Tag: Michigan State

3 Keys to Victory for Oregon’s Friday matchup against Michigan State

The three most importants things for the Oregon Ducks to do against the Michigan State Spartans.

The Oregon Ducks play their first game against a legacy Big Ten team, the Michigan State Spartans, this week in Autzen Stadium. It’s the Ducks’ first home game in almost three weeks, and it comes eight days before Oregon will host Ohio State for one of the most anticipated games of the year.

Excluding Boise State, the Michigan State Spartans will be the toughest opponent Oregon has faced so far this season. Coming into the season, I expected the Spartans to be one of the worst teams in the conference, but they’ve had a great start to their season.

Coaching for Michigan State is Jonathan Smith, the head coach of the Oregon State Beavers until this season. Smith has never coached a team to a win in Autzen Stadium, and Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks will be looking to continue that trend on Friday night. My three keys to Oregon securing their fifth victory of the season are listed below.

Plenty of explosive plays

Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

For much of the Oregon Ducks’ existence, an explosive offense has defined Oregon football, but that hasn’t been exactly what we’ve seen this season. Besides the long Tez Johnson touchdown, Oregon didn’t have many explosive plays against UCLA. A slow, methodical offense isn’t a bad thing, but with Oregon’s offensive personnel, particularly at quarterback and wide receiver, I want to see the Ducks getting in over the top.

Develop a strong run game early

Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

Running the ball well is key in any game, but for Oregon, a team whose offense leans on the run game, it is paramount to their success. Michigan State has had a decent run defense to start the season, allowing just over 100 ground yards per game. If the Ducks can figure out a way to be more productive running the football than the average Michigan State opponent, it will open up a lot for their offense.

Generate some extra possessions

The Ducks defense is matched up with quarterback Aidan Chiles this week, and although Chiles has had a strong start to his sophomore year, he hasn’t done a good job protecting the football. Through five weeks, Chiles leads the Big Ten in interceptions with eight, so this week, I want to see the Ducks creating plenty of turnovers, just like they did last week against UCLA.

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Former Georgia Bulldog signs with the Chicago Bears

Former UGA, Michigan State cornerback has signed with the Chicago Bears’ practice squad

Former Georgia Bulldogs cornerback Ameer Speed, who transferred to Michigan State as a senior, has signed with the Chicago Bears practice squad.

Speed played in 13 NFL games as a rookie during the 2023 season and recorded nine total tackles. In 2023, Speed played with both the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts.

Speed played at Georgia from 2017 to 2021 during his college career. He recorded 25 tackles during his time with Georgia. Speed started at times at UGA, but he was usually not an every down player.

At Michigan State, Speed saw much more action. He recorded 62 total tackles in the 2022 season with the Spartans.

The New England Patriots drafted Speed with the 214th pick (sixth round) of the 2023 NFL draft.

Notre Dame hoops lands highest-rated recruit in internet rankings era

Ladies and gentlemen, we got him.

If there was any doubt about [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] and his staff to get top recruits to commit to Notre Dame, that officially can go away.

[autotag]Jalen Haralson[/autotag], a five-star forward and the top-rated player from Indiana in the 2025 recruiting class according to 247Sports, has committed to the Irish over other finalists Indiana and Michigan State. That makes him the highest-rated commit to the program since internet rankings began in 2000.

The previous high mark for Irish commits was JJ Starling, who transferred to Syracuse after one year after [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] departed. Since Haralson is Shrewsberry’s guy though, his chances of leaving South Bend are much lower, as least as long as Shrewsberry’s around.

Haralson is the second Indiana-based recruit to commit to the Irish this week after four-star forward [autotag]Brady Koehler[/autotag]. It fits perfectly with the vision of focusing on talent in the basketball-rich Hoosier State that Shrewsberry had when he took over.

If you missed the announcement live, here it is:

Irish fans understandably will get antsy waiting for over a year to pass before they get to see Haralson in an Irish uniform. For those who don’t live far from Notre Dame though, they can catch him during his senior season at La Lumiere in La Porte.

Here’s to this being the first of many memorable moments Haralson will provide for the Irish and their fans.

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Husker soccer falls big to No. 5 Michigan State

The Huskers fell to 3-5 on the season.

The Nebraska soccer team continued its five-game road trip by traveling to East Lansing Thursday night. The Huskers clashed with No. 5 Michigan State, and though they stood their ground in the first half, but the Spartans pulled away in the second half, resulting in Nebraska’s 4-1 defeat.

The Spartans finished with 15 shots and nine on goal, while Nebraska got eight total shots, with only two on goal.

Florence Belzile and Sadie Waite each pitched in a shot on goal for the Huskers, with Waite’s shot hitting the crossbar and crossing the line. Sarah Weber led the team with three shots, but none on goal.

The Spartans controlled the match, testing Huskers’ Cece Villa at the net throughout the night. Villa faced nine shots on goal in the loss, earning five saves but surrendering four goals.

Nebraska’s season record is 3-5. The will remain in Michigan as it heads to Ann Arbor to face the Wolverines. The match is set for noon on Sunday on B1G+.

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Notre Dame men’s golf wins Canadian Collegiate Invitational

Congrats, Irish!

The Notre Dame men’s golf team had to make up 11 shots on the last day of the Canadian Collegiate Invitational to win it. With skill and a bit of luck (no pun intended), the Irish were able to make the shots necessary to do just that. They shot 17-under-par over the three rounds for a final score of 847, five shots better than Missouri and Michigan.

The Irish, who were tied with the Wolverines in second to start the final round, shot 6-under during the final round at Oviinbyrd Golf Club in MacTier, Ontario, benefiting from the Tigers shooting a 10-over. The Irish tied with fifth-place Michigan State for the best score of the round.

All four Irish golfers included in the scoring shot under par in the last round. [autotag]Nate Stevens[/autotag] and [autotag]Rocco Salvitti[/autotag] shot 2-under, and [autotag]Jacob Modleski[/autotag] and [autotag]Mike Qiu[/autotag] were 1-under. Stevens had the best overall score for the Irish, tying for eighth with a 6-under 210.

The Irish’s next tournament will be the Windon Memorial Classic, hosted by Northwestern on Sept. 29 and 30.

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Michigan State football wide receiver named Big Ten Freshman of the Week

Michigan State football wide receiver named Big Ten Freshman of the Week

No surprises here. After a massive breakout game against Maryland, Michigan State football freshman wide receiver Nick Marsh was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week.

Marsh ended with eight catches for 194 yards and a touchdown in the win against the Terrapins, including a huge game tying touchdown reception from quarterback Aidan Chiles.

Marsh was a 4-star recruit out of River Rouge High School and the No. 107 ranked player in the country by 247Sports.

https://twitter.com/MSU_Football/status/1833206313003950081

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2026 Notre Dame interior offensive lineman target to visit campus

Hope the Irish can impress him enough.

Notre Dame has been a hotbed for offensive line talent in recent years. While there are concerns about that unit in 2024, the future always seems bright these days. Hopefully for the Irish, that future will include 2026 recruit Ben Nichols.

Nichols, Michigan’s No. 3 recruit in the 2026 class according to 247Sports, has received offers from 19 Football Bowl Subdivision programs. The Irish made their offer on St. Patrick’s Day this year. Now, he’ll be making a visit to campus when the Irish open their home schedule against Northern Illinois.

Nichols took to social media and expressed excitement about his upcoming trip to South Bend:

The Irish have some stiff competition to try and win Nichols’ services. Alabama made the most recent offer in late August. Others aiming for him include Purdue, Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State, Iowa, Penn State, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Illinois.

Good luck to the Irish in landing Nichols. They just might need it.

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Two Notre Dame assistants meet with top-rated 2026 recruit in Indiana

Will the Irish ultimately land his services?

[autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] came to Notre Dame with the promise of recruiting heavily within the state of Indiana. Recent recruiting activity by the Irish suggests they’re living up to that promise.

The top-rated Indiana recruit in the 2025 class, Jalen Haralson, will make his official visit to Notre Dame over the coming weekend. But even if the Irish don’t win his services, they have a backup plan.

Almost a year ago, the Irish made an offer to South Bend native Steven Reynolds III, who goes to Washington and is the top-rated Indiana recruit in the 2026 class according to 247Sports and On3. Perhaps because of the proximity, the Irish sent a pair of staffers to follow up with him Thursday:

https://twitter.com/jakeweingarten/status/1831807542244340168

Naturally, Reynolds has offers from multiple schools. Those include Michigan State, Nebraska, Purdue and IUPUI. The Irish need to take every advantage they can in their effort to land him. Hopefully in the end, Reynolds’ South Bend roots will win out.

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Top-rated 2025 Indiana recruit hypes official visit to Notre Dame

Will he pick the Irish?

Jalen Haralson is the top-rated 2025 recruit in the state of Indiana according to both 247Sports and On3. He played two years at Fishers before transferring to the prestigious La Lumiere. And he’s considering Notre Dame for his collegiate choice.

Haralson will make his official visit to Notre Dame on Saturday, the same day as the football team’s home opener against Northern Illinois. It will come exactly one weekend after he visited Indiana. Official visits to Michigan State, Missouri, Purdue and Kansas will follow.

Interestingly, all of Haralson’s official visits will come during home football games. It’s hard to tell how much, if at all, the football atmosphere will play a factor in his final decision.

In any case, Haralson is looking forward to visiting South Bend, and he indicated as much on social media:

There obviously is a long way to go before we know if Haralson picks the Irish. Until then, all we can is pray that he does.

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Former MSU football safety signs with Tennessee Titans

Former MSU safety signs with Tennessee Titans

Kendall Brooks spent 2021-22 patrolling the Michigan State defensive backfield. A division two transfer from North Greenville, Brooks had a surprisingly successful career in East Lansing. Now, Brooks is aiming to continue surprising in the National Football League.

The latest move for the former Spartan, who spent last season with the Arizona Cardinals practice squad,  is signing with the Tennessee Titans practice squad.

https://twitter.com/AaronWilson_NFL/status/1830609838415741177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1830609838415741177%7Ctwgr%5Ef0c3777ea2ee3fa42a05992dba30fe2159df5483%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftitanswire.usatoday.com%2F2024%2F09%2F02%2Ftennessee-titans-sign-kendall-brooks-practice-squad%2F

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