This is the first version of this page with a football game in it. Everything below is established and safe to build on. Statistics are exact and may not be rounded, extended or supplemented. Where a page in this week’s pack made a claim that later pages should not contradict, it is written down here. Where the universe has not decided something, that is written down too, and the second half of this document is as load-bearing as the first.
Program Status · After Week 1
Record
1-0 overall, 0-0 Big Ten. One game played under this staff, ever.
The result
Michigan State 56, Grambling State 7. Home opener, Spartan Stadium, noon ET, Big Ten Network. First game of the Nick Mansour era.
By quarter
Michigan State 7 / 14 / 14 / 21. Grambling State 7 / 0 / 0 / 0.
This week’s game
Eastern Michigan at Michigan State. Home. The Eagles are 1-1: they beat Sacramento State and lost to San Jose State.
Poll position
Michigan State is unranked and is not among the teams receiving votes. That did not change after the win.
Awards
No Michigan State player won a national or Big Ten award for Week 1. A team scored 56 points and got nothing, because of the opponent. Do not invent one.
Availability
No injuries. No suspensions. No depth chart changes. The chart released before Week 1 is unchanged going into Week 2.
The week’s stated bar
Week 1 was “can we look normal.” Week 2 is a different nervousness: a second straight opponent nobody respects, with Notre Dame visible behind it.
The Game — Team StatisticsHard canon · exact
These numbers are fixed. Nothing may be added to them, and no statistic that is not listed here or in the individual table below exists.
Michigan State
618 total yards, 9.4 per play, 31 first downs, 7-of-10 on third down, 0 turnovers, 0 sacks allowed, 1 penalty in the entire game (a hold). 12.5 yards per pass attempt.
Grambling State
147 total yards, 5 first downs, 1-of-10 on third down, 7 punts, 3.3 yards per pass attempt.
The shape of it
Michigan State opened pass-heavy and scored fast. Then Grambling’s first possession: MSU stopped the option three times and got beaten twice by misdirection to the fullback, including a 30-yard rushing touchdown. MSU went three-and-out in its own territory immediately after. 7-7 at the end of the first quarter, and the crowd audibly reacted. Grambling did not record another first down for the rest of the game.
The correctionWhat changed
Michigan State had been loading the line, which left the second level empty, which is exactly what the misdirection attacked. They took a body off the line, put him back where he could see the football, and told the linebackers to stop triggering on the first thing they saw. It took roughly four minutes on the bench. Mansour has said publicly that Joe Rossi had most of it before he got there.
The other first-drive problem
Michigan State also got physically moved up front a couple of times, which is a separate problem from the alignment and is not to be folded into it. Mansour separated the two in public deliberately.
Early offensive error
Michigan State was too pass-heavy right after the opening touchdown, which produced the three-and-out. Corrected quickly.
Data correctionsDo not repeat the errors
The workbook’s yards-per-pass row was transposed: Michigan State is 12.5, Grambling is 3.3. Hannan’s long pass is 43, matching Braylon Collier’s long catch, not 41.
The Game — Individual LinesHard canon · exact
Cam EdwardsRB
16 carries, 147 yards, 9.1 per carry, 2 TD, long 33. The best player on the field by a distance.
Leo HannanQB, first career start
19-of-23, 250 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 82 percent, plus 6 carries for 24 yards. Long 43. Good pocket presence and decisions; picked up first downs with his legs.
Alessio MilivojevicQB, fourth quarter
4-of-5, 100 yards, 2 TD, against Grambling’s backups. Found Rowan Merlino on a five-yard drag with nobody near him and Merlino took it 54 yards to the end zone. Then an 18-yard strike to Eddie Whiting.
KK SmithWR
7 catches, 105 yards, plus 30 rushing. One drop. May be emerging as WR1; nothing official has changed.
Braylon CollierWR
4 catches, 66 yards, including the 43-yard deep ball on the opening drive, placed away from a defender playing vertical cushion.
Crishon McCrayWR
5 catches, 45 yards, 2 receiving TD, plus 5 punt returns for 78 yards. Also the fourth-and-goal catch that was reversed.
Brennan ParacheckTE
4 catches, 56 yards, with 40 yards after the catch.
Brandon TullisRB
5 carries, 32 yards, 2 TD.
Jordan HallLB
8 tackles, 2 TFL.
Brady PretzlaffLB
7 tackles, 3 TFL.
Chris PiwowarczykLB, first career start
4 tackles, 2 TFL.
Nikai MartinezSS
9 tackles.
Dejae WhiteLB
A sack, in garbage time.
Andrew Brinson IVCB
1 TFL, 2 pass breakups.
Michael RichardFS
2 pass breakups.
Liam BoydK
8-for-8 on extra points. No field goals attempted.
Rhys DakinP
One punt, 52 yards.
Offensive line grades
Ben Murawski rock solid in both phases, sealed edges for Edwards, made second-level blocks. Nick Sharpe mauling at the first and second level, one pressure allowed. Rustin Young up and down in the run game but mostly up, got off blocks into space. Luka Vincic did his job and not much more. Conner Moore good in both phases.
Coaching Decisions Now CanonFrom the game
The defense was not the 4-2-5Important
Against a run-heavy option team Michigan State played 3-4, 4-3 and even 5-2 fronts. It was far more multiple than anybody outside the building expected. Do not describe this defense as a straight 4-2-5 anymore. The 4-2-5 remains the advertised base; what the base actually is has not been established, because a plan built for the option is not a base plan.
Piwowarczyk startedOver Stodghill
Chris Piwowarczyk started over Cam Stodghill. A walk-on, shorter, stouter and stronger, swapped in for a lighter and quicker player specifically to handle the option. He was excellent: 4 tackles, 2 TFL. An old-school thumper. Mansour’s stated reasoning is that he is heavier and lower, and that Stodghill did nothing to lose anything. This is a matchup start, not a depth chart change. The chart is unchanged.
The fourth-and-goalFlashpoint, burned out
Ten seconds left in the half, fourth and goal from the two, after three straight failed runs: an H-back dive and two quarterback sneaks, none of them with Cam Edwards. Mansour called a pass. Crishon McCray made a contested catch in the end zone and the officials ruled the ball did not survive the ground. The stadium was furious. It did not end up mattering. Mansour has said the sequence, not the reversal, is the part he could not defend, and that he sent the play in for review on Monday and expects nothing from it.
The referee
The reversal was announced by referee Warren Tisdale on the Big Ten Network broadcast. The stated basis: the receiver was going to the ground and the ball came loose on contact with the ground before he established himself as a runner.
Milivojevic’s fourth quarter
Alessio Milivojevic came in with Grambling’s backups on the field and went 4-of-5 for 100 and two touchdowns. The Michigan State sideline came apart, twice. Mansour was shoved from behind and does not know by whom. It was a warm moment and every page in this archive treats it that way. Nobody makes Milivojevic relitigate the quarterback decision.
Operations held
Michigan State substituted cleanly all day on both sides, including on possessions that changed quickly. One penalty in the whole game. Mansour has named these as the two things he actually liked. His headset died on the second series and was replaced.
Roster Canon — What Changed and What Didn’t
Depth chart
Unchanged. The Week 1 official chart in the
Week 1 ledger remains the current chart in full. No promotions, no demotions, no new names.
Best player
RB Cam Edwards. Confirmed on the field rather than merely asserted.
Quarterback
Leo Hannan is the starter and there is no live competition. Milivojevic has no established package, series count or snap plan for Week 2.
Rustin Young at centerStill open
He played, the exchanges were clean, and none of the specific objections were tested by an FCS front. The experiment is not resolved and no page may declare it settled.
Interior offensive lineStill open
Zero sacks allowed and one team penalty is the best available first day. Luka Vincic gave up several pressures. Both are true.
Charles Brantley
Uncharacteristic day. Grambling completed two passes all game and both were big third downs where a receiver boxed him out for a contested catch. He was not targeted again.
Derrick Simmons
Sophomore DT, recent convert from EDGE, on the lighter side. Got moved off the ball repeatedly on the first drive and was a significant reason for the explosive plays. Mansour took a share of it publicly for having him in there on that drive.
Tre Bell
No statistical line. The multiple fronts meant the nickel was not on the field for many of the snaps his position change was argued about.
Jayden Savoury
No receiving line. Was part of the fourth-and-goal sequence on an H-back dive that got blown up. Still an FB/H-back and still not “the starting tight end.”
Recruiting — Real MovementThis week only
Recruiting stopped being offers-only this week. Visits are now real where listed here and nowhere else.
Carson CoakleyNo. 1 overall · five-star TE · Maryland
Named Michigan State in his top group. Official visit scheduled. MSU is in his top 3, with Alabama and Indiana. He is moving fast.
Jake LandingNo. 3 · CB · Missouri
Named Michigan State to his top group. Official scheduled. MSU is a long shot against Ole Miss, Indiana, Michigan and LSU.
Patrick PaulNo. 14 · CB
Cut Michigan State loose. He locked them out. Expected, and he thanked them on the way out. This is closed.
Sateki VaeaoNo. 33 · C · California
Michigan State is the leader. Heavy pursuit, gaining ground, against USC, Texas, Oregon, Florida and Notre Dame.
Devin JenningsCB · Ohio
Michigan State is the leader, gaining ground, with a wide-open field.
George DickinsonOT · Wisconsin
Michigan State is the leader. He likes them.
James ThomasQB · Flushing, Mich.
Michigan State is the leader. Heavy pursuit. Still considering everyone.
Marquise SoutherlandLB · Tampa
Named Michigan State a finalist, official scheduled, but MSU is a long shot against Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia and Florida.
Diego FajardoFS · Georgia
Named Michigan State in his top 5.
Josh IngoldEDGE · Minnesota
Michigan State is losing ground. Minnesota came out of nowhere.
Jeremiah StickEDGE · Arkansas
Michigan State dropped him. The staff did not want to keep spending on it. This is closed from the program’s side.
Everyone else
No news. That is normal and should be said plainly rather than dressed up.
Still forbidden
No commitments. No decommitments. No decision dates. No crystal balls. No predictions. No NIL figures. Three officials are scheduled: Coakley, Landing and Southerland. No visit has happened yet.
National Context — LockedWeek 2 poll
Notre Dame
Lost to unranked Wisconsin 38-10, a week after Miami beat them 42-6. Second straight loss. Out of the poll entirely. Michigan State plays at Notre Dame in Week 3.
Other results
Louisville 39, Ole Miss 17. Michigan 17, Western Michigan 9 — a MAC team took a top-15 Big Ten program to the wire, in this state, the same weekend. Florida 42, FAU 39, with FAU leading by multiple scores in the fourth in The Swamp.
New Top 25
1 Miami (up 5), 2 Ohio State, 3 Oregon, 4 Georgia, 5 Indiana, 6 Texas, 7 Texas A&M, 8 Oklahoma, 9 LSU, 10 BYU, 11 Alabama, 12 Michigan, 13 USC, 14 Louisville (up 10), 15 Texas Tech, 16 Penn State, 17 Iowa, 18 Ole Miss (down 9), 19 Utah, 20 Tennessee, 21 Houston, 22 Washington, 23 Florida, 24 Mizzou (new), 25 TCU (new).
Dropped out
Notre Dame and SMU. Others receiving votes: South Carolina, Notre Dame, Virginia, Auburn, Arizona, Oklahoma State, Tulane, SMU, Iowa.
Heisman watch
1 Jeremiah Smith (WR, Ohio State), 2 Julian Sayin (QB, Ohio State, up 2, threw six touchdowns), 3 Dante Moore (QB, Oregon, down 1), 4 Arch Manning (QB, Texas, down 1).
Players of the week
National offensive: John Mateer, QB, Oklahoma — 28-of-36, 323 passing, 2 passing TD, 22 carries, 203 rushing, 7 rushing touchdowns, a nine-touchdown game. National defensive: Adrian Maddox, S, Northwestern — 7 tackles, 2 interceptions, 2 pick sixes. Big Ten offensive: Nico Iamaleava, QB, UCLA. Big Ten defensive: Adrian Maddox.
Big Ten standings
Everyone is 1-0 except Illinois and Purdue, who are 0-1. USC is 2-0. Michigan State is 1-0 overall and 0-0 in the league.
Eastern Michigan — Opponent CanonProgram and roster only
The program
Eastern Michigan Eagles, 1-1. Beat Sacramento State, lost to San Jose State. MAC, in-state, about an hour down US-23 in Ypsilanti. Home game for Michigan State.
Chris CreightonHead coach
Long-tenured and widely respected. Over a decade at Eastern Michigan, and dragged a program that used to be a national punchline into bowl games. The opposite of a novelty hire. That contrast with Mansour writes itself and should not be overwritten.
Noah KimQB, No. 1, seventh-year grad student
He was Michigan State’s starting quarterback in 2023, during the Mel Tucker collapse. He left, went to Coastal Carolina, ended up at Eastern Michigan, and got an NCAA waiver for one more year. He is coming back to East Lansing to play against Michigan State. Nobody currently on the Michigan State staff was in the building when he was. He is not a villain, not a revenge story and not a sad case. He is a 24-ish-year-old who has kept playing football. The fan base supplies the feelings; he does not have to.
EMU offense
QB Noah Kim (Gr., captain). Backup QBs Brogan McCaughey and Jace Stuckey. RBs Joey Mattord (Sr., Hartland, Mich.), Malachi James, XaVior Tyus (Portage, Mich.), Braydon Bennett. WRs Benson Prosper (Sr., Hollywood, Fla.), Antonio Floyd (Jr., Atlanta), Mekhi Fox (Sr., Pasadena), Quinn Fracassi (Sr., Howell, Mich.).
EMU defense
DL Makhi Gilbert (Sr., captain), Carter Evans, Alijah Lacey, Peyton Christian. LB Zach Mowchan (Gr., captain), Barry Manning, Kadin Bailey. DB Bryce Llewellyn (Gr., captain), Davion Williams, Jason Marshall (Trenton, Mich.), Juan Salas.
Michigan kids
Mattord, Tyus, Fracassi and Marshall are from Michigan. In-state players Michigan State did not take. Real texture for the trust-repair thread, used once, in passing. Mansour’s public position: there are Michigan kids on every roster in the MAC and half the rosters in the Big Ten, and if this staff does the job for a few years some of them pick Michigan State instead.
Do not invent
No EMU statistics from their two games. No spread. No injuries. No quotes from Creighton or Kim. Program level and roster level only, plus ordinary preparation.
The trap undercurrent
Michigan needed a full afternoon to beat Western Michigan 17-9. It is a talking point, not a drumbeat: a handful of appearances across the whole pack, never the frame for the week. Week 1’s nerves were “are we broken.” Week 2’s are “are we going to be stupid.”
New Named People — Week 2First appearances
Everyone introduced across this week’s pack, with role. Do not reassign these names. Social handles are not catalogued here; they live on their own pages.
Gabe HollenbeckThe Broadcast
Big Ten Network play-by-play, 19th season. Called Michigan State 56, Grambling State 7.
Darnell PryceThe Broadcast
Big Ten Network analyst. Former defensive tackle, nine NFL seasons.
Simone RuizThe Broadcast
Big Ten Network sideline reporter. Addressed on air as “Simone.”
Warren TisdaleThe Broadcast
Referee. Announced the fourth-and-goal reversal.
Pete HannanThe Athletic
Leo Hannan’s father. Drove over from the west side of the state, section 22. Has watched his son play since he was nine. Says Mansour calls when there is nothing to call about.
Terry LovelessThe Athletic
Spent nine years as a personnel director in this conference and now consults for two teams outside it. Three people sent him Michigan State’s box score.
Marko MilivojevicFree Press
Alessio Milivojevic’s father. 54, works in commercial insurance. Drove in from Illinois on Friday.
Dina MilivojevicFree Press
Alessio Milivojevic’s mother. A school nurse. Section 15.
Bernadette PiwowarczykFree Press
Chris Piwowarczyk’s mother. 49, works in scheduling at a medical office in Grand Rapids. Found out about the start second, at a printer, at 4:40 on a Wednesday.
Terrance VaughtFree Press
46, supervises a warehouse in Holt, four seats in the south end since 2009. Described the first ten minutes as a physical feeling.
Julie TarnowskiFree Press
51, drives a school bus for Waverly, same two seats since her father died in 2011. Threw a cup after the fourth-and-goal reversal.
EdFree Press · first name only
Lou Dabrowski’s neighbor. Texted him at halftime with three exclamation points. Gets excited about carpet. No surname established.
Anna KuiperState News
Freshman from Grand Rapids. First game. Had never heard a stadium go silent.
Devonte FerrellState News
Sophomore from Southfield. Watches every snap and has opinions about all of them. Led with “it was Grambling.”
Grace VanderhoofState News
Second-year grad student. Has been coming to games since she was eight because her mother went here. Not doing the “well actually” thing this week.
Priya RamaswamyState News
Sophomore in kinesiology. Described the student section reaction to Milivojevic, most of whom did not know who he was.
Jaylen BristerState News
Junior in advertising, from Ann Arbor. His group had no plan afterward for the first time in three years.
Sam OcampoState News
Senior in supply chain, from Wyandotte. Came in with jokes loaded and did not use them.
Colton ReznikState News
Freshman from Traverse City. Not going this week, because of homework.
Radio callers100.9 The Mitt
Terry in Charlotte, Rick in Owosso, Denise in Haslett, Kyle in Jackson. One-offs, first names and towns only.
Eastern Michigan rosterNot invented
Every EMU name in the opponent section above appears in this universe for the first time this week. They are real-program roster names and are listed there rather than repeated here.
Open Threads — Carried Forward
Can a 28-year-old hold a Power Four locker roomLive · first evidence in
The sideline emptied for a backup quarterback and somebody shoved the head coach doing it. That is a locker room that likes each other, in a blowout, in September. It is not the test. The test is a bad month.
Hannan over MilivojevicLive
Hannan went 19-of-23 in his first start. Milivojevic went 4-of-5 for 100 and two scores against backups and has spoken publicly for the first time. There is no quarterback controversy and nobody in the pack manufactures one.
Interior offensive lineOpen
Zero sacks and one penalty against an FCS front. Vincic gave up several pressures. Nothing settled.
Rustin Young at centerOpen · untested
Clean exchanges, no nose tackle capable of running the argument. Next real evidence is short yardage, and there was almost none.
Michigan trust-repairOpen
Michigan State is now the leader for James Thomas of Flushing and has scheduled three officials. In-state coaches have not said anything new. Four Eastern Michigan skill players are from Michigan.
Whether the staff holdsOpen
The operating structure ran for three hours without a visible failure. Rossi had the first-drive fix before Mansour got to him, which Mansour said out loud. Rossi–Mansour friction remains private and unreported.
Does the sport keep watchingOpen
A 49-point win over an FCS team produced no award, no ranking and no national conclusion. The next two Saturdays decide whether anybody outside Michigan is still looking.
Notre Dame measuring stickBroken
The Irish are out of the poll after 38-10 to Wisconsin. Week 3 is now a game Michigan State will be expected to win, which is a kind of pressure this program has no practice at.
The recruiting board’s altitudeOpen, moving
Top-3 with the No. 1 player in the country, leading four recruitments, and two names gone. It is the fastest-moving thread in the universe and none of it can be graded before December.
What this defense isNew thread
Three different fronts in one game from a staff that advertised one. Whose defense it is has become a question people are asking out loud.
Whether they look past Eastern MichiganNew thread · this week
Second straight opponent nobody respects, with a wounded Notre Dame behind it, in a week when a MAC team took Michigan to the wire.
The Record is the in-universe continuity desk of this Michigan State dynasty simulation. Every person, quote and statistic on this page is invented for the CFB27 project.