5 MSU Players To Watch During Rivalry Game at Michigan
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The biggest day on the Michigan State football calendar has arrived.
It's the Spartans against the Wolverines. It's MSU and Michigan. No additional introduction is necessary. Michigan State (2-6 overall, 0-5 Big Ten) has had a brutal 2026 season so far. Saturday's game (7:30 p.m. ET, Peacock) is really the last great opportunity to do something great.
MSU will need a few players to come up big to win. These are the five main players to keep an eye on at the Big House.
WR Fredrick Moore
There's one player on the Spartans' roster who has been on the other end of the rivalry before: that's starting wide receiver Fredrick Moore. He transferred to Michigan State this offseason following three total seasons with the Wolverines. Moore has 20 catches for 216 receiving yards and two touchdowns this season. He's started all eight games thus far, and this will be his first shot at his old team.
A big question is who will be delivering the football Moore's way. Starting quarterback Alessio Milivojevic has been listed as questionable to play against UM in the lead-up to Saturday, and backup Cam Fancher is out.
True freshman Kayd Coffman would likely start if Milivojevic cannot play. That was what MSU had to do two weeks ago at UCLA. Moore had just one catch for nine yards last time out against the Bruins.
TE Brennan Parachek
Injuries have had a huge impact on Michigan State's 2026 season. Tight end is the latest position group to get the injury bug, as top tight end Jayden Savoury was surprisingly listed as out on Wednesday's initial availability report. Savoury is tied for the team lead with 29 receptions and second with 271 receiving yards.
His absence makes Brennan Parachek the expected starter. He's played a good portion of the snaps this year, but Parachek hasn't been involved in the passing game nearly as much as Savoury has. The stats only show six catches for 62 yards for Parachek thus far.
There is also the chance that Kai Rios and Carson Gulker get more involved with Savoury out. Rios has four catches for 35 yards this year, though he's largely known as a blocking tight end. Gulker has four carries for nine yards and has completed one pass for 19 yards; he's largely a gadget player.
RB Kenneth Williams
Running backs have been particularly hit hard by injuries this season. Top running back Cam Edwards has long been out for the season with a knee injury he suffered against Nebraska. Second option Jaziun Patterson is set to miss his second consecutive game. RB3 Marvis Parrish is out this week with an injury he suffered early on at UCLA.
The next man up is Kenneth Williams. He came to East Lansing via the transfer portal from Nebraska largely to be the team's kickoff return specialist, but now he's the top running back the team has left. Williams recorded 54 yards on 17 carries against UCLA, scored a receiving touchdown, and lost one fumble.
DT Derrick Simmons
Michigan State also has to figure out what its defense looks like without nose tackle Ben Roberts. He got hurt on the first defensive snap of the game in Pasadena and later emerged from the locker room on crutches and a wheelchair.
Sophomore Derrick Simmons is his backup at that nose tackle or 2i-technique position. This rivalry is known for its physicality, and Simmons' play will be a major determining factor in the trenches. Saturday will be Simmons' first time playing in an MSU-Michigan game, but he should have a decent idea of what he's stepping into as a Frankenmuth, Mich., native.
EDGE Kenny Soares Jr.
The Spartans don't win this game if they don't get pressure from their defensive line, too. There is a chance both teams end up starting true freshman quarterbacks on Saturday night: Coffman for MSU and Tommy Carr for Michigan. It's true that pressure will affect any quarterback, but it's especially so when the opponent is very inexperienced.
Starting rush end Kenny Soares Jr. is the best option the Spartans have. His mere 1.0 sack is mildly disappointing, but PFF credits him with 24 pressures this season. That's the most on the team and a tie for eighth in the Big Ten.
Michigan State's defense got a minor victory with two recovered fumbles against UCLA, but the Spartans have still only intercepted two passes all year (Soares has one of them). It's on Soares to speed up Carr's internal clock, and maybe, just maybe, that leads to a mistake MSU can take advantage of.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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