Michigan State football opens Pat Fitzgerald era with rally vs Toledo

EAST LANSING – Pat Fitzgerald began his new job with a win, but Michigan State football endured plenty of losses in its 30-20 opening-night win over Toledo on Friday, Sept. 4.

Left tackle Ben Murawski went out of the game in the third quarter with an apparent lower body injury and did not return until he blocked for a critical field goal with 1:55 to play. MSU also had two running backs in starter Cam Edwards (in the fourth quarter) and backup Marvis Parrish (in the third) leave the game for long stretches. A run game that looked vastly improved early fell apart and fizzled.

Linebacker Jordan Hall suffered an apparent right arm injury in the first half and did not play for much of the second half until after the Spartans’ lead vanished. That proved costly to their defense, which without Hall gave up a go-ahead 71-yard Connor Walendzak touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. Hall’s return boosted the MSU defense in the final stops late in the game.

After Walendzak’s score, quarterback Alessio Milivojevic took to the air and directed a seven-play, 70-yard drive to put MSU back up with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Rodney Bullard Jr. The two connected again for the 2-point conversion that allowed the Spartans to escape victorious albeit wounded.

The injured players’ status is unclear for next week against Eastern Michigan.

WINNERS AND LOSERS: Cam Edwards not Kenneth Walker, but he's MSU's big winner vs Toledo

Milivojevic struggled in red-zone situations after a first-drive touchdown to open the season. That included being set up twice with field position in Toledo territory.

But when they needed him, the third-year sophomore delivered.

Trailing 20-19, Milivojevic hit Bullard for a pair of 26-yard receptions and absorbed a roughing the passer penalty to get MSU into the Rockets’ red zone again. After Edwards went out with a lower right leg injury, replaced by Jaziun Patterson, Milivojevic hit Chrishon McCray short of a first down at the Toledo 9. New offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan gambled and, instead of going for a field goal, allowed his quarterback to sprint out to his right on fourth-and-inches. Milivojevic hit Bullard open in the end zone with 10:37 to play, then found the receiver over double coverage in the back right corner for the 2-point play.

Player of the game

Milivojevic shook off some early indecision and three sacks to finish 26-for-34 for 247 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. He also ran for a critical third-down gain and got Toledo hit with an illegal substitution penalty with his hurry-up sneak attempt to follow. Bullard had seven catches for 90 yards, while McCray had eight catches for 69 yards.

Kicker Liam Boyd also was a bright spot with four first-half field goals and sending all of his kickoffs for touchbacks, though he had a 54-yard attempt blocked early in the third quarter on MSU’s opening possession. Then with 1:55 to play, the Charlotte transfer drilled a 51-yarder to seal the Spartans’ victory.

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Behind a left side of the revamped offensive line that included tackle Murawski and guard Conner Moore, Edwards showed vision and strength before he and Murawski left the game. A Connecticut transfer like Murawski, the 5-foot-11, 206-pound Edwards got MSU on the board first with a 2-yard touchdown run off a direct snap.

Edwards returned late and finished with 98 yards on 27 carries. Parrish, before he left the game with an unspecified injury, had 28 yards on six carries, while Patterson took over with both out and churned out 23 yards on seven runs.

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Cornerback Charles Brantley returned after a one-year exodus to Miami (Florida). But the former MSU starter struggled early in the game, first committing a hold on a critical third down that extended a second-quarter Toledo drive. Then five plays later, Brantley got burned for a 60-yard touchdown pass from quarterback John Alan Richter to Adjatay Dabbs to cut the Spartans’ lead to 16-7.

Dabbs also caught a 6-yard TD pass from Richter in the third quarter over cornerback Tre Bell.

The Spartans will host another Mid-American Conference foe when Eastern Michigan and former MSU quarterback Noah Kim visit Spartan Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12 (3:30 p.m./BTN).

Kim, who was Mark Dantonio’s final quarterback recruit in MSU’s 2020 class, started five games for the Spartans in the 2023 season before being replaced by Katin Houser and then Sam Leavitt. Kim played in nine games for the Spartans (105-for-179, 1,264 yards, nine touchdowns, six interceptions) before transferring to Coastal Carolina and then EMU last season.