66-10, in its season opener at home on Saturday.

• Saturday's game marks the eighth meeting between Michigan State and Boston College in a series that dates back to 1935. The Eagles lead the overall series, 5-1-1; the series is tied 1-1 in East Lansing. Last season, Boston College rallied late in the fourth quarter to beat MSU, 23-19, on Sept. 21 in Chestnut Hill. Michigan State topped BC in East Lansing, 25-21, on Sept. 30, 1995, during Nick Saban's first year as head coach of the Spartans in MSU's only win over the Eagles.

• Saturday marks the 34th night game in Spartan Stadium history; MSU is 24-9 overall (.727) in night games in East Lansing, including an 18-4 mark (.818) against nonconference opponents. MSU is 4-1 in home night games under head coach Jonathan Smith (wins over Florida Atlantic, Iowa, Purdue and Western Michigan; loss vs. No. 3 Ohio State).

►TEAM NOTES: OFFENSE
• In his first game as a Spartan, senior transfer wide receiver Omari Kelly had a memorable debut in the Green and White, catching a game-high seven passes for 75 yards while also returning a punt 20 yards. Kelly spent his freshman and sophomore seasons (2022-23) at Auburn before earning first-team All-Conference USA honors last season at Middle Tennessee State. Kelly entered the season on the Biletnikoff Award Watch List.

• In his first career start, sophomore running back Makhi Frazier recorded career highs for carries (14) and rushing yards (103) against Western Michigan, averaging 7.4 yards per carry. He scored his first collegiate touchdown on a 9-yard run in the second quarter right before halftime that gave MSU a 21-0 lead. Fellow sophomore Brandon Tullis contributed 52 yards on seven carries, also good for a 7.4 average, as the Spartans ran for a net total of 181 yards on the ground.

• Junior quarterback Aidan Chiles, who was named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List, has started 13 consecutive games for the Spartans. He started all 12 games for the Spartans as a true sophomore in 2024 and finished ninth in the Big Ten in total offense (220.0 ypg; 2,640 yards) to become the sixth Spartan sophomore QB in program history to throw for 2,000-plus yards in a season. Chiles was 17-of-23 passing for 155 yards and one TD in the season opener against Western Michigan.

• Sophomore wide receiver Nick Marsh was one of the top freshmen in the nation last season and set Michigan State true freshman records for most receiving yards (649) and receptions (41) in a single-season. He ranked eighth in the Big Ten in yards per catch (15.8) and 13th in receiving yards per game (59.0 ypg), marks which also ranked second among Big Ten freshmen. Marsh had five catches for 32 yards, including a 7-yard TD, in Week 1 against Western Michigan.

• Senior tight end Jack Velling, who was named to the Mackey Award Watch List for the second year in a row, caught a career-high 36 passes for 411 yards and one TD in his first season as a Spartan after transferring from Oregon State. Velling had one catch for 3 yards vs. Western Michigan.

• Fifth-year graduate senior Matt Gulbin played every snap at center for the Spartans in the season opener. A transfer from Wake Forest, Gulbin was named a team captain following preseason camp and is featured on the Rimington Trophy Watch List for the nation's top center.

**Junior co-captain linebacker Jordan Hall and the Spartans limited Western Michigan to just 29 yards on the ground in the season opener.**

►TEAM NOTES: DEFENSE
• Michigan State's defense did not allow any points in the win over Western Michigan and allowed just 217 yards of total offense and 29 rushing yards. The Spartans recorded four sacks, eight quarterback hurries, 12 tackles for loss and broke up four passes while intercepting one pass.

• Michigan State's defense featured a pair of new starting transfer cornerbacks in Week 1 (Malcolm Bell from UConn and Joshua Eaton from Texas State). Bell and Eaton have each started 21 games at cornerback in their collegiate careers.

• A total of 35 players saw defensive snaps for the Spartans in Week 1, including 12 on the defensive line, eight at linebacker and 15 in the secondary.

►TEAM NOTES: SPECIAL TEAMS
• Redshirt junior punter Ryan Eckley, a Ray Guy Award candidate and preseason All-American, led the Big Ten in punting in 2024 with his 47.9-yard average and was a second-team all-conference selection.

• Eckley showed why he is one of the best punters in the nation in the season opener against Western Michigan. He had six punts for a 51.3-yard average, marking his seventh career game with a 50.0-yard average. Eckley had two punts downed at the 1-yard line, the second which led to MSU's safety in the third quarter, and four punts inside the 20.

• For the first time in his career, Eckley also handled kickoff duties and field goal duties, with four kickoffs for a 64.5-yard average with two touchbacks. His 46-yard field goal as time expired in the first half sailed just wide left. The four kickoffs and one field goal attempt were all the first of his Spartan career.

• Fifth-year senior kicker Blake Sislo made his collegiate debut after transferring to MSU from Davenport, where he did not see any game action from 2021-23. He split the uprights on all three of his extra points for the Spartans.

►STAT LEADERS
Michigan State:
Rushing – So. Makhi Frazier (14 carries for 103 yards, 7.4 avg., 1 TD, 103.0 ypg)
Passing – Jr. Aidan Chiles (17-of-23, .739, 155 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs, 155.0 ypg)
Receiving – Sr. Omari Kelly (7 receptions for 75 yards, 10.7 avg., 0 TDs, 75.0 ypg)
Tackles – Jr. LB Jordan Hall (8 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 1.0 sack)

Boston College:
Rushing – So. Turbo Richard (16 carries for 48 yards, 3.0 avg., 1 TD, 48.0 ypg)
Passing – R-So. Dylan Lonergan (26-of-34, .765, 268 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs, 268.0 ypg)
Receiving – R-Sr. Lewis Bond (11 receptions for 138 yards, 12.5 avg., 0 TDs, 138.0 ypg)
Tackles – Sr. LB Daveon Crouch (6 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 1 sack, 1 INT)

►MSU-BOSTON COLLEGE SERIES NOTES
• Saturday's game marks the eighth meeting between Michigan State and Boston College in a series that dates back to 1935. The Eagles lead the overall series, 5-1-1; the series is tied 1-1 in East Lansing.

• Last season, Boston College rallied late in the fourth quarter to beat MSU, 23-19, on Sept. 21 in Chestnut Hill.

• Michigan State topped BC in East Lansing, 25-21, on Sept. 30, 1995, during Nick Saban's first year as head coach of the Spartans in MSU's only win over the Eagles.

• Boston College edged MSU, 24-21, in the 2007 Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Florida, during Hall of Fame Coach Mark Dantonio's first season in East Lansing. The game featured a battle of two longtime NFL quarterbacks in Brian Hoyer (MSU) and Matt Ryan (BC).

►LAST MEETING: BOSTON COLLEGE 23, MSU 19 (SEPT. 21, 2024, IN CHESTNUT HILL, MASS.)
Playing in a steady rain in front of a sold-out Alumni Stadium for the 11th-annual Red Bandanna Game, Michigan State gave up a late fourth-quarter touchdown to fall at Boston College, 23-19. The Spartans (3-1) took a 19-16 lead on Jonathan Kim's fourth field goal of the game, a 27-yarder, with 4:12 remaining, but the Eagles (3-1) responded on their next drive with a 42-yard touchdown pass from Thomas Castellanos to Lewis Bond for the game winner.

Michigan State got the ball back one last time with 1:28 left on its own 25 and drove to the BC 36, but Aidan Chiles' pass was intercepted in the end zone by Max Tucker to seal the win for BC.

Chiles finished the game 17-of-35 passing for 241 yards and three interceptions, and also ran nine times for 57 yards, including a 1-yard TD in the second quarter. Kay'ron Lynch-Adams had 15 carries for 61 yards to lead MSU on the ground, while tight end Jack Velling had six catches for 77 yards.

Kim kicked four field goals for the Spartans (41, 26, 51, 27 yards).

The Spartans outgained the Eagles 368-292, but committed four turnovers (three interceptions, one fumble).

►A GLANCE AT BOSTON COLLEGE (1-0, 0-0 ACC)
• Boston College head coach Bill O'Brien is in his second season leading the Eagles, now with an 8-6 record. O'Brien has an overall college head coaching mark of 23-15 in his fourth season as head coach, which includes two seasons (2012-13) at Penn State. O'Brien then coached seven seasons in the NFL with the Houston Texans (2014-20).

• The Eagles opened the 2025 season with a 66-10 rout of Fordham on Saturday afternoon in their home opener.

• BC is coming off a 7-6 campaign in 2024, going 4-4 in ACC action. The Eagles finished 3-5 in their last eight games after opening the season 4-1, including the 23-19 win over Michigan State on Sept. 21 in BC's annual Red Bandanna Game.

• The Eagles lost to Nebraska, 20-15, in the 2024 Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.

• Saturday's season-opening 66 points was Boston College's most points scored in a game since Sept. 12, 2015, when the Eagles shut out Howard, 76-0. Boston College amassed 555 yards of total offense, with 458 yards through the air and 97 yards on the ground. The BC defense held Fordham to just 168 yards of total offense with 152 passing yards and just 16 rushing yards. BC had 8.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, seven pass break-ups and one interception, adding one blocked punt.

• The Eagles scored first, before Fordham countered with a field goal to close to 7-3 midway through the opening quarter, before BC reeled off 52 unanswered points top open a 59-3 advantage early in the fourth frame. Fordham scored its only TD of the day with 5:00 left in the game, before the Eagles added their ninth and final TD of the game with 1:55 to go.

• Redshirt sophomore quarterback Dylan Lonergan made his first career start after transferring to Boston College from Alabama in January. He spent two seasons at Alabama, seeing action in two games in 2024, with highlights including 5-of-6 passing for 23 yards against Mercer and rushing for 16 yards against Western Kentucky. He appeared in one game in 2023, going 2-of-2 passing for 12 yards and one rush for 5 yards against Chattanooga to preserve his redshirt.

• In his starting debut on Saturday, Lonergan lit up the Fordham defense for four touchdowns on 268 yards, completing 26-of-34 passing without an interception, in playing three quarters. Lonergan was sacked twice, finishing with -3 yards rushing, with two other rushes.

• Redshirt senior wide receiver Lewis Bond had career highs for catches and yards, snaring 11 receptions for 138 yards, posting his third 100-yard receiving outing of his career.

• Sophomore running back Turbo Richard topped the Eagles in rushing with 48 yards on 16 carries with one TD.

• Junior wide receiver Jaedn Skeete only had two catches, but they both went for TDs on back-to-back BC possessions, with an 11-yard scoring catch to close out the first quarter scoring, before a 13-yard catch to open the second quarter scoring.

• Senior linebacker Daveon Crouch led the BC defense with six stops, including one sack, and snared the game's only interception, coming on Fordham's opening possession of the second half on its second play of scrimmage in the third quarter and returning it 28 yards.

• Redshirt junior placekicker Luca Lombardo made his lone field goal attempt, a 48-yarder in the third quarter, and was 9-for-9 on PATs.

Alex VanSumeren celebration safety vs WMU — **Alex VanSumeren celebrates a safety in the third quarter in the win over Western Michigan.**

LAST TIME OUT: MSU 23, WESTERN MICHIGAN 6

►GAME RECAP
• Michigan State scored three touchdowns in the first half and opened its 2025 season with a 23-6 win over Western Michigan on Friday, Aug. 29 before a crowd of 71,657 at Spartan Stadium.

• Sophomore running back Makhi Frazier carried the ball 14 times for 103 yards and one touchdown, while sophomore running back Brandon Tullis had seven carries for 52 yards and one touchdown as Michigan State finished the night with 181 yards on the ground.

• Junior linebacker Jordan Hall led the defense with eight tackles, three solo, while adding one sack and 2.5 tackles for loss. Redshirt senior linebacker Wayne Matthews III added six tackles with a half for loss, including his first career interception, while redshirt junior defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren had five tackles and a half for loss and senior defensive back Malik Spencer had five tackles, including one for loss.

►SCORING SUMMARY
• Michigan State opened the game's scoring on its first drive of the season, going 74 yards on 10 plays while taking 5:42 off the clock, capped by Tullis' first career touchdown from 12 yards out.

• The Spartans went on another lengthy drive on their second series to take a 14-0 lead with 10:43 left in the second quarter. Nick Marsh caught his first touchdown of the season with a 7-yard grab in the end zone to complete a 10-play, 75-yard drive that lasted 5:59.

• Michigan State went up 21-0 on Frazier's 9-yard touchdown run with 1:58 remaining in the first half. Frazier's first career score was set up by Aidan Chiles' 26-yard scamper down the sideline, equaling his longest rush as a Spartan.

• MSU's defense turned Western Michigan over on downs on the first series of the game, then forced four-straight punts before Wayne Matthews III recorded his first career interception with 10 seconds left in the half. The Broncos had just 89 total yards of offense in the first half.

• The Spartan defense scored the first points of the second half for MSU, as Alex VanSumeren and Jalen Thompson teamed up for a safety at the 8:01 mark; the safety was set up by Ryan Eckley's punt that was down at the 1-yard line.

• Western Michigan got on the board late in the fourth quarter when Broncos safety Tate Hallock, a former Spartan, had a 32-yard interception return for a touchdown with 2:51 to play in the game.

►OFFENSIVE 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 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 marked 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 53 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 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 State, 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.

►DEFENSIVE 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.

• 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).

• 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 topped 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-yard average, marking his seventh career game with a 50.0-yard average . . . Eckley had two punts downed at the 1-yard line, the second of which led to MSU's safety in the third quarter . . . the two punts at the 1 were part of the four punts inside the 20 . . . Eckley had a game-long 59-yard punt . . . Eckley also handled kickoff duties and field goal duties, with four kickoffs for a 64.5-yard average with two touchbacks, and had a 46-yard field goal as time expired in the first half sail 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.