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Michigan State Football vs. Rutgers Official Game Thread: Spartans Lose, 38-27

Michigan State Football vs. Rutgers Official Game Thread
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East Lansing, MI – Today, Spartan Nation watches the Michigan State football program kickoff the Mel Tucker era against Rutgers. 

Due to the pandemic, MSU will play all its games in empty stadiums; home or away, for the 2020 college football season. 

Earlier this week, a Michigan State spokesperson confirmed Sparty won't be in attendance nor will the marching band or cheerleaders. 

Playing without 75,005 loud Spartan fans is certainly odd for a team, yet, senior linebacker Antjuan Simmons is approaching it the same way he always does. 

However, with Big Ten football to watch, a certain amount of normalcy will return to many people's lives. 

Right now, there are more questions than answers concerning Michigan State's roster, including the quarterback position. 

Who will be the starter? 

During Tucker's weekly press conference, he said, "We won't be announcing the (starting) quarterback today." 

He also elected to avoid releasing a depth chart. 

Please make sure to continue refreshing your page for the latest scores, highlights, and information from Spartan Stadium, and don't forget to comment in the comment section below.

It's Game Day!

The Spartans are in the Building

A Message from Former Spartan Cornerback Trae Waynes

Update: A group of MSU players are seated in the first two rows of Spartan Stadium and are not dressed. 

Update: Rocky Lombardi, Theo Day, and Payton Thorne are all dressed and taking snaps with different centers. 

Update: Connor Heyward, Jalen Nailor, Tre Mosley, Anthony Williams Jr., and Jayden Reed are all out catching punts in warmups. 

Lombardi

First unit offense based on my observations during warmups:

QB Rocky Lombardi

RB Elijah Collins

WR Jalen Nailor

WR Jayden Reed

WR Tre Mosley

TE Trenton Gillison

LT AJ Arcuri

LG Blake Bueter 

C Matt Allen

RG Matt Carrick

RT Kevin Jarvis

Former Head Coach Mark Dantonio is Attending the Home Opener

Coin Toss: Michigan State won the toss and deferred to the second half. Rutgers will receive opening kickoff. 

Weekly Game Captains: Antjuan Simmons, Rocky Lombardi, and Matt Coghlin are today's captains. 

Scoring Update #1: Rutgers RB Isaih Pacheco rushes 12 yards into the end zone. PAT GOOD.

Scarlet Knights 7 MSU 0

11:19 left in the first quarter. 

Update: Michigan State came out on defense playing a 4-2-5 majority of the time. A lot of players rotating in and out.

Update: Rocky Lombardi is the starting quarterback for MSU. A bit of a surprise, but RB Connor Heyward gets the call over Elijah Collins. 

Turnover: Lombardi's pass to Jayden Reed was complete, however he fumbled and Rutgers recovered. 

Turnover: Lombardi gets hit as he throws and fumbles the ball near his own end zone. Rutgers takes over at the one-yard line. 

Penalty: Defensive pass interference against the Spartans. Brings up a Rutgers 1st and goal from the two-yard line. 

Scoring Update #2: Rutgers goes up 14-0 with a one yard run by Johnny Langan for the touchdown. PAT GOOD

6:57 left in the first quarter.  

Turnover: Michigan State goes for it on fourth-and-three; turnover on downs. Rutgers will take over at the 43-yard line. 

Update: Freshman running back Jordon Simmons is in the game. First carry goes for eight yards. 

Scoring Update #3: Lombardi's pass is complete to WR Jayden Reed for a 50-yard touchdown. PAT GOOD

Scarlet Knights 14 MSU 7

:23 left in the first quarter.

Turnover: Lombardi throws an interception to Rutgers defensive back Tre Avery. Rutgers takes over from the MSU 23-yard line. 

Scoring Update #4: Rutgers QB Noah Vedral runs it in for a 24-yard touchdown to give the Scarlet Knights a two score lead. 

Scarlet Knights 21 MSU 7

11:32 left in the first half. 

Penalty: Unsportsmanlike conduct on Rutgers, which brings the ball to the 24-yard line for MSU. 

Turnover: Rutgers rips the ball away from MSU wideout Jayden Reed. Scarlet Knights recover. 

Turnover: Michigan State Football at the Rutgers 30-yard line after QB Noah Vedral threw an interception to Spartan DB Shakur Brown. 

Scoring Update #5: Matt Coghlin's 45-yard field goal try is good. 

Scarlet Knights 21 MSU 10

3:13 left in the first half. 

Scoring Update #6: Isaih Pacheco takes runs it in for the three-yard touchdown. PAT GOOD

Scarlet Knights 28 MSU 10

:36 seconds left in the first half. 

Penalty: Illegal formation against Rutgers. Moves the ball up five yards.

Scoring Update #7: Matt Coghlin's 48-yard field goal is good. 

Scarlet Knights 28 MSU 13

Halftime Stats

Screen Shot 2020-10-24 at 1.40.18 PM

Update: Second half is underway. 

Turnover: MSU running back Jordon Simmons fumbled, and the Scarlet Knights recovered another loose ball. 

Turnover: Rutgers fumble following a punt by Michigan State. It was forced by LB Chase Kline and recovered by Antjuan Simmons. MSU ball. 

Scoring Update #8: Lombardi's pass to Jalen Nailor is complete for 30-yards and a touchdown. PAT GOOD

Scarlet Knights 28 MSU 20

6:30 left in the third quarter. 

Turnover: Drew Beesley forces a fumble and the Spartans recover. 

End of the third quarter. 

Score: Rutgers 28 MSU 20

Scoring Update #9: Guy Fava's 44-yard field goal is good. 

Rutgers 31 MSU 20

12:20 left in the fourth quarter. 

Turnover: Jalen Nailor muffs the punt, and Rutgers recovers in Spartan territory. 

Scoring Update #10: Noah Vedral's 14-yard pass to Shameen Jones is good for a touchdown. PAT GOOD. 

Rutgers 38 MSU 30

4:38 left in the fourth quarter. 

Scoring Update #11: Lombardi's four-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Reed is good. PAT GOOD

Rutgers 38 MSU 27

Final Score: Rutgers 38 MSU 27