Michigan State leaned on Kenneth Walker III a lot during its turnaround season, handing him the ball 22 times a game with much success.
This spring, and in the fall, someone else will need to run the ball for the Spartans because Walker skipped his senior season to enter the NFL draft.
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan state receiver and kick returner Jayden Reed is returning to play for the Spartans in 2022.
Reed announced his decision Tuesday on social media.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Mitchell Fineran kicked a 39-yard field goal in overtime and Purdue finished off its best season since 2003 by overcoming a 14-point deficit and beating Tennessee 48-45 on Thursday in a record-setting Music City Bowl.
ATLANTA (AP) — Michigan State capped its turnaround from from a two-win season with a fourth-quarter comeback in the Peach Bowl.
Payton Thorne’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Reed gave No.
ATLANTA (AP) — Michigan State's last-ranked pass defense can't relax in the Peach Bowl just because Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett isn't playing.
The No. 11 Spartans (10-2) still have to worry about Jordan Addison, the Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation's top wide receiver, when they face No.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Peach Bowl will go on without Kenneth Walker and Kenny Pickett.
Walker, an All-America running back at Michigan State, and Pickett, a record-setting quarterback for Pittsburgh, both announced Thursday they are skipping the bowl game to focus on the NFL draft.
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State coach Mel Tucker said Monday he was uncertain whether All-America running back Kenneth Walker will play for 11th-ranked Spartans against No.
Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is The Associated Press college football player of the year, giving the Crimson Tide their second consecutive winner.
ATLANTA (AP) — Former Georgia Tech player Travares Tillman is returning to his alma mater to oversee the Yellow Jackets’ pass defense and work with defensive backs, coach Geoff Collins announced Tuesday.
Michigan State's Kenneth Walker III and Ohio State's C.J. Stroud are The Associated Press Big Ten co-offensive players of the year, and the Spartans' Mel Tucker edged out Michigan's Jim Harbaugh for coach of the year.
ATLANTA (AP) — No. 13 Pittsburgh (11-2, Atlantic Coast Conference) vs. No. 11 Michigan State (10-2, Big Ten), Dec. 30, 7 p.m. ET
ATLANTA (AP) — A milestone season for Pittsburgh and quarterback Kenny Pickett is continuing with a Peach Bowl matchup against Michigan State.
No. 13 Pitt’s reward for its first Atlantic Coast Conference championship is the Panthers' first New Year’s Six bowl since 2004 in the Dec.
Rocky Lombardi was looking for a new place to play football after deciding to transfer from Michigan State nearly a year ago.
Northern Illinois, meanwhile, was searching for a quarterback to spark a turnaround.
ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) — The Big Ten announced Tuesday that Michigan's Aidan Hutchinson is its defensive player of the year and Michigan State's Mel Tucker is the coach of the year.
Hutchinson leads the conference and is third nationally with 13 sacks, including three in the win over Ohio State last week.
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State was unfazed by injuries, illness, snowy conditions and an embarrassing loss the previous week.
The Spartans put all that behind them and finished the regular season on a high note.
Penn State (7-4, 4-4 Big Ten) at No. 12 Michigan State (9-2, 6-2, No. 12 CFP), Saturday at 3:30 EST (ABC).
Line: Penn State by 1 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Michigan State quarterback Payton Thorne relived his team’s outing at Ohio State three times on film. The team’s nightmarish performance will be hard to forget.
“It was tough to watch and see the things that happened,” he said of the 56-7 road loss to the Buckeyes.
Michigan State is giving Mel Tucker a $95 million, 10-year contract, making an aggressive move to keep a football coach who potentially could have left for LSU or the NFL.
“I am honored to be a part of the Spartan process today, and for years to come," Tucker wrote Wednesday in a post on Twitter.
It took 12 weeks of regular-season play to have a turnover-free AP Top 25.
For the first time in 2021 all the teams that were ranked in The Associated Press college football poll presented by Regions Bank last week stayed ranked this week.
The superpowers asserted themselves over the upstarts Saturday.
In a season that has been dotted with upsets and surprises, the most talented teams are rising to the top.
STARS
—C.J. Stroud, Ohio State, threw for 432 yards and six TDs as No. 5 Ohio State blew out No. 7 Michigan State 56-7
—Bryce Young, Alabama, passed for a school-record 559 yards and five TDs, and the No.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — C.J. Stroud lit up No. 7 Michigan State early and gave his coach the rare luxury of being able to let his mind wander to next week’s showdown with Michigan.
Stroud tied a school record with six touchdown passes -- all in the first half -- as No.
No. 7 Michigan State (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten, No. 7 CFP) at No. 4 Ohio State (9-1, 7-0, No. 4), Saturday at noon EST (FOX).
Line: Ohio State by 19 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — When Mel Tucker took the coaching job at Michigan State, he promised his players they would play for championships.
The second-year coach has the Spartans knocking at the door already.
Georgia, Alabama, Oregon and Ohio State held their places in the College Football Playoff ranking Tuesday, with Cincinnati still sitting at fifth.
There was no movement in the selection committee's top seven after all those teams won last week.
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Payton Thorne, Jayden Reed, and Kenneth Walker combined to put together another explosive performance.
Next week, the trio will need to be even better and their teammates on defense will have to be at their best.
Maryland (5-4, 2-4 Big Ten) at No. 8 Michigan State (8-1, 5-1, No. 7 CFP), Saturday at 4 p.m. EST (FOX).
Line: Michigan State by 12 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Coach Mel Tucker attributed Michigan State's first loss this season to “death by inches.” Another defeat could kill Michigan State’s dreams of a Big Ten championship.
Coming off an exhilarating victory over rival Michigan, the Spartans unraveled defensively in a 40-29 loss at Purdue last weekend.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Hassan Haskins had to carry a heavier burden in the backfield because Blake Corum was injured. He delivered.
When the first College Football Playoff rankings come out, it is tempting to play What if?
What if this team wins out? What if that team remains unbeaten? What would the CFP field look like then?
STARS
—Ty Chandler, North Carolina, ran for career highs of 213 yards and four TDs to help the Tar Heels overcome an 18-point deficit to beat No. 10 Wake Forest 58-55.
—Roshaun Johnson, Idaho, scored a school-record six TDs and ran for 174 yards in a 42-24 win over Southern Utah.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Purdue coach Jeff Brohm already had a reputation for running trick plays — and for leading his unranked team to upsets of top-5 opponents.
Indiana (2-6, 0-5 Big Ten) at No. 9 Michigan (7-1, 4-1, No. 7 CFP), Saturday at 7:30 p.m. EDT (Fox).
Line: Michigan by 19 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
No. 5 Michigan State (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten, No. 3 CFP) at Purdue (5-3, 3-2), Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EDT (ABC).
Line: Michigan State by 2 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Michigan State might be fortunate not to be ranked No. 2.
Coming off a big win against Michigan, the fifth-ranked Spartans are heading to Purdue, a program with a long history of being one of the college football's most prolific giant killers.
Georgia, Alabama, Michigan State and Oregon will start the College Football Playoff race in prime position at the top of the selection committee's rankings.
Unbeaten Cincinnati is going to need some help to make history as the first team from outside the Power Five conferences to reach college football's final four.
With four weeks to go in conference play, the Big Ten's three highest-ranked teams remain in pursuit of a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Never in the seven-year history of the College Football Playoff has the selection committee's first top four teams exactly matched that of the AP Top 25 that directly preceded it.
The latest Associated Press college football poll presented by Regions Bank makes it highly unlikely this year will be the first.
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — No. 5 Michigan State has a lot of momentum following its thrilling comeback win over its in-state rival, giving one of college football’s surprising teams a shot to win a Big Ten Conference title and perhaps contend for a national championship.
Michigan State moved up to No. 5 in The Associated Press college football poll and Wake Forest became a top-10 team on Sunday for the first time in school history.
Georgia is a unanimous No. 1 for the fourth straight week in the AP Top 25 presented by Regions Bank.
Now it's time to talk about Jim Harbaugh.
There has not been much discussion about college football's most scrutinized coach as Michigan ran out to a 7-0 start.
With Harbaugh, the failures are all that seem to matter.
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Kenneth Walker ran for 197 yards and five touchdowns, helping No. 8 Michigan State top No. 6 Michigan 37-33 in a thrilling comeback victory Saturday.
The Spartans (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) trailed by nine at halftime and 30-14 with 6:47 left in the third quarter before Walker boosted his chances of winning the Heisman Trophy.