The MSU football players huddle together between plays in Spartan Stadium on Aug. 29, 2025.
On the night Spartan Stadium debuted fireworks, attention was naturally drawn to the sky, but Michigan State’s offense kept the crowd focused on the field with its rushing attack.
The steady spark all night came mainly from the Spartans’ sophomore backfield duo of Makhi Frazier and Brandon Tullis, powering Michigan State to a 23-6 win.
The duo played a huge role in a methodical opening drive that went for 74 yards over 10 plays lasting just under six minutes.
Frazier had 45 yards on just five carries to get MSU into the red zone while Tullis did the rest scoring the team’s first touchdown of the season with a 12-yard rush.
“The o-line really opened a way for the holes and really created everything," Frazier said. "It was easy for me to go out there and just do my job."
The Spartans finished the game with 181 rushing yards, led by Frazier’s 103 yards on 13 carries, while Tullis added 52 yards on 7 carries.
MSU may have had no issues utilizing gaps and picking up yards on the ground, but their defense gave Western Michigan a completely different experience — led by a front seven that saw multiple players rotate in throughout the game.
“That’s one of our emphases as the defense having strength in numbers and I enjoy to say it was hard realizing a difference in play,” junior linebacker Jordan Hall said. “We have so many guys in so many positions that we’re able to just keep guys fresh.”
The Broncos were held to only 29 yards on 24 attempts giving them an average of just 1.2 yards per carry.
“I think this is a good starting point for our defense,” Hall said. “There’s still a lot of mistakes that happened out there today and a lot of ways we can improve.”
The MSU rush defense was suffocating, keeping Western Michigan out of the red zone, preventing a single offensive score, and even picking up a safety.
A stellar performance for a defense that gave up a 35-yard pass on the first play of the game, but the foundation instilled by MSU defensive coordinator Joe Rossi helped the defense be ready to respond.
“We’re always buckled up,” Hall said. “That’s a foundation of what our defense is, is being able to respond when things don’t go our way.”
Redshirt junior punter Ryan Eckley played a huge role in the defense’s success consistently punting balls inside the 20-yard line, with two balls downed at the one.
“Shout out to Ryan Eckley,” MSU head coach Jonathan Smith said. “That was effective play out of our punt group.”
The offensive line may have provided great run blocking throughout the game, but its pass protection struggled, especially in the fourth quarter, allowing two sacks in the period and four overall.
With multiple moving pieces within the offensive line being shifted throughout the game it would not be unusual to see changes next week.
“Stanton’s (Ramil) really comfortable left, (Ashton) Lepo at right and Conner (Moore) can play both,” Smith said. “So tackles are going to rotate.”
The rushing attack will continue to play a pivotal role in Smith’s offense as the season progresses, as he views time of possession as a key advantage.
“To have it [time of possession] close to 37 minutes is a total advantage, and we want to be able to do that,” Smith said.
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The Spartans will shift their focus to Saturday, Sept. 6, at 7:30 p.m., as they welcome the Boston College Eagles for a Power Four conference matchup.
