Week One Game Preview: Western Michigan vs. Michigan State

The Michigan State Spartans football program begins its 2025 season on Friday night at Spartan Stadium when it hosts the Mid-American Conference’s Western Michigan Broncos. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Eastern Time and the game will be broadcast nationally on FS1.

The game is also the Spartans’ “Stripe The Stadium” game as even sections of Spartan Stadium will wear green and odd sections will wear white. If you are attending the game, dress accordingly.

Let’s dive into the matchup.

Game Info

Time: Friday, Aug. 29, 7:30 p.m. ET
TV Channel: FS1
Radio: Spartan Media Network | Affiliate Listings
Satellite: SiriusXM Ch. 83 | SiriusXM App
Location: Spartan Stadium (East Lansing, MI)
Weather: Temperatures will be the high 60s for most of Friday before dropping into the mid-50s throughout the course of the game. No precipitation, wind will be minimal.
BetMGM Line: Michigan State -20.5 | Total: 49.5

Tale of the Tape

Series History

Friday night’s matchup will mark the 18th matchup all time between Michigan State. The two programs have met regularly since the 2009 season, playing each other in 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2022. The Spartans have won 13-straight against the Broncos dating back to 1921.

Western Michigan’s only wins against Michigan State came in the second ever meeting in 1917, a 14-0 win, and in 1919, by a final score of 21-18.

Head Coach Matchup:

Stripe the Stadium Layout

Michigan State Injury Report

Notably, if Tarik Ahmetbasic is not available for the Spartans on Friday night, redshirt senior kicker Blake Sislo will handle the placekicking duties.

Western Michigan Notables

WMU to play two QBs: TheBroncos plan on playing two quarterbacks on Friday night, as both Broc Lowry and Brady Jones will see snaps. Lowry is in his second season with the program after completing 4-of-8 passing attempts last season for 21 years. He also spent one season at Indiana in 2023.

Jones, when he takes the field, will be making his FBS debut. The Murrieta, California native previously played two seasons at Riverside Community College in California where he threw for 4,456 yards and 44 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2024.

Cabana out for Broncos: Western Michigan will be without Michigan transfer Cole Cabana in the game. Cabana suffered an undisclosed injury in fall camp and while it won’t keep the Dexter, Michigan native out long term, it will keep him out at least for Friday’s matchup.

New defensive coordinator: The Broncos, after struggling mightily on defense in 2024, will have a new defensive play caller this season. Chris O’Leary takes the role over. He previously was with the Los Angeles Chargers in the NFL as their safeties coach, and spent six seasons at Notre Dame.

Major turnover in Kalamazoo: O’Leary is not the only new face in Kalamazoo, as the Broncos added six new coaches to their program in the offseason. The roster turnover was heavy as well, with 33 additions to the roster either from the transfer portal or JUCO ranks.

Overview

Michigan State opens its 2025 season on Friday night and looks to begin the second year of the Jonathan Smith era in strong fashion. The Spartans are coming off a 5-7 campaign in 2024 and will look to get back to bowl eligibility this season for the first time since 2021. This is important year for Smith to show progress and get MSU back on a winning trajectory.

Western Michigan is entering year three of the Lance Taylor era and is coming off a 6-7 season in 2024, which included a Salute to Veterans Bowl appearance. The Broncos, after being quite consistent from 2014 through 2020, have been up-and-down over the past four seasons. They’ll look to reach back-to-back bowl games his fall for the first time since the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Michigan State was always going to be heavily favored in this matchup, and is currently a 20.5-point favorite. There is a significant talent disparity between the two programs and while that doesn’t always result in wins on the field, when you add in the roster and coaching staff turnover this offseason, it’s hard to see Western Michigan being in a position to pull off the upset on Friday night. Of course, MSU also has a lot of new faces on the roster, and those players may take some time to adjust, but the Spartans should be too much to overcome in this one.

With Aidan Chiles returning at quarterback, Nick Marsh returning at wide receiver and Jack Velling returning at tight end, and several instant-impact transfers coming in at the wife receiver position, the passing game is expected to be a big strength for the Spartans in 2025. How much MSU needs to open up the playbook against Western Michigan is to be determined, but this team should have a lot of playmakers on the field.

With that in mind, Michigan State does have a tendency, historically, to start slow in season openers, so it will be interesting to see if that is the case again in 2025. Overall, this is a game that the Spartans should be able to put to bed before the final whistle. There may be some hiccups along the way, but expect Michigan State to win this one comfortably as they look to start year two of the Jonathan Smith era on the right foot.