The opening drive for the Spartans began with electricity on the first play from scrimmage. Transfer redshirt sophomore running back Nathan Carter burst through the middle of the field for a gain of 31 yards. 

After a few more gains for minimal yardage, MSU found themselves needing to make a decision early on. Head Coach Mel Tucker left his offense out on the field on fourth down and six, Kim managed to draw the Chippewas offside on the hard count for a five yard penalty. However, the handoff to Carter on fourth and one was unsuccessful, resulting in a turnover on downs. 

Central Michigan looked to capitalize off the mistake, and put together a tone-setting drive into the redzone effectively. On a third and short from inside the ten yard line, the Chippewas were punished for a holding call, which backed them up for ten yards.

On the extended third and goal, redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Derrick Harmon was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, putting CMU back in prime position on the nine yard line. The Spartan defense put together three consecutive stops, and capped off their response with a sack on fourth down from redshirt junior defensive lineman Simeon Barrow Jr. to force the turnover on their own nine yard line. 

Both defenses made any form of rhythm hard to come by on offense. On the fourth drive of the evening for Michigan State, Kim rolled out of the pocket and found graduate senior wide receiver Tre Mosley for his first reception. Mosley found room down to the 25 yard line, gaining 23 yards on the play.

Just as things started to click for MSU, a holding call on a third and long by redshirt junior offensive lineman Brandon Baldwin backed the ball up further, leading to a failed third down attempt once again. Stranded in deep field goal range, Graduate senior kicker Jonathan Kim was brought on to try the 47-yarder. The kick had plenty of distance, and went through the uprights to give the Spartans a 3-0 lead midway through the second quarter. 

The Chippewa defense continued to keep themselves in the game throughout the half. CMU swallowed Carter once again on a fourth down and one situation, keeping the Spartans from generating any sort of flow. 

Following the turnover on downs, CMU redshirt freshman quarterback Bert Emmanuel Jr. began to drive Central Michigan down the field with the help of his arm and legs. A facemask penalty on Michigan State put the ball in the red zone, and Emmanuel erased the pressure and found redshirt sophomore Chris Parker in the back of the endzone for a 12 yard touchdown, putting the Chippewas up 7-3. 

The Spartans looked to capitalize in the two-minute drill before going into halftime. On third down at the 33 yard line, Kim found redshirt freshman Jaron Glover with a deep ball to the back shoulder for a much-needed 32 yard gain. Two plays after, Kim unloaded deep once again in very similar fashion, with Glover diving for the grab putting the ball on the two yard line.

On first and goal, Carter added to his big first half, breaking a tackle and punching the ball into the endzone for a touchdown with 48 seconds left. Central Michigan couldn’t generate anything downfield and MSU took a 10-7 lead into halftime. 

To begin the third quarter, Emmanuel put together another progressive drive with his legs for Central. Emmanuel gained 10 yards to the CMU 44 yard line and crossed midfield thanks to an illegal substitution by Michigan State for a 10 yard penalty. Directly after, Emmanuel kept the defense guessing with another scramble that was good for 12 yards and first. 

The Spartan defense finally forced Emmanuel to pass, causing a throw into traffic that was tipped by senior defensive back Angelo Grose. With the ball in the air, redshirt junior linebacker Cal Haladay leaped up to secure possession of the ball, and came down with the interception. 

Both defenses continued to shut down any promise in a drive for either team. On the second drive of the quarter for Michigan State, a sense of rhythm was established.

Redshirt junior running back Jalen Berger started to capitalize on his load, gaining chunks of yardage on runs and adding a one-handed snag for a six yard reception to get the Spartans in the red zone once again.

Berger got the ball again from the 12 yard line, and made a quick juke to shake the defender and crossed the endzone untouched to extend the lead to 17-7. 

CMU struggled to respond once again as the Spartans began to come alive on both sides of the ball and started to pull away with the game.

Following a 5 play drive from Central, Kim tested his deep ball once again on the first play of the possession, this time to redshirt junior wide receiver Christian Fitzpatrick, for a loud 72 yard gain. 

Two plays later on second down, Kim lobbed the ball up for a one-on-one in the endzone for sophomore wide receiver Tyrell Henry. Henry readjusted in mid-air, beating the defensive pass interference for an acrobatic touchdown to put Michigan State up 24-7 early in the fourth quarter. 

Kim established a rhythm once again, and led another lengthy drive downfield. The Chippewas ran out of answers as Kim connected with redshirt junior tight end Maliq Carr in the back left corner of the end zone in tight coverage for an eight yard touchdown to secure the first win fo the season for Michigan State.

The Spartans will return to action at home next Saturday against Richmond.