2025 PSU at Michigan State

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General Game Information

PSU-MICHIGAN STATE FINAL GAME STATS LINK

PSU-MICHIGAN STATE GAME FLOW & SUMMARY LINK

• Game Ten of 2025 season—This is the 29th Land Grant Trophy Game which was first played in 1993. Penn State (3-6, 0-6) has won 4 of the last 5 meetings with Michigan State. This is the fourth road game (next-to-last) of the Big Ten season for PSU. The Spartans (3-6, 0-6) enter this game off their 2nd Bye Week. Michigan State has lost 6 in a row after a 3-0 start to the season and are winless in the Big Ten. Their last game was a Nov. 1 OT loss at Minnesota, 23-20. Current MSU Head Coach Jonathan Smith is in his second season with the Spartans. He had hinted at using 2 QBs in this game but will give Redshirt Freshman Alessio Milivojevic his second career start with Aiden Chiles out with an injured left foot.

• Last PSU Game: #2 Indiana 27 Penn State 24 (PSU’s 6th straight loss in 2025—5th season with a 6-game losing streak in PSU history along with 1913, 1931, 2003, & 2004)—3rd time that PSU has lost first 6 games of the Big Ten season (also 2003 & 2004)

• This week’s rankings: CFP Poll PSU #NR for 2nd straight week (Nov. 11 CFP Poll-#1 Ohio State, #2 Indiana, also #8 Oregon & #21 Iowa—PSU lost to all 4 in 2025) / AP Poll PSU #NR for 6th straight week (Nov. 9 AP Poll- #1 Ohio State, #2 Indiana, also #7 Oregon) / Coaches Poll PSU #NR for 5th straight week (Nov. 9 Coaches Poll-#1 Ohio State, #2 Indiana, also #6 Oregon)

• 39th meeting with Michigan State all-time: PSU leads the overall series 19-18-1. The first ever meeting with the Michigan Aggies, as they were known in that era, was in 1914 at New Beaver Field and was a 6-3 loss (the lone Lion points came on a 25-yard FG by Levi Lamb). Penn State’s first win over the Aggies came in 1925 at New Beaver Field, 13-6, when fullback Mike Michalske (a future Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer) ran for 2 touchdowns in a torrential rain. The lone tie was a 14-14 finish in State College in 1948 in the first meeting where both were ranked in the AP Top 20. The Nittany Lions were 1-8-1 in the ten games played prior to both being conference rivals (2 scheduled games in the 1940s were cancelled due to WWII issues). Penn State did not post a victory on the road at Michigan State until their 1993 debut in the Big Ten (PS had been 0-4 in East Lansing).

• Land Grant Trophy/Big Ten results: This is the 29th Land Grant Trophy Game. PSU leads this Big Ten conference series 18-10. The Nittany Lions won the first Trophy game in 1993, 38-37 in East Lansing, and also won the most recent one in 2023 in Detroit, 42-0. PSU is 7-7 in ALL road games in this series since joining the Big Ten.

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• 18th meeting with Michigan State at Spartan Stadium (opened in 1923 as College Field): PSU is 6-11 all-time in East Lansing (including 0-1 at Macklin Field & 0-2 at Macklin Stadium-prior names for Spartan Stadium—current name dates to 1957). PSU is 7-11 all-time on the road in this series including the 2023 neutral site game at Ford Field in Detroit which the Lions won 42-0. Penn State has not won at Spartan Stadium since 2019 (28-7)—The Nittany Lions lost their last game played in East Lansing in 2021 to the #12 Spartans, 30-27.

• Their last meeting in 2023: Penn State and Michigan State met in primetime on NBC-TV for the first time in a neutral location and the first time indoors (Ford Field in Detroit—home of the NFL Lions). It was also the first time they had ever met on the Friday following Thanksgiving, and it was PSU’s first “Black Friday” game since the 1982 win over #5 Pitt at Beaver Stadium in an AP Top 5 showdown that was won by #2 Penn State 19-10. The #11 Nittany Lions would roll up 596 yards in total offense including 303 yards on the ground in a 42-0 win over the Spartans. It was PSU’s third shutout of the season and second shutout of a Big Ten foe that year (31-0 over Iowa). Drew Allar passed for 292 yards and 2 TDs to Kaytron Allen and Theo Johnson. And Beau Pribula threw a TD pass to Tyler Warren. Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen both rushed for over 100 yards for the first time in the same game. Singleton carried 18 times for 118 yards and a 24-yard TD run (he also caught a 53-yard screen pass from Allar), and Kaytron rushed for a then-career high 137 yards on 15 carries which he would not surpass until the 2025 FIU game in which he rushed for 144 yards. It was PSU’s most lopsided win over the Spartans since 2002 when Larry Johnson ripped MSU for 279 yards in the first half of a 61-7 blowout win at Beaver Stadium. Michigan State was coached in the 2023 game by interim head coach Harlon Bennett. Bennett took over in week 3 after the firing of Mel Tucker amid accusations of sexual harassment. On Nov. 12, 2025, the NCAA Infractions Committee handed down “show cause” penalties to Tucker and 2 former assistants for Level 1 recruiting violations involving 3 players. MSU is now on 3-years’ probation and must also forfeit all wins in 2022, 2023, & 2024 seasons which ironically impacts current coach Jonathan Smith making him technically winless to this point in the Big Ten. (PSU does not gain any wins in this forfeiture).

• 5th 3:30pm ET kick for PSU in 2025. Nevada, Villanova, UCLA (12:30pm PDT), and Northwestern games all kicked at 3:30pm EDT—Game time announced Nov.3—TV Network announced on 6-day selection window on Nov. 9

• 3rd and final PSU game in the Venmo Big Ten Rivalry Series for 2025: Prior PSU games in this series of games includes Oregon (L in 2-OT) and Ohio State (L).

  TV Information

• CBS-TV (Paramount+ streaming) Gameday Announcers: Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson with sideline reporter Jenny Dell. Nessler & Danielson also called the 2025 season opening win over Nevada and the loss at UCLA. This is Danielson’s final season handling color analysis. The former Purdue QB began with ESPN in 1990 and joined CBS in 2006. Former Head Coach James Franklin presented Danielson with a commemorative PSU game ball on the day before the Nevada game. Nessler and Danielson called 4 PSU games for CBS during the 2024 season notably the Big Ten Championship loss to Oregon. The selection of CBS for this game came on Nov. 9 in the 6-day selection window.

• It is the 35th PSU game “officially” to appear on CBS-TV dating to 1966 (PSU Record on CBS: 22-12). Pre-Paterno era TV information is incomplete, but CBS has televised PSU football games dating back 70 years.

• Under the current TV contract that began in 2023, this is the 9th game on CBS (PSU Record: 6-2).

• Prior to 1966, CBS did telecast a number of PSU games notably the first ever live football game broadcast from State College, the 1955 season opener at New Beaver Field vs. Boston University (a 35-0 PSU win) which was aired regionally to a reportedly very limited group of stations in the East. CBS also later regionally televised the 1955 Penn State-Syracuse game from Beaver Field. A 21-20 PSU victory that featured legendary Hall of Fame running backs Lenny Moore and Jim Brown.

• This is the sixth game this season to be televised on a traditional TV Network—The Nevada & UCLA games were also on CBS, the Oregon game appeared on NBC, and both the Ohio State & Indiana games were on FOX Big Noon.