Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, September 12
East Lansing, Mich.
3:30 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
1-2 , 1-0
7
at
35
Michigan State
2-0 , 0-0
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Mich. | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Michigan St. | 7 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography
Eagles Drop Road Contest at Michigan State
9/12/2026 7:44:00 PM | Football
Eastern will look to jump back into the win column with another Big Ten road test at Wisconsin next week
Box score (PDF) | Photo Gallery | Press Conference Audio
EAST LANSING, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team dropped a 35-7 decision to Michigan State University at Spartan Stadium Saturday, Sept. 12, falling behind early and being held scoreless in the second half as the Spartans controlled the line of scrimmage throughout the afternoon.
How It Happened
Michigan State (2-0) struck first when Alessio Milivojevic connected with F. Moore on an 18-yard touchdown pass at 6:32 of the first quarter to put the Spartans ahead 7-0. MSU extended the lead to 14-0 in the second quarter on a 1-yard Cam Edwards rush, capping a methodical drive that kept Eastern Michigan's offense off the field.
Eastern (1-2, 1-0 MAC) answered with its most sustained drive of the afternoon — a 13-play, 78-yard march that consumed nearly the entire remainder of the first half. Noah Kim (Centreville, Va./Westfield/Michigan State/Coastal Carolina) capped the drive with a 4-yard rushing touchdown at 1:50 of the second quarter, cutting the deficit to 14-7 heading into halftime. Rudy Kessinger (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) converted the extra point. It was Kim's eighth career rushing touchdown.
Michigan State came out of halftime and immediately reasserted control. Edwards powered in for a 2-yard score at 8:50 of the third quarter, capping a 14-play drive to push the lead to 21-7. The Spartans added to the margin moments later when Milivojevic found Charles Taplin on a 38-yard touchdown strike at 5:46 of the third quarter, making it 28-7.
EMU's defense provided a bright spot in the fourth quarter when Jason Marshall (Trenton, Mich./Trenton) recovered an Edwards fumble at the Eagles' own 7-yard line at 11:20, halting a Spartan scoring drive while trailing 28-7. Michigan State added a final score on a J. Patterson 7-yard rush at 7:48 of the fourth quarter to set the final margin at 35-7.
Game Notes
» Jason Marshall finished the game with a career-high 13 tackles, surpassing the 10 that he recorded twice before with the most recent coming against Ohio, Oct. 25, 2025. He also fell on a loose ball to record the first fumble recovery of his career and keep the streak going with at least one takeaway by the EMU defense this season.
» Juan Salas, Jr., added a career-best 11 tackles, marking the first time in his career he has reached double-digit tackles in a game. His previous best was seven stops he recorded twice with the most recent time coming Oct. 11, 2025, against Northern Illinois.
» The last time Eastern finished a game with two or more players recording double-digit tackles was at Miami, Oct. 18, 2025, with Barry Manning (Stone Mountain, Ga./Tucker) posting 12, Andrew Marshall adding 11, and Bryce Llewellyn (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral/Charleston Southern) finishing with 10. The last time Eagles accomplished the feat against a non-conference opponent came Sept. 23, 2023, at Jacksonville State when Chase Kline and Joe Sparacio each finished with 14.
» Ronn Hardin recorded 0.5 sacks in the game, marking his second consecutive contest with part of one quarterback sack with his previous 1.0 recorded against San Jose State on a strip sack. For the year, Hardin, who finished five tackles in the game, has 1.5 sacks through three games, equaling his total from last year after playing eight games.
» Noah Kim, in his return to Spartan Stadium, scored the lone touchdown in the game as he capped a 13-play, 78-yard drive with a four-yard run for the score. It marked his second rushing touchdown of the year and the eighth of his career with all eight coming with the Eagles. Kim finished the game with 118 yards on 16-of-26 passing and two yards rushing.
» Eastern Michigan got on the board in the second quarter as Noah Kim ran in from four-yards out with 1:50 remaining in the second quarter. The drive went 78 yards over 13 plays and took 6:50 off the clock with the number of plays and time removed standing as the highest of the season, surpassing three drives that spanned nine plays earlier in the year while a drive ending in a punt against Sacramento State in the opener shaved 6:08 from the clock. That same drive against the Hornets covered 79 yards, one more than the scoring drive against the Spartans.
» Braydon Bennett (Greenville, S.C./Southside/Coastal Carolina/Virginia Tech) finished the game with 78 all-purpose yards on 56 yards rushing and 22 yards receiving after pulling in his first catch as an Eagle. Bennett's total yards are his most in a game with Eastern while his 56 yards on the ground are the most he has tallied since collecting 54 with Coastal Carolina against UTSA, Dec. 23, 2024.
» A pair of offensive linemen earned their first career starts in the game with Dennis Strey, Jr. (Paw Paw, Mich./Paw Paw) and Samuel Adjin (La Pocatiere, Quebec/Campus-Notre-Dame-de-Foy)) starting at right guard and right tackle, respectively.
» Eastern Michigan was unable to score in the first quarter at Michigan State, marking the third consecutive game the Eagles have been held scoreless in the opening frame. The last time it happened was over the final three games of the 2024 season that included games with Ohio (Nov. 23) on the road, Buffalo (Nov. 20) at home, and Western Michigan (Nov. 30) on the road.
Historical Notes
» With the loss, Eastern fell to 1-2 on the year while Michigan State improved to 2-0. Additionally, the Eagles fell to 38-117-8 in their first road game of the season.
» Eastern fell to 0-11-0 all-time in its series with Michigan State and 0-9-0 when playing in East Lansing.
» With the loss, Eastern fell to 3-42-0 all-time against the current 18 teams that make up the Big Ten Conference. The three wins have come against Illinois (2019), Purdue (2018), and Rutgers (2017).
» Eastern improved to 204-238-26 all-time against fellow teams from the Mitten State and 168-216-20 when counting two and four-year college/university teams.
Up Next
EAST LANSING, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team dropped a 35-7 decision to Michigan State University at Spartan Stadium Saturday, Sept. 12, falling behind early and being held scoreless in the second half as the Spartans controlled the line of scrimmage throughout the afternoon.
How It Happened
Michigan State (2-0) struck first when Alessio Milivojevic connected with F. Moore on an 18-yard touchdown pass at 6:32 of the first quarter to put the Spartans ahead 7-0. MSU extended the lead to 14-0 in the second quarter on a 1-yard Cam Edwards rush, capping a methodical drive that kept Eastern Michigan's offense off the field.
Eastern (1-2, 1-0 MAC) answered with its most sustained drive of the afternoon — a 13-play, 78-yard march that consumed nearly the entire remainder of the first half. Noah Kim (Centreville, Va./Westfield/Michigan State/Coastal Carolina) capped the drive with a 4-yard rushing touchdown at 1:50 of the second quarter, cutting the deficit to 14-7 heading into halftime. Rudy Kessinger (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) converted the extra point. It was Kim's eighth career rushing touchdown.
Michigan State came out of halftime and immediately reasserted control. Edwards powered in for a 2-yard score at 8:50 of the third quarter, capping a 14-play drive to push the lead to 21-7. The Spartans added to the margin moments later when Milivojevic found Charles Taplin on a 38-yard touchdown strike at 5:46 of the third quarter, making it 28-7.
EMU's defense provided a bright spot in the fourth quarter when Jason Marshall (Trenton, Mich./Trenton) recovered an Edwards fumble at the Eagles' own 7-yard line at 11:20, halting a Spartan scoring drive while trailing 28-7. Michigan State added a final score on a J. Patterson 7-yard rush at 7:48 of the fourth quarter to set the final margin at 35-7.
Game Notes
» Jason Marshall finished the game with a career-high 13 tackles, surpassing the 10 that he recorded twice before with the most recent coming against Ohio, Oct. 25, 2025. He also fell on a loose ball to record the first fumble recovery of his career and keep the streak going with at least one takeaway by the EMU defense this season.
» Juan Salas, Jr., added a career-best 11 tackles, marking the first time in his career he has reached double-digit tackles in a game. His previous best was seven stops he recorded twice with the most recent time coming Oct. 11, 2025, against Northern Illinois.
» The last time Eastern finished a game with two or more players recording double-digit tackles was at Miami, Oct. 18, 2025, with Barry Manning (Stone Mountain, Ga./Tucker) posting 12, Andrew Marshall adding 11, and Bryce Llewellyn (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral/Charleston Southern) finishing with 10. The last time Eagles accomplished the feat against a non-conference opponent came Sept. 23, 2023, at Jacksonville State when Chase Kline and Joe Sparacio each finished with 14.
» Ronn Hardin recorded 0.5 sacks in the game, marking his second consecutive contest with part of one quarterback sack with his previous 1.0 recorded against San Jose State on a strip sack. For the year, Hardin, who finished five tackles in the game, has 1.5 sacks through three games, equaling his total from last year after playing eight games.
» Noah Kim, in his return to Spartan Stadium, scored the lone touchdown in the game as he capped a 13-play, 78-yard drive with a four-yard run for the score. It marked his second rushing touchdown of the year and the eighth of his career with all eight coming with the Eagles. Kim finished the game with 118 yards on 16-of-26 passing and two yards rushing.
» Eastern Michigan got on the board in the second quarter as Noah Kim ran in from four-yards out with 1:50 remaining in the second quarter. The drive went 78 yards over 13 plays and took 6:50 off the clock with the number of plays and time removed standing as the highest of the season, surpassing three drives that spanned nine plays earlier in the year while a drive ending in a punt against Sacramento State in the opener shaved 6:08 from the clock. That same drive against the Hornets covered 79 yards, one more than the scoring drive against the Spartans.
» Braydon Bennett (Greenville, S.C./Southside/Coastal Carolina/Virginia Tech) finished the game with 78 all-purpose yards on 56 yards rushing and 22 yards receiving after pulling in his first catch as an Eagle. Bennett's total yards are his most in a game with Eastern while his 56 yards on the ground are the most he has tallied since collecting 54 with Coastal Carolina against UTSA, Dec. 23, 2024.
» A pair of offensive linemen earned their first career starts in the game with Dennis Strey, Jr. (Paw Paw, Mich./Paw Paw) and Samuel Adjin (La Pocatiere, Quebec/Campus-Notre-Dame-de-Foy)) starting at right guard and right tackle, respectively.
» Eastern Michigan was unable to score in the first quarter at Michigan State, marking the third consecutive game the Eagles have been held scoreless in the opening frame. The last time it happened was over the final three games of the 2024 season that included games with Ohio (Nov. 23) on the road, Buffalo (Nov. 20) at home, and Western Michigan (Nov. 30) on the road.
Historical Notes
» With the loss, Eastern fell to 1-2 on the year while Michigan State improved to 2-0. Additionally, the Eagles fell to 38-117-8 in their first road game of the season.
» Eastern fell to 0-11-0 all-time in its series with Michigan State and 0-9-0 when playing in East Lansing.
» With the loss, Eastern fell to 3-42-0 all-time against the current 18 teams that make up the Big Ten Conference. The three wins have come against Illinois (2019), Purdue (2018), and Rutgers (2017).
» Eastern improved to 204-238-26 all-time against fellow teams from the Mitten State and 168-216-20 when counting two and four-year college/university teams.
Up Next
Eastern Michigan's tour of the Big Ten Conference concludes next week when the Eagles travel to Madison, Wis., to face the Wisconsin Badgers Saturday, Sept. 19, inside Camp Randall Stadium. The game, slated for a 12:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. CT) kick, will be streamed live on Peacock Tom Helmer and Rob Rubick will have the call on WEMU (89.1 FM), the Varsity Network app, and SiriusXM radio.
Players Mentioned
OL
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RB
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DL
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K
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QB
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DB
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LB
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LB
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DB
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DB
/ FootballTeam Stats
EMU
MSU
Total Yards
219
472
Pass Yards
118
214
Rushing Yards
101
258
Penalty Yards
12
32
1st Downs
13
24
3rd Downs
6
10
4th Downs
0
3
TOP
28:39
31:21
1st Quarter
EMU 0, MSU 7
MSU - Moore,Fredrick 18 yd pass from Milivojevic,Alessio (Boyd,Liam kick) 3 plays, 24 yards, TOP 00:27
2nd Quarter
EMU 0, MSU 14
MSU - Edwards,Cam 1 yd run (Boyd,Liam kick), 16 plays, 80 yards, TOP 07:19
EMU 7, MSU 14
EMU - Kim,Noah 4 yd run (Kessinger,Rudy kick), 13 plays, 78 yards, TOP 06:50
3rd Quarter
EMU 7, MSU 21
MSU - Edwards,Cam 2 yd run (Boyd,Liam kick), 13 plays, 75 yards, TOP 06:10
EMU 7, MSU 28
MSU - Taplin,Charles 38 yd pass from Milivojevic,Alessio (Boyd,Liam kick) 3 plays, 60 yards, TOP 01:22
4th Quarter
EMU 7, MSU 35
MSU - Patterson,Jaziun 7 yd run (Boyd,Liam kick), 3 plays, 53 yards, TOP 01:12
Game Leaders
CMP
16
TD
0
YDS
118
INT
0
Friday, September 11
Thursday, September 10
Monday, September 07
Saturday, September 05