# 2024 Michigan State Spartans football team

The 2024 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Spartans played their home games at Spartan Stadium located in East Lansing, Michigan, and were led by first-year head coach Jonathan Smith.
Following the removal and eventual firing of head coach Mel Tucker after the first two games of the 2023 season following disclosures relating to alleged sexual harassment, defensive backs coach Harlon Barnett was named the interim coach and former head coach Mark Dantonio agreed to return as the team's associate head coach for the remainder of the season. On November 26, the school named Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith the team's new head coach for the 2024 season.
After beating the Prairie View A&M Panthers, Smith became the first Spartans head coach to start 3–0 in his debut season with the team since Mark Dantonio in 2007. Ultimately, however, the Spartans had a third consecutive bowl-ineligible season. This had not occurred since the 2004 through 2006 seasons. The Spartans would also lose to a first-year Michigan head coach for the first time since 1948.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 30 | 7:00 p.m. | Florida Atlantic* | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | BTN | W 16–10 | 70,271 |
| September 7 | 3:30 p.m. | at Maryland | SECU StadiumCollege Park, MD | BTN | W 27–24 | 34,819 |
| September 14 | 3:30 p.m. | Prairie View A&M* | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | BTN | W 40–0 | 70,066 |
| September 21 | 8:00 p.m. | at Boston College* | Alumni StadiumChestnut Hill, MA | ACCN | L 19–23 | 44,500 |
| September 28 | 7:30 p.m. | No. 3 Ohio State | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | Peacock | L 7–38 | 71,114 |
| October 4 | 9:00 p.m. | at No. 6 Oregon | Autzen StadiumEugene, OR | FOX | L 10–31 | 59,802 |
| October 19 | 7:30 p.m. | Iowa | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | NBC | W 32–20 | 69,682 |
| October 26 | 7:30 p.m. | at Michigan | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI (rivalry) | BTN | L 17–24 | 110,849 |
| November 2 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 13 Indiana | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI (rivalry) | Peacock | L 10–47 | 68,423 |
| November 16 | 2:30 p.m. | at Illinois | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | FS1 | L 16–38 | 52,660 |
| November 22 | 8:00 p.m. | Purdue | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | FOX | W 24–17 | 57,558 |
| November 30 | 3:30 p.m. | Rutgers | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | FS1 | L 14–41 | 50,038 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll - Released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern timeSource: |||||||

## Game summaries
### vs Florida Atlantic

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| MSU -13 | 44.5 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Owls | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Spartans | 2 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan
* Date: August 30
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: 84 °F (29 °C), Wind: 6 mph W, Cloudy
* Game attendance: 70,271
* Referee: Bryan Banks
* TV announcers (BTN): Jason Ross Jr. (play-by-play) and Brock Vereen (analyst)
| Statistics | FAU | MSU |
| First downs | 19 | 15 |
| Plays–yards | 72–248 | 61–293 |
| Rushes–yards | 47–132 | 35–179 |
| Passing yards | 116 | 114 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 12–25–2 | 10–24–2 |
| Time of possession | 29:19 | 30:41 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Florida Atlantic | Passing | Cam Fancher | 12/25, 116 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT |
| Florida Atlantic | Rushing | Cam Fancher | 25 carries, 67 yards |
| Florida Atlantic | Receiving | Omari Hayes | 5 receptions, 74 yards |
| Michigan State | Passing | Aidan Chiles | 10/24, 114 yards, 2 INT |
| Michigan State | Rushing | Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams | 9 carries, 101 yards, 1 TD |
| Michigan State | Receiving | Michael Masunas | 2 receptions, 29 yards |

### at Maryland

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| UMD -8.5 | 44.5 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Spartans | 7 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 27 |
| Terrapins | 14 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
at SECU Stadium • College Park, Maryland
* Date: September 7
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT/12:30 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C), Wind: 8 mph NW, Cloudy
* Game attendance: 34,819
* Referee: Jerry McGinn
* TV announcers (BTN): Jason Ross Jr. (play-by-play), Anthony Herron (analyst), and Kylen Mills (sideline)
| Statistics | MSU | MD |
| First downs | 26 | 21 |
| Plays–yards | 67–493 | 65–339 |
| Rushes–yards | 30–129 | 31–86 |
| Passing yards | 357 | 264 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 24–39–3 | 26–34–1 |
| Time of possession | 27:31 | 32:29 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Michigan State | Passing | Aidan Chiles | 24/39, 363 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT |
| Michigan State | Rushing | Nathan Carter | 11 carries, 59 yards |
| Michigan State | Receiving | Nick Marsh | 8 receptions, 194 yards, 1 TD |
| Maryland | Passing | Billy Edwards Jr. | 26/34, 253 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT |
| Maryland | Rushing | Roman Hemby | 12 carries, 35 yards |
| Maryland | Receiving | Tai Felton | 11 receptions, 152 yards, 1 TD |

### vs Prairie View A&M

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| MSU -42.5 | 52 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Panthers (FCS) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Spartans | 14 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 40 |
at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan
* Date: September 14
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT/12:30 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: 84 °F (29 °C), Wind: 8 mph W, Sunny
* Game attendance: 70,066
* Referee: Jason Nickleby
* TV announcers (BTN): Mark Followill (play-by-play), Anthony Herron (analyst), and Dannie Rogers (sideline)
| Statistics | PV | MSU |
| First downs | 10 | 22 |
| Plays–yards | 44–140 | 63–458 |
| Rushes–yards | 27–17 | 34–188 |
| Passing yards | 123 | 270 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 9–17–1 | 20–29–0 |
| Time of possession | 26:03 | 33:57 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Prairie View A&M | Passing | Scooter Adams | 9/17, 123 yards, 1 INT |
| Prairie View A&M | Rushing | Scooter Adams | 5 carries, 24 yards |
| Prairie View A&M | Receiving | Tre'Jon Spiller | 7 receptions, 91 yards |
| Michigan State | Passing | Aidan Chiles | 12/19, 173 yards, 1 TD |
| Michigan State | Rushing | Nathan Carter | 8 carries, 91 yards, 1 TD |
| Michigan State | Receiving | Aziah Johnson | 2 receptions, 50 yards, 1 TD |

### at Boston College

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| BC -5 | 45.5 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Spartans | 3 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 19 |
| Eagles | 0 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 23 |
at Alumni Stadium • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
* Date: September 21
* Game time: 8:00 p.m. EDT/5:00 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C), Rainy
* Game attendance: 44,500
* Referee: Mark Kluczynski
* TV announcers (ACCN): Wes Durham (play-by-play), Tom Luginbill (analyst), and Dana Boyle (sideline)
| Statistics | MSU | BC |
| First downs | 21 | 16 |
| Plays–yards | 68–368 | 60–292 |
| Rushes–yards | 33–127 | 44–152 |
| Passing yards | 241 | 140 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 17–35–3 | 10–16–0 |
| Time of possession | 32:30 | 27:30 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Michigan State | Passing | Aidan Chiles | 17/35, 241 yards, 3 INT |
| Michigan State | Rushing | Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams | 15 carries, 61 yards |
| Michigan State | Receiving | Montorie Foster | 4 receptions, 87 yards |
| Boston College | Passing | Thomas Castellanos | 10/16, 140 yards, 1 TD |
| Boston College | Rushing | Treshaun Ward | 14 carries, 102 yards, 1 TD |
| Boston College | Receiving | Lewis Bond | 6 receptions, 102 yards, 1 TD |

### vs No. 3 Ohio State

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| OSU -23.5 | 48 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 3 Buckeyes | 3 | 21 | 14 | 0 | 38 |
| Spartans | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan
* Date: September 28
* Game time: 7:30 p.m. EDT/4:30 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C), Wind: 9 mph NE, Cloudy
* Game attendance: 71,114
* Referee: Kole Knueppel
* TV announcers (Peacock): Andrew Siciliano (play-by-play), Colt McCoy (analyst), and Lewis Johnson (sideline)
| Statistics | OSU | MSU |
| First downs | 23 | 13 |
| Plays–yards | 75–483 | 51–246 |
| Rushes–yards | 35–185 | 26–47 |
| Passing yards | 289 | 199 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 26–40–1 | 16–25–1 |
| Time of possession | 35:43 | 24:17 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Ohio State | Passing | Will Howard | 21/31, 244 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT |
| Ohio State | Rushing | TreVeyon Henderson | 7 carries, 69 yards |
| Ohio State | Receiving | Emeka Egbuka | 7 receptions, 96 yards, 1 TD |
| Michigan State | Passing | Aidan Chiles | 13/19, 167 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Michigan State | Rushing | Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams | 9 carries, 35 yards |
| Michigan State | Receiving | Jaron Glover | 4 receptions, 53 yards, 1 TD |

### at No. 6 Oregon

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| UO -22.5 | 52.5 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Spartans | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| No. 6 Ducks | 7 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 31 |
at Autzen Stadium • Eugene, Oregon
* Date: October 4
* Game time: 9:00 p.m. EDT/6:00 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C), Wind: 6 mph NE, Sunny
* Game attendance: 59,802
* Referee: Bryan Banks
* TV announcers (FOX): Jason Benetti (play-by-play), Brock Huard (analyst), and Allison Williams (sideline)
| Statistics | MSU | ORE |
| First downs | 16 | 25 |
| Plays–yards | 52–250 | 71–477 |
| Rushes–yards | 30–59 | 37–213 |
| Passing yards | 191 | 264 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 15–22–0 | 21–34–2 |
| Time of possession | 29:02 | 30:58 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Michigan State | Passing | Aidan Chiles | 10/17, 154 yards |
| Michigan State | Rushing | Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams | 9 carries, 32 yards, TD |
| Michigan State | Receiving | Nick Marsh | 3 receptions, 58 yards |
| Oregon | Passing | Dillon Gabriel | 20/32, 257 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT |
| Oregon | Rushing | Jordan James | 24 carries, 166 yards, TD |
| Oregon | Receiving | Tez Johnson | 10 receptions, 84 yards, TD |

### vs Iowa

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| IOW -6.5 | 39.5 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hawkeyes | 0 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 20 |
| Spartans | 6 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 32 |
at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan
* Date: October 19
* Game time: 7:30 p.m. EDT/4:30 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C), Wind: 4 mph SW, Clear
* Game attendance: 69,682
* Referee: Ron Snodgrass
* TV announcers (NBC): Noah Eagle (play-by-play), Todd Blackledge (analyst), and Kathryn Tappen (sideline)
| Statistics | IOWA | MSU |
| First downs | 12 | 27 |
| Plays–yards | 46–283 | 70–468 |
| Rushes–yards | 23–133 | 40–212 |
| Passing yards | 150 | 256 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 11–23–1 | 22–30–1 |
| Time of possession | 20:16 | 39:44 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Iowa | Passing | Cade McNamara | 11/23, 150 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Iowa | Rushing | Kaleb Johnson | 14 carries, 98 yards, 1 TD |
| Iowa | Receiving | Kaleb Johnson | 4 receptions, 49 yards |
| Michigan State | Passing | Aidan Chiles | 22/30, 256 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Michigan State | Rushing | Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams | 15 carries, 86 yards |
| Michigan State | Receiving | Nick Marsh | 8 receptions, 113 yards |

### at Michigan (rivalry)

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| UM -3.5 | 39 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Spartans | 7 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
| Wolverines | 0 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 24 |
at Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan
* Date: October 26
* Game time: 7:30 p.m. EDT/4:30 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C), Wind: 5 mph N, Clear
* Game attendance: 110,849
* Referee: Larry Smith
* TV announcers (BTN): Jeff Levering (play-by-play), Jake Butt (analyst), and Brooke Fletcher (sideline)
| Statistics | MSU | MICH |
| First downs | 18 | 17 |
| Plays–yards | 65–352 | 51–265 |
| Rushes–yards | 42–163 | 31–119 |
| Passing yards | 189 | 265 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 17–23–0 | 14–20–0 |
| Time of possession | 37:05 | 22:55 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Michigan State | Passing | Aidan Chiles | 17/23, 189 yards, 1 TD |
| Michigan State | Rushing | Nate Carter | 19 carries, 118 yards, 1 TD |
| Michigan State | Receiving | Nate Carter | 2 receptions, 56 yards |
| Michigan | Passing | Davis Warren | 13/19, 123 yards, 1 TD |
| Michigan | Rushing | Alex Orji | 6 carries, 64 yards, 1 TD |
| Michigan | Receiving | Colston Loveland | 6 receptions, 67 yards, 2 TD |

### vs No. 13 Indiana (rivalry)

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| IND -7.5 | 53.5 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 13 Hoosiers | 0 | 21 | 12 | 14 | 47 |
| Spartans | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan
* Date: November 2
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT/12:30 p.m. PDT.
* Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C),Sunny
* Game attendance: 68,423
* Referee: Mark Kluczynski
* TV announcers (Peacock): Paul Burmeister (play-by-play), Colt McCoy (analyst), and Zora Stephenson (sideline)
| Statistics | IU | MSU |
| First downs | 20 | 15 |
| Plays–yards | 61–385 | 63–193 |
| Rushes–yards | 32–122 | 31– -36 |
| Passing yards | 263 | 229 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 19–29–0 | 20–32–2 |
| Time of possession | 29:34 | 30:26 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Indiana | Passing | Kurtis Rourke | 19/29, 263 yards, 4 TD |
| Indiana | Rushing | Justice Ellison | 9 carries, 32 yards |
| Indiana | Receiving | Ke'Shawn Williams | 6 receptions, 86 yards |
| Michigan State | Passing | Aidan Chiles | 16/24, 193 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT |
| Michigan State | Rushing | Alante Brown | 2 carries, 16 yards |
| Michigan State | Receiving | Nick Marsh | 5 receptions, 78 yards, 1 TD |

### at Illinois

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| ILL -1.5 | 47.5 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Spartans | 6 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 16 |
| Fighting Illini | 14 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 38 |
at Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois
* Date: November 16
* Game time: 2:30 p.m. EST/11:30 a.m. PST
* Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C), Wind: 13 mph SE, Cloudy
* Game attendance: 52,660
* Referee: Chris Coyte
* TV announcers (FS1): Alex Faust (play-by-play) and Robert Smith (analyst)
| Statistics | MSU | ILL |
| First downs | 18 | 18 |
| Plays–yards | 68–343 | 63–369 |
| Rushes–yards | 28–87 | 31–138 |
| Passing yards | 256 | 231 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 23–40–0 | 19–32–0 |
| Time of possession | 28:32 | 31:28 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Michigan State | Passing | Aidan Chiles | 23/40, 256 yards, 2 TD |
| Michigan State | Rushing | Aidan Chiles | 12 carries, 40 yards |
| Michigan State | Receiving | Montorie Foster JR. | 6 receptions, 76 yards |
| Illinois | Passing | Luke Altmyer | 19/32, 231 yards, 2 TD |
| Illinois | Rushing | Josh McCray | 9 carries, 61 yards, 3 TD |
| Illinois | Receiving | Pat Bryant | 4 receptions, 135 yards, 1 TD |

### vs Purdue

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| MSU -14 | 48.5 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Boilermakers | 3 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| Spartans | 7 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan
* Date: November 22
* Game time: 8:00 p.m. EST/5:00 p.m. PST
* Game weather: 43 °F (6 °C), Wind: 15 mph NW, Cloudy
* Game attendance: 57,558
* Referee: Kole Knueppel
* TV announcers (FOX): Connor Onion (play-by-play) and Mark Helfrich (analyst)
| Statistics | PUR | MSU |
| First downs | 19 | 22 |
| Plays–yards | 66–338 | 69–293 |
| Rushes–yards | 19– -4 | 38–134 |
| Passing yards | 342 | 159 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 26–47–1 | 15–31–0 |
| Time of possession | 27:41 | 32:19 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Purdue | Passing | Hudson Card | 26/47, 342 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Purdue | Rushing | Devin Mockobee | 9 carries, 14 yards, 1 TD |
| Purdue | Receiving | Jahmal Edrine | 5 receptions, 87 yards |
| Michigan State | Passing | Aidan Chiles | 15/31, 159 yards, 2 TD |
| Michigan State | Rushing | Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams | 18 carries, 85 yards |
| Michigan State | Receiving | Montorie Foster Jr. | 4 receptions, 59 yards, 1 TD |

### vs Rutgers

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| MSU -1.5 | 47 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Scarlet Knights | 10 | 13 | 8 | 10 | 41 |
| Spartans | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan
* Date: November 30
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. EST/12:30 p.m. PST
* Game weather: 24 °F (−4 °C), Wind: 11 mph W, Snow
* Game attendance: 50,038
* Referee: Tim O'Dey
* TV announcers (FS1): Dan Hellie and Petros Papadakis
| Statistics | RUTG | MSU |
| First downs | 24 | 13 |
| Plays–yards | 70–365 | 48–253 |
| Rushes–yards | 48–208 | 24–103 |
| Passing yards | 157 | 150 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 13–22–0 | 13–24–1 |
| Time of possession | 35:08 | 24:52 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Rutgers | Passing | Athan Kaliakmanis | 13/22, 157 yards, TD |
| Rutgers | Rushing | Kyle Monangai | 31 carries, 129 yards, TD |
| Rutgers | Receiving | Ian Strong | 5 receptions, 63 yards, TD |
| Michigan State | Passing | Aidan Chiles | 13/23, 150 yards, TD |
| Michigan State | Rushing | Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams | 9 carries, 69 yards |
| Michigan State | Receiving | Jack Velling | 5 receptions, 77 yards, TD |

## Personnel
### Coaching staff

| Name | Position | Season |
| Jonathan Smith | Head Coach | 1st |
| Keith Bhonapa | Assistant Head Coach/Co-Special Teams Coordinator/Running Backs | 1st |
| Brian Lindgren | Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach | 1st |
| Joe Rossi | Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach | 1st |
| Jim Chialczik | Offensive Line Coach/Run Game Coordinator | 1st |
| Blue Adams | Secondary Coach | 1st |
| Courtney Hawkins | Wide Receivers Coach | 5th |
| Demetrice Martin | Cornerbacks Coach | 1st |
| Legi Suiaunoa | Defensive Line Coach | 1st |
| Chad Wilt | Co-Special Teams Coordinator/Rush Ends Coach | 1st |
| Brian Wozniak | Tight Ends Coach/Recruiting Coordinator | 1st |