Sep 2, 2022; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans wide receiver Keon Coleman (0) makes a first down in spite of Western Michigan Broncos safety Ryan Kilburg (32) at Spartan Stadium during their game against Western Michigan University. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images Dale Young-Imagn Images

Looking Back at the Last MSU-WMU Showdown

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Carter Landis | Last updated Aug 25, 2025 9:00 AM ET

The Michigan State Spartans begin the 2025 season by taking on the Western Michigan Broncos this Friday night.

MSU kicks off the season at home for the fourth straight season, looking to remain undefeated in openers at Spartan Stadium.

The Broncos have several questions about replacing talent, and the Spartans have a good chance of winning convincingly.

WMU has never beaten MSU in football, and Jonathan Smith and his team hope that continues later this week. These two teams last faced off in 2022, with the Spartans emerging victorious, 35-13.

However, the final score was not indicative of how tough a game it was for the Spartans. Let’s recap how MSU scraped by the Broncos and picked up a Week 1 W.

MSU 35, WMU 13

The Spartans were coming off an incredible season where they won 11 games and took home a New Year’s Six bowl trophy. They entered the season as the No. 15-ranked team in the country.

The team faced many questions about the season’s outlook, including how it would replace star running back Kenneth Walker III.

The early returns were not great, as the team struggled to produce much on the ground against the Broncos. Wisconsin transfer Jalen Berger did a solid job, but it was not the same as when Walker gashed Northwestern in the season opener the year before.

Quarterback Payton Thorne was not particularly sharp in the game despite throwing four touchdown passes. He only completed half of his passes for fewer than 10 yards per completion.

The Broncos got off to a 3-0 lead early in the game, but a Germie Bernard snag and run gave MSU the lead back.

An impressive Daniel Barker one-handed grab and a Keon Coleman basketball-esque touchdown pushed the Spartan lead to 21-3.

However, the offense started dragging for much of the second half, and the Broncos cut it to 8 late in the third quarter. The Spartans could not move the ball, and WMU was threatening.

However, two late touchdowns in the fourth quarter pushed the lead back up to 22, and MSU escaped with a victory that never felt like a three-score decision.

This MSU team is much different than that 2022 squad -- with the exception of linebacker Darius Snow, who faces the team he suffered his horrific injury against three years ago.

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