CHEROKEE, N.C. (AP) — Rashunda Jones scored eight of her 13 points in a decisive third quarter, Grace VanSlooten finished with a double-double, and No. 24 Michigan State beat No. 15 Mississippi 66-49 on Monday night in the Cherokee Invitational title game.

Michigan State led 26-20 at the break and scored the first four points of the third quarter. Ole Miss cut the deficit to 30-25, but the Spartans closed on a 17-7 run for a 49-32 advantage heading into the final quarter. Jones hit a pair of 3s and Kennedy Blair scored all of her seven points in the third quarter for the Spartans, who shot 69% (9 of 13) in the period.

VanSlooten finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. Isaline Alexander added 12 points for Michigan State (11-1).

Cotie McMahon scored 13 points to lead led Ole Miss (12-2), which shot 33% (17 of 51) overall and missed 15 of its 17 shots from long range.

Michigan State routed Indiana State 115-66 and Ole Miss beat Old Dominion 86-57 in Sunday’s tournament games.

Up next

Michigan State: Hosts Rutgers on Sunday.

Ole Miss: Plays at home against Alcorn State on Sunday.

ANN ARBOR (AP) — Freshman Trey McKenney led a balanced attack with 17 points and No. 2 Michigan overwhelmed La Salle 102-50 on Sunday.

The Wolverines also had four other players in double figures as they reached the 100-point mark for the sixth time this season and the fifth time in the last six games.

Aday Mara had 14 points, 10 rebounds and four assists and Elliot Cadeau also scored 14 points. L.J. Cason contributed 13 points and Morez Johnson Jr. chipped in 10 as a dozen Wolverines scored.

Yaxel Lendeborg added eight points with six rebounds and a team-high five assists for the Wolverines (11-0), who are off to their best start since the 2020-21 season.

Jaeden Marshall led the Explorers (4-9) with 15 points. Josiah Harris added eight points for La Salle, which shot 28% from the field.

Cadeau had 13 points as the Wolverines led 54-33 at halftime.

La Salle took its last lead at 10-9 on an Edwin Daniel layup. Michigan then took command with a 22-2 run fueled by its defense. All but five of those points came off Explorers turnovers. McKenney had a pair of 3-pointers during that span and Lendeborg capped it with a layup after a Johnson Jr. steal and assist.

Michigan maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the way as La Salle never crept closer than 12 points.

There has been just one previous meeting between Michigan and La Salle, which occurred at the 1975 Las Vegas Holiday Classic. The Wolverines secured an 86-71 victory.

Up next

La Salle: Hosts George Mason on Wednesday, Dec. 31

Michigan: Hosts McNeese State on Monday, Dec. 29.

CHEROKEE, N.C. (AP) — Emma Shumate scored 22 points, leading seven in double figures, and No. 24 Michigan State routed Indiana State 115-66 on Sunday at the Cherokee Invitational.

Shumate matched her career high in points and made a career-high seven 3-pointers. Kennedy Blair had 11 points and 10 rebounds. She came up a little shy of a triple-double, dishing out seven assists.

Isaline Alexander scored 15 points, Sara Sambolic 14, Jalyn Brown 13, Grace VanSlooten 12 and Rashunda Jones 10 for Michigan State (10-1).

Jayci Allen scored 13 and Kennedy Claybrooks 10 for the Sycamores (4-6).

VanSlooten scored all of her 12 points in the first quarter, all of them in a row as the Spartans turned a 3-2 lead into a 15-6 advantage. Michigan State scored the last nine points of the quarter and led 34-15 heading to the second. They were outscored 28-25 in the second quarter but led 59-43 at the half.

The Spartans scored the first 11 points of the third quarter on the way to a 28-11 advantage for the period. Six 3-pointers, four of them by Shumate, highlighted the fourth quarter.

Michigan State is 5-0 all-time against Indiana State.

Up next

On Monday’s day two of the event, Michigan State will play the winner of Sunday’s later game between Mississippi and Old Dominion. Indiana State draws the loser.

ANN ARBOR (AP) — Olivia Olson had 23 points and No. 6 Michigan rolled past Oakland 97-54 on Sunday.

Syla Swords had 18 points and Brooke Quarles Daniels scored 11. Te’Yala Delfosse and Ashley Sofilkanich had 10 points apiece. Mila Holloway had seven assists to surpass 200 for her career. The Wolverines (10-1) reached the 90-point mark for the sixth time this season.

Michigan scored 29 points off 27 Golden Grizzlies turnovers. Wolverines opponents are averaging 25.8 turnovers per game. The Wolverines also converted 21 offensive rebounds into 31 points and their reserves outscored Oakland’s bench 26-0.

Lianna Baxter led the Golden Grizzlies (3-9), who have lost five straight, with 14 points. Angie Smith had 13 points and eight rebounds and Makenzie Luehring also scored 13.

Olson and Swords combined for 25 first-half points as Michigan built a 54-27 halftime lead.

The Golden Grizzlies committed turnovers on their first three possessions. The Wolverines forced 15 turnovers before the break, converting them into 17 points. They also scored 18 points off 11 offensive rebounds.

Michigan has won nine straight against Oakland.

Up next

Oakland: Visits Robert Morris on Dec. 29.

Michigan: Visits Oregon on Dec. 29.

NEW YORK (AP) — Fernando Mendoza, the enthusiastic quarterback of No. 1 Indiana, won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, becoming the first Hoosier to win college football’s most prestigious award since its inception in 1935.

Mendoza claimed 2,362 points, including 643 first-place votes. He beat Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia (1,435 points), Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love (719 points) and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin (432 points).

Mendoza’s Heisman win was emphatic. He finished first in all six Heisman regions, the first to do so since Caleb Williams in 2022. He was named on 95.16% of all ballots, tying him with Marcus Mariota in 2014 for the second highest in the award’s history and he received 84.6% of total possible points, which is the seventh highest in Heisman history.

“I haven’t seen the numbers yet,” said Mendoza, “but it’s such an honor to be mentioned with these guys (Pavia, Love and Sayin). It’s really a credit to our team. It’s a team award.”

Mendoza guided the Hoosiers to their first No. 1 ranking and the top seed in the 12-team College Football bracket, throwing for 2,980 yards and a national-best 33 touchdown passes while also running for six scores. Indiana, the last unbeaten team in major college football, will play a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.

Mendoza, the Hoosiers’ first-year starter after transferring from California, is the triggerman for an offense that surpassed program records for touchdowns and points set during last season’s surprise run to the CFP.

A redshirt junior, the once lightly recruited Miami native is the second Heisman finalist in school history, joining 1989 runner-up Anthony Thompson. Mendoza is the seventh Indiana player to earn a top-10 finish in Heisman balloting and it marks another first in program history — having back-to-back players in the top 10. Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke was ninth last year.

With his teammates chanting “HeismanDoza” as he addressed the media, he said there felt like a realistic chance of winning the Heisman when the Hoosiers routed then No. 19 Illinois 63-10 on Sept. 20.

“At that point my boys (teammates) said we might make it to New York (for the award ceremony),” he said. “It was lighthearted at the time, but that’s when it started. “

Quarterbacks have won the Heisman four of the last five years, with two-way player Travis Hunter of Colorado ending the run last season.

Mendoza is the 43rd quarterback to win the Heisman and the second winner of Latin American descent to claim the trophy. Stanford’s Jim Plunkett was the first in 1970.

“Although I grew up in America, my four grandparents are all from Cuba,” he said. “I had the opportunity to go there and that was important to me. I credit the love to my grandparents and the Hispanic community.”

The Heisman Trophy presentation came after a number of accolades were already awarded. Mendoza was named The Associated Press player of the year earlier this week and picked up the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien awards Friday night while Love won the Doak Walker Award.

Mendoza and Pavia clearly exemplify the changing landscape of using the transfer portal in college football. Mendoza is the seventh transfer to win the award in the last nine years. Vanderbilt is Pavia’s third school.

Confident Commodore

Pavia finished second with 189 first-place votes. He threw for a school-record 3,192 yards and 27 touchdowns for the Commodores, who were pushing for a CFP berth all the way to the bracket announcement. He is the first Heisman finalist in Vanderbilt history.

Generously listed as 6 feet tall, Pavia led Vanderbilt to its first 10-win season along with six wins against Southeastern Conference foes. That includes four wins over ranked programs as Vandy reached No. 9, its highest ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 since 1937.

Pavia went from being unrecruited out of high school to junior college, New Mexico State and finally Vanderbilt in 2024 through the transfer portal.

Vandy next plays in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Iowa on Dec. 31.

Irish Love

The last running back to win the Heisman was Alabama’s Derrick Henry in 2015. Love put himself in the mix with an outstanding season for Notre Dame. He finished with 46 first-place votes.

The junior from St. Louis was fourth in the Bowl Subdivision in yards rushing (1,372), fifth in per-game average (114.3) and third with 18 rushing touchdowns for the Fighting Irish, who missed out on a CFP bid and opted not to play in a bowl game.

He was the first player in Notre Dame’s storied history to produce multiple TD runs of 90 or more yards, a 98-yarder against Indiana in the first round of last year’s playoffs and a 94-yarder against Boston College earlier this season.

Buckeyes’ leader

Sayin led the Buckeyes to a No. 1 ranking for most of the season, throwing for 3,329 yards while tying for second in the country with 31 TD passes ahead of their CFP quarterfinal at the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31.

The sophomore from Carlsbad, California, arrived at Ohio State after initially committing to Alabama and entering the transfer portal following a coaching change. He played four games last season before winning the starting job. He led the Buckeyes to a 14-7 win in the opener against preseason No. 1 Texas and kept the team atop the AP Top 25 for 13 straight weeks, tying its second-longest run.

Sayin follows a strong lineage of Ohio State quarterbacks since coach Ryan Day arrived in 2017. Dwayne Haskins (2018), Justin Fields (2019), C.J. Stroud (2021), and Kyle McCord (2023) averaged 3,927 passing yards, 40 TDs, and six interceptions, along with a 68.9% completion rate during their first seasons.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg had 29 points, a career-best nine assists and eight rebounds, and No. 2 Michigan rallied from a nine-point deficit Saturday night to defeat Maryland 101-83.

Aday Mara scored 18 points for the Wolverines (10-0, 2-0 Big Ten), who overcame a halftime deficit for the second time this season and the first since they beat TCU on Nov. 14.

Michigan scored 100 points for the fourth time in five games.

Diggy Coit made eight 3-pointers and scored 31 points for the Terrapins (6-5, 0-2), who lost center Pharrel Payne to a right leg injury late in the first half and forward Solomon Washington to ejection after he picked up his second technical foul early in the second half.

Coit scored nine of Maryland’s first 10 points and 22 before the break, helping to prevent Michigan from opening a lead larger than six in the first half.

The Terps lost Payne, their leading scorer at 18.7 points a game, with 4:36 remaining before halftime. Yet Maryland stretched its lead from one to 50-45 at the midpoint, then expanded it to 56-47 on Elijah Saunders’ 3.

Washington, who had a first-half technical for celebrating a 3 in front of the Michigan bench, was called for a delay-of-game technical just after Saunders’ basket. His departure left the Terps without their two most experienced and imposing interior players.

Lendeborg took advantage, scoring the next eight points. Mara’s dunk with 14 minutes left made it 64-63 and gave the Wolverines the lead for good.

Elliot Cadeau’s layup with 21.2 seconds remaining got the Wolverines to 100 points for the fifth time this season.

Up next

Michigan hosts La Salle on Dec. 21.

Maryland visits No. 24 Virginia on Dec. 20.

— By PATRICK STEVENS, Associated Press

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Divine Ugochukwu scored a career-high 23 points and No. 9 Michigan State overcame a sloppy performance to beat Penn State 76-72 on Saturday.

Jaxon Kohler posted his fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds while Carson Cooper added 10 points for the Spartans (9-1, 2-0 Big Ten), who committed a season-high 17 turnovers and trailed for long stretches in both halves.

They were able to bear down, however, and avoid a second-straight loss after falling to No. 4 Duke on Monday.

Freddie Dilione scored a career-high 22 points, Kayden Mingo added 11 and Ivan Juric had 10 for the Nittany Lions (8-3, 0-2), who led by as many as nine in the first half and then by three with five minutes left four days after getting blown out by Indiana 113-72.

But thanks to some timely shooting by Ugochukwu, who went 8 for 10 from the floor, including 5 for 5 from 3-point range, Michigan State quickly made up its 39-36 halftime deficit against a team that usually plays the Spartans tightly.

Seven of the last nine games in the series were decided by single-digits. With six lead changes, including four in the final 12 minutes, this one was trending that way until Ugochukwu got open early in the second half and again down the stretch.

The sophomore made the Spartans’ first three shots in the opening three minutes of the second, then sunk his fourth 3-pointer with 3:27 left to give Michigan State the lead for good.

Ugochukwu provided some cushion and made it 72-67 with his final deep make just over 2:30 later.

Dilione made a jumper and added a 3-pointer to get it back to a two-point game, but Ugochukwu nailed a pair of free throws with eight seconds left to seal the Spartans’ fifth-straight win against Penn State.

Up next

Michigan State hosts Toledo on Tuesday.

Penn State and Pitt play on Sunday, Dec. 21, at the GIANT Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

— By TRAVIS JOHNSON, Associated Press

BIG RAPIDS – Ferris State’s football program, built on strong play in the trenches, has a rich history with accomplished players being nominated for — and several times winning—  the Gene Upshaw Lineman of the Year Award.

Past Bulldog recipients of the prestigious award, which is given to the top lineman in NCAA Division II football, include Austin Edwards, in 2019; Dylan Pasquali, in 2021; and Caleb Murphy, in 2022.

This season, Ferris State offensive lineman Tim Anderson has become the latest Bulldog nominated for the award as one of eight 2025 national finalists, putting him on a short list for Friday’s announcement, when it was revealed that the Rochester Adams graduate was named this year’s winner.

Anderson, a 6-foot-6 senior, 305-pound senior, didn’t hesitate in his response when asked about becoming one of the final eight for the award.

“This means a lot, and I’m super thankful, but I know I wouldn’t be there without the other guys on our offensive line,” he said. “The only reason that I’ve gotten noticed is because all five guys on our offensive line are out there and playing dominant football. I hope this shows how good our offensive line is, because it’s not just me. It’s about everyone on our offensive line and everyone on our offense working together.”

That starting lineup for “The Nasty Boys,” the name that the offensive line has embraced, includes Tim’s twin, Bob Anderson, with Dayne Arnett, Jarvis Windom and Ben Przytula. Tim shared the pride he feels in the depth the unit has developed that has helped fuel the team’s scoring punch. The Bulldogs are the nation’s leading scoring offense, averaging 53.8 points and totaling 751 points this season through 14 games.

Ferris State’s offensive numbers have contributed to the announcement of Tim as a finalist for an award named in honor of the late Gene Upshaw, who was not only an All-Pro lineman for the Oakland Raiders but also later served as the executive director of the NFL Players Association for 25 years. A former standout offensive lineman at Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M Kingsville), Upshaw was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987 in his first year of eligibility.

The Gene Upshaw Award is presented annually by the Manheim Touchdown Club.

The Bulldogs’ offensive line unit has been a big part of the Bulldogs’ offensive success.

Ferris State’s offense ranks third nationally in rushing offense, averaging 306.5 yards per game. That rushing offense also includes 63 touchdowns on 4,291 yards.

Anderson earned first-team All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors and was named the GLIAC Offensive Lineman of the Year. He further received Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-Super Region Three First-Team recognition for his gridiron play during the 2025 campaign.

Inside the Ewigleben Sports Complex walls, Anderson frequently walks past a large trophy case that includes replicas of the Gene Upshaw Award trophies won by Edwards, Pasquali and Murphy. Those honorees stand as a reminder.

“It means a lot to be in a program that has such a great history of linemen,” said Anderson, who was a decorated athlete during his prep days at Adams. “For us, being able to carry on that tradition is important. We’re thankful to be a part of it.”

During this playoff run, led by the strong line play, Ferris State scored 65 points against Northwood (Nov. 22), 56 against Ashland (Nov. 29) and 52 against Minnesota State (Dec. 6) in three wins.

The Bulldogs were scheduled to take on Newberry in the NCAA Division II National Semifinals on Saturday, Dec. 13, at Top Taggart Field.

EAST LANSING — In the aftermath of his team’s first loss of the season, a 66-60 loss to No. 4 Duke, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo just kept on coming back to one particular issue: free throw cutouts.

His Spartans work on them every practice. Non-negotiable. And yet there were multiple that Michigan State missed, including two that led to putbacks for Duke phenom Cameron Boozer as he and the Blue Devils rallied in the second half for a road win.

Free-throw cutouts may take the brunt of Izzo’s criticism, but they are just one of the details that went foul on Saturday. Poor closeouts early, missed layups late, a few untimely fouls (some, albeit, on questionable calls) left Michigan State battling its own minor mistakes. And against a Duke team that has the talent to repeat last year’s Final Four appearance, well, that won’t make the cut.

“This is what we’ve said all along: Our margin for error is slim,” Izzo said.

Michigan State has proven a lot nine games into the season. It’s gritty, feisty, with a deep lineup led by a talented frontcourt and a bulldog point guard. Its four returners — point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., forwards Coen Carr and Jaxon Kohler plus center Carson Cooper — provide a foundation from which a different cast of characters can step in and complete the picture against any sort of team. It got Michigan State three ranked wins before December, but against Duke the limitations showed.

The difference between the two teams showed in the second half. Down three at the break, Duke leaned on its star forward Boozer, who scored 16 in the second half alone, and 14 of the first 17 points his team scored that half. He took the game over, even as Michigan State tried to pull away with a pair of 3s from freshman Jordan Scott (one of those contributors who can step in depending on the night). Down five, Boozer slashed through the lane for a layup and banging a 3 in two possessions.

And Boozer had those two putbacks. Those pesky putbacks that drove Izzo wild.

“We know coming into these games that the margin for error is as close to zero as you possibly can (get),” Cooper said. “I think there was little lapses where we got a little relaxed. And that was on our scouting report, like three times, was never relax.”

Michigan State couldn’t relax, because for most of the game it was a one- or two-shot affair. On a night when its pace setter Fears shot 0-for-10, — even missing an uncontested layup at the final buzzer — its offense still found enough to stay close. But winning needed more. It needed perfection on an imperfect night.

There’s a sense of pressure that comes from Michigan State’s construction. When there is no player who can put an entire offense on its back, every bucket is hard-fought. Changes in tactics can really hurt. Like when Duke switched to zone down the stretch and pulled away. Poor shooting, especially at shooting guard, proved the Spartans’ great flaw.

These are the kind of experiences that also can steer this group in a higher direction. Pressure felt is pressure learned from, and while veterans on the team have a grasp on how to deal with it, there’s a sense that some new contributors have a ways to go.

“We do feel that pressure,” Kohler said. “I would say that for the young and new guys, they don’t quite understand it the way me, Coop, Fears and Coen understand it, because I don’t think they quite understand the impact that it has on a game that can be won or lost. And when that happens, the first person that we get on is ourselves.”

Mistakes happen in any human endeavor. Fighting them is the great challenge, a battle that Izzo has made a career contesting. Michigan State can get on itself for sloppy details, but hanging tough against a team like Duke isn’t all discouraging.

“It probably will be encouraging, like, in a few days,” Carr said. “But right now, it’s probably not the way we would be looking at it as of right now. … We were never not in the game. Just a lot of little things that we know we can fix. And that’s kind of, I guess, the good part about it.”

The margin for error is small, but it’s better than no margin at all.

ANN ARBOR — Ask any Michigan coach or player about forward Morez Johnson Jr., you’re bound to hear the same description.

Take a spin around the Crisler Center media room following Saturday’s smackdown of Rutgers in the Big Ten opener, for example. After Johnson poured in 22 points on 9-for-11 shooting from the floor in 24 minutes to go along with four rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot, guards L.J. Cason, Elliot Cadeau and Roddy Gayle Jr. all offered a similar assessment about their teammate.

“He’s just a dog,” Cadeau said. “He can guard all five positions. I think that’s what makes him different. We can put him on the point guard, and he’ll lock up a point guard.”

Across the room from Cadeau, Gayle and Cason echoed that sentiment.

“I feel like he’s our junkyard dog,” Gayle said. “You really can’t stop him. He’s just too physical, too forceful.”

Added Cason: “He’s just a dog on the boards. He plays hard and wants to win.”

It’s fitting that Cadeau, Cason and Gayle touched on different areas, considering all the different ways that Johnson impacts the game.

He’s the team’s enforcer on defense and, along with center Aday Mara, a vaunted rim protector. He’s a bully in the paint on offense who has no issue scoring over defenders or through contact. He’s a handful on the glass on both ends.

He’s a big reason why, entering play Sunday, the Wolverines lead the nation in 2-point defense (37.5%) and rank second in 2-point offense (64.9%) per KenPom, in addition to posting a plus-13 rebounding margin per game, a mark that’s tied for the fifth-best nationally.

Gayle can at least sympathize with what opponents have to go through with Johnson.

“I deal with it every day in practice, especially when we play games. Sometimes I’m at the four and it’s like, ‘What am I going to do?’” Gayle said. “I get a glimpse of what these other teams get to experience and when you piss him off, he’s a whole other animal.”

Throughout Michigan’s blazing 8-0 start, Johnson has been playing at a high level and Saturday was the latest demonstration.

He hounded the Scarlet Knights on the perimeter and in the paint. His defense generated offense, like when he turned a steal near midcourt into a fast-break layup. He ran the floor in transition. He finished at the basket on pick-and-rolls and through double-teams. At no point was he ever hunting his own shot.

“When you look at our good possessions in Vegas (at the Players Era tournament), a lot of times we got layups and dunks because of his seals, because of his screens, because of his rim runs,” coach Dusty May said. “He does a lot of extremely visible and invisible plays.”

On numerous occasions against Rutgers, Johnson got inside position and sealed off his defender, which led to easy buckets at rim. There were also several times he had to go up to grab a contested post entry pass that led to more paint points.

“He loves contact. I think that’s first and foremost,” May said. “He wins every catch. Our guys have a lot of confidence to throw him the ball, because if it’s a 50-50 ball, a 60-40 ball, a 70-30 ball and he’s at a disadvantage, he typically wins those catches and turns them into baskets.

“There’s trust that’s developed throughout the season … and Morez has certainly earned the trust of his teammates that he’s going to play the right way, play with efficiency.”

Given Johnson’s elite finishing inside — his 68.7% field goal percentage ranks fifth in the Big Ten — and improved free-throw shooting, it almost seems unfair when he’s knocking down 3-pointers.

Heading into the Rutgers contest, Johnson had attempted two 3-pointers all season after not attempting one last season at Illinois and missed both. Against Rutgers, he knocked down both of his 3-point tries from straightaway.

May noted the goal is to have all five guys on the court be capable of knocking down deep balls. And if Johnson adds a respectable 3-point shot to his arsenal, May added it can make teams “more skittish” toward helping at the rim, which can cause a “chain reaction” that opens driving lanes for others.

Yet, Johnson has already provided a noticeable ripple effect throughout the team with his fierce, nasty nature on the floor.

“I think our team has adopted his personality. We don’t have a rugged group by nature. We have some guys that have grown into being tough, rugged dudes,” May said last week. “But Morez, every single minute of every single day he brings a physicality and intensity, a serious approach to everything that he does.”

So far, Johnson has been doing it all — and perhaps even more than anyone May has ever coached before.

“(Assistant coach) Kyle Church and I have worked together for a million years. He said we’ve never had one of those. We’ve never had … a guy that impacts the game in so many ways,” May said. “And now, because of his work and the staff’s ability to help him get better, he’s playing well out of the short rolls, he’s adding to his game.

“The sky is the limit for Morez. … He does so much but he’s also so selfless.”

AUBURN HILLS (AP) — Ziare Wells led Oakland with 21 points, including the game-winning jump shot with 10 seconds remaining, and the Golden Grizzlies knocked off Toledo 98-97 on Saturday.

Oakland (5-5, 1-0 Horizon League) has won four straight since a 1-5 start.

Wells added five rebounds for the Golden Grizzlies. Brody Robinson scored 19 points while shooting 8 for 14, including 3 for 7 from beyond the arc and added six assists. Tuburu Niavalurua had 18 points and went 9 of 16 from the field.

“If you walk away from this basketball game thinking ‘Oh, my gosh, I don’t ever want to watch basketball’, something’s wrong with you,” OU coach Greg Kampe said. “That was an unbelievable basketball game played by 13-14 players that can really play basketball. Two great programs who let their players play. We beat a really well coached team today. We beat a really good team today.”

Saturday’s win was the 900th in Oakland’s program history.

Leroy Blyden Jr. led the Rockets (5-4) in scoring, finishing with 20 points. Jaylan Ouwinga added 16 points and seven rebounds for Toledo. Sonny Wilson also had 16 points and six assists.

Wells scored 10 points in the first half and Oakland went into the break trailing 48-45. Michael Houge scored 13 second-half points. Oakland outscored Toledo by four points over the final half.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

ANN ARBOR (AP) — Morez Johnson Jr. scored 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting, and No. 3 Michigan won its fifth consecutive game by 25 or more points, beating Rutgers 101-60 on Saturday.

The Wolverines scored more than 100 points for the third consecutive game, a feat last accomplished during their 1989 national championship season.

Yaxel Lendenborg had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Wolverines (8-0, 1-0) in their Big Ten opener. Trey McKenney added 13 points, and Elliot Cadeau had 11 points and nine assists.

Michigan shot 60% from the field while making its case for the No. 1 spot in the AP poll after No. 1 Purdue lost earlier in the day. The Maize Rage student section did its lobbying with several “No. 1” chants late in the game.

Freshmen Harun Zrno and Kaden Powers led Rutgers (5-5, 0-2) with 13 points apiece. Zrno, a 21-year-old from Bosnia and Herzegovina, made his first career start.

EAST LANSING (AP) — Cameron Boozer scored 18 points, including 16 in the second half, and Caleb Foster added 12 points Saturday to help No. 4 Duke hold on for a 66-60 victory over No. 7 Michigan State in a game that had the intensity of an NCAA Regional Final.

Boozer, who entered averaging nearly 27 points a game, also had 15 rebounds for the Blue Devils (10-0). Duke’s start is its best open to a season since winning the first 11 games in 2017-18.

A combination of missed open shots and tight defense kept the game close. The teams traded the lead nine times and were tied four times in the second half.

Isaiah Evans gave the Blue Devils a 55-53 lead with 3:59 remaining, but Jeremy Fears tied it at 55 with a pair of free throws with 1:59 left. Boozer then hit two free throws with 1:35 to go to put Duke up for good. Evans then was fouled by Fears on a 3-point shot and made all three free throws to give Duke a 60-55 advantage.

Carson Cooper had a layup with 46 seconds left to cut the margin to 60-57 but that was as close as Michigan State could get.

Cooper led Michigan State (8-1) with 16 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Jaxon Kohler had 14 points and seven rebounds for the Spartans.

Neither team could get into an offensive rhythm in the first half. Duke led through the first 12 minutes, up by as many as six points. Michigan State grabbed the lead on a 3-pointer by Jesse McCulloch with 5:02 left and held on for a 34-31 halftime advantage.

Both teams struggled with their shooting from the field in the first half, combining for 22 of 63.

Up next

Duke: Hosts Lipscomb on Dec. 16.

Michigan State: Visits Penn State on Dec. 13.

— By BOB TRIPI, Associated Press

Ferris State right tackle Tim Anderson, a Rochester Adams graduate, was named a finalist Friday for the 2025 Gene Upshaw Award, given yearly to the best lineman in NCAA Division II football.

The 6-foot-6, 305-pound Anderson — named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s Offensive Lineman of the Year — is among eight finalists, two from each region, for the award named after the Oakland Raider Hall of Famer, and former executive director of the NFL Players Association.

Along with his twin brother, Bob, Anderson leads a Ferris State offensive line — nicknamed The Nasty Boys — that has helped the Bulldogs to the No. 1 scoring (699 points, 53.9 per game) and total offenses (518.5 yards per game) in NCAA Division II, ranking third in rushing (3,984 yards, 306.5 per game) and fewest sacks allowed (eight total, 0.62 per game) entering this weekend’s play.

Anderson also earned first-team all-GLIAC (second time) and all-region honors.

Ferris (14-0), which has won Division II national titles in 2021, 2022 and 2024, is headed to the semifinals of the D2 playoffs, after beating Minnesota State, 52-29, on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs ran for 307 yards as a team — and five touchdowns — and allowed no sacks on the afternoon.

The Upshaw Award is voted on by D-II sports information directors across the country. The winner of the award, given out by the Manheim Touchdown Club, will be announced on Dec. 12.

The other seven finalists, pared down from a group of 29 nominees, include: Kutztown OT Ryan Schernecke, Wingate OG Will Hart, Catawba OT Avery Swinton, Ashland DE Michael Shimek, Central Washington center Slade Edwards and Harding OT Jake Mitchell.

Previous winners include three Ferris players — Caleb Murphy (2022), Dylan Pasquali (2021) and Austin Edwards (2019) — three from Grand Valley — Matt Judon (2015, West Bloomfield HS grad), Brandon Barnes (2007) and Mike McFadden (2005, 2006) — and one from Wayne State — Joe Long (2011).

EAST LANSING – Michigan State has received a historically large financial commitment from an East Lansing husband and wife that university leaders say position the school’s athletic department to become – and remain – one of the best in the nation.

Michigan State announced Friday a commitment of $401 million from East Lansing’s Greg and Dawn Williams, including a $301 million gift – making it, by nearly 10 times, the largest private donation in the university’s history.

The gift includes $290 million earmarked specifically for the athletic department. Another $100 million is an investment by the couple in the coming-soon Spartan Ventures initiative, which, among other interests, aims to significantly boost NIL offers for student-athletes.

The $290 million donation to MSU’s athletic department was the big seed that was used to launch Michigan State’s FOR SPARTA campaign, which was announced earlier this week, and has set an ambitious goal of raising $1 billion from donors, with plans to use that money to significantly upgrade the university’s athletic arenas, including Spartan Stadium and Breslin Center.

“This tremendous gift will serve as a catalyst to return Michigan State athletics to the top 10 athletic department that it can be and where it belongs,” Michigan State athletic director J Batt said in an interview with The Detroit News. “The vast majority of this will support FOR SPARTA. … And it really answers the question of if Michigan State athletics will be able to realize its ambitious goals.

“This answers the question emphatically: Yes.”

Batt and Williams told The News there are no set naming rights associated with the gift, and Batt said the gift isn’t being used to pay the $30-million-plus buyout for fired head football coach Jonathan Smith. That money, Batt said, is coming from other athletic department resources, including other donors.

Friday’s announcement came during a pep rally on the floor of the Breslin Center, where Greg Williams regularly sits courtside for men’s basketball games. Coaches, administrators, athletes and donors were all in attendance, including Tom Izzo, a longtime friend of the Williams family who was visibly choked up by the donation. It adds to an already big week for MSU athletics, after new head football coach Pat Fitzgerald was introduced Tuesday. Fitzgerald, too, was in attendance Friday.

Greg Williams, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Grand Rapids-based fintech and insurance giant Acrisure, met Fitzgerald on the tarmac at the Lansing airport on Tuesday morning, and sat near the front during Fitzgerald’s press conference later that day.

In an interview with The News, Williams said there have been discussions about the financial commitment and historic gift for several months, and the decision was made by the family in recent days. He said a big reason for the commitment: His comfort with the new leadership at Michigan State, including president Kevin Guskiewicz, hired two years ago, and Batt, hired six months ago.

“You want to contribute in a meaningful way, and we’re fortunate enough that we’re in a position to do that,” said Williams, who founded Acrisure in 2005, and has seen it balloon to more than $5 billion in annual revenues. “This is something you don’t do without an awful lot of thought. And part of that is, we are aligning ourselves, personally, with the right people, the right causes, the right institution, and we couldn’t have any higher conviction about doing just that. We feel very good about the whole thing.”

Batt and Williams, in interviews with The News, didn’t specify how the money would be disbursed, other than Williams saying some will be short-term and some will be long-term. Some is expected to be a part of estate planning for Greg and Dawn Williams, both 64.

The donation will become the largest in Michigan State history, by hundreds of millions of dollars.

The previous record donation was from former basketball player Mat Ishbia, CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage and owner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, who donated $32 million to the athletic department in 2021. The record before that was $30 million, donated by alum and real-estate developer Edward J. Minskoff in 2018, for the Eli Broad College of Business.

For the entire fiscal year 2024-25, Michigan State athletics took in $44 million, from 6,919 individual donors.

New athletics era

The gift couldn’t come at a better time for Michigan State, given the arms race that is college athletics, and given the athletic department’s money crunch – it has run a deficit in recent years, and is carrying a debt of more than $100 million.

“This is a gift and an investment that will shape the future of our athletic and academic programs for generations to come,” Guskiewicz told a crowd of coaches, donors, athletes and media Friday. “Not only is it the largest in our university history, it is one of the largest to any athletic program in the nation and one of the largest to any university in the nation. It reflects Greg and Dawn’s belief in what Michigan State stands for: opportunity, grit and a shared responsibility to lift one another.”

The money isn’t just appreciated by Michigan State athletics, it’s much-needed, for a school that was among 16 in the Big Ten on board with the conference taking on a $2.4 billion investment from West Coast-based pension fund in exchange for a 10% stake in the league. That deal – recently paused and possibly dead without Michigan and Southern Cal on board – would have resulted in a cash infusion of more than $100 million per school.

The nine-figure debt Michigan State athletics is carrying includes a loan for the lion’s share of the first round of $20.5 million revenue sharing with student athletes, COVID relief loans, and a significant donor shortfall on the $26.7 million Munn Ice Arena renovation project, as well as personnel buyouts.

Smith, fired two years into a seven-year contract, will be paid through 2031; that money is offset if he finds employment elsewhere. MSU just signed Fitzgerald to a five-year contract worth at least $30 million, which could grow to an eight-year deal worth at least $54 million if he reaches multiple but attainable victory benchmarks in the incentive-laden contract.

MSU remains in litigation with former head football coach Mel Tucker, who is claiming wrongful termination as he seeks the $80 million remaining on his contract when he was fired. MSU also remains in litigation with Brenda Tracy, who is suing the Board of Trustees for allegedly mishandling her 2022 sexual-misconduct claims that led to Tucker’s firing early in the 2023 season.

Batt declined to get specific when asked by The News if this gift would be a cure-all for the department’s recent and serious money issues.

“What I would just say is that this represents a transformative moment for the future of Michigan State athletics,” Batt told The News this week. “However, for us to continue to drive forward and reach our rightful place as a top-10 athletic department, we need every Spartan in the Spartan athletic family to step up and follow Greg and Dawn’s lead, and do what they can to help us drive forward.”

The big focus of the $401 million commitment – there’s no meaning behind it being $401 million, as opposed to $400 million, Williams said, other than that’s what the needs called for during the family’s discussion with Guskiewicz and Batt – is football. Batt and Guskiewicz have made no bones about the fact that football is the engine for any big-time college athletics department, even one with a blue-chip men’s basketball program like Michigan State.

“They didn’t attend Michigan State University. Yet, they recognize their position in this community and what this community is all about,” Izzo told the crowd Friday. “Michigan State is a big thing in this community. They certainly recognize the ability to impact people, and particularly students across our great campus. And in supporting Michigan State today, they’re supporting students for decades. Making an impact on somebody is nice when they come into your office and you feel that they’ve left your office in a better place. You’re leaving decades of people in a better place.”

‘Incredible, inspiring’ gift

FOR SPARTA, a wing of the university-wide $4-billion capital campaign, will address the needs of all Michigan State teams, Batt said, but the most significant renovations will be for 102-year Spartan Stadium, including the long-needed replacement of the east tower, after west tower renovations were finished and new scoreboards were installed before the 2025 season. There also are plans to upgrade Breslin Center, which opened in 1989. Renderings were released Tuesday.

The $100 million toward Spartan Ventures is considered a financial stake, or investment, and not a traditional gift. That will help launch that initiative, similar to one pioneered by Clemson of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Batt was hired away from Georgia Tech, also in the ACC.

Spartan Ventures is a third-party corporation that Michigan State announced in late October, and will launch mid-2026. Its focus will be generating revenues, via a non-profit, tax-exempt entity that also is designed to consolidate NIL opportunities for student-athletes. Michigan State will maintain compliance oversight of over the corporation, with a board of directors likely to be led by Guskiewicz. Spartan Ventures lifts some of the red tape by which public universities must abide.

Batt declined to be specific about Spartan Ventures when it comes to media rights or corporate partnerships, other than to say, “It’s simply helping us to modernize and optimize all of our revenue generating opportunities.”

Said Guskiewicz, in a recent interview with The News: “It will allow us to … bring a structure that looks like a private-sector, world-class (organization). Competitive advantages are going to come to us as a result.”

The additional $11 million from Greg and Dawn Williams will be a gift, to be used for academic and extracurricular initiatives, including the Spartan marching and pep bands, the Sparty program, the MSU Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and the Eli Broad College of Business’ Risk Management and Financial Insurance Program.

“As we were kind of debating what we were going to do and what programs,” Greg Williams said Friday at the pep rally, “I will just tell you whether you know it or not, Dawn was going to say the Spartan marching band and Sparty are the ones that are non negotiable in her mind.”

Greg and Dawn Williams are long-time Michigan State athletics donors, having previously donated more than $25 million, including a $10 million gift in 2021 that went toward the football building project. That project was completed and dedicated in 2024, and their names are on the Greg and Dawn Williams Lobby in the Tom Izzo Football Building. Fitzgerald was introduced in that lobby Tuesday.

Izzo described the meeting that led to that big donation: He saw Dawn Williams mowing the grass of their Walnut Hills Country Club estate with a brush hog, and he got to use the machine. After Izzo parked the mower, Greg and Dawn Williams pledged the donation, and Izzo could hardly contain his emotions. Nor could he Friday, when Greg Williams called him “our national treasure.”

“I’ve gotten a chance to meet a lot of important people in my days here,” Izzo said. “Never has one impacted me the way he (Greg) has.”

Acrisure, which reportedly is planning an initial public offering (IPO) in 2026, has a lengthy resume of sports investments, especially when it comes to naming rights. Acrisure is the name on the stadium for the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, and the coming-soon amphitheater in downtown Grand Rapids, among several other venues.

That’s business. Friday’s announcement was much more personal for Greg and Dawn Williams, who grew up together in Laingsburg, northeast of Lansing. Williams recalled attending his first MSU sporting event in seventh grade, on a school trip to watch men’s basketball at Jenison Fieldhouse – another building, opened in 1940, that will get significant renovations, after MSU recently scaled back its plans for the Spartan Gateway project, and scrapped plans for a new arena.

“When this first got discussed, there’s moments you have where my wife and I look at each other and say, ‘Are we really going to do this?’” Williams said. “And the more we talked about it and explored the whole thing, again, we just got more and more committed to the whole thing.

“The whole thing’s been exciting, and it’s the kind of impact that were looking to make.”

Batt, hired to replace former athletic director Alan Haller in June on a six-year contract that pays him more than $2 million a year, was Guskiewicz’s choice in part for his reputation as an elite fundraiser.

Batt has been an athletics administrator since 2005, at eight different schools.

He’s had his fair share of successes, but nothing quite like this.

“I would just say, incredible, inspiring, humbling, when somebody – Greg and Dawn – make that sort of commitment. It’s incredible,” Batt, whose department operates on a $192 million budget, told The News. “And that moment when they shared with us what they were going to do is probably one of the most incredible moments in my college athletics career, and something that I’ll never forget.”

It’s official: Pat Fitzgerald is Michigan State’s new football coach.

Michigan State made the hiring official Monday. The Detroit News reported Sunday that the university intended to hire Fitzgerald, formerly of Big Ten peer Northwestern, to take over the Spartan football program after Jonathan Smith’s ouster after two seasons in East Lansing.

Terms were not disclosed. The hiring requires formal approval from the MSU Board of Trustees. The next scheduled meeting is Dec. 12.

“I am honored to be named the head football coach at Michigan State University,” Fitzgerald said in a statement released by Michigan State. “I’d like to thank President (Kevin) Guskiewicz and Athletics Director (J) Batt for this opportunity. This is a program with a deep and storied tradition, a passionate fan base, and a commitment to excellence that extends far beyond the football field. What excited me most about this opportunity was the vision for what Michigan State can be for years to come. We will restore tradition, and I’m eager to earn the trust of our players, alumni, and fans while competing at the highest level.”

Fitzgerald, who turns 51 on Tuesday, will helm the Spartans after a three-year hiatus following 17 years at Northwestern. He was dismissed before the 2023 season for a graphic hazing scandal. A later investigation by Northwestern did not find sufficient evidence that he knew of the hazing, but that he also had opportunities to find out about it.

Fitzgerald settled a $130 million wrongful termination lawsuit out of court in August, and said later that he felt “vindicated” by the result.

Fitzgerald got his first head coaching job at the age of 31, when he became head coach at Northwestern after the death of predecessor Randy Walker in 2006. In 17 seasons at Northwestern, Fitzgerald’s teams went 110-101 overall, 65-76 in the Big Ten. Fitzgerald’s teams won 10 games three times, and 10 times he took the program to a bowl, where he had a 5-5 record. Twice, Northwestern won the Big Ten West during his time with the program.

Fitzgerald also had some lean years near the end of his run in Evanston. Following a 2020 season in which his team ended 10th in the final AP poll, he posted a combined 4-20 record, 2-16 in Big Ten play.

Pat Fitzgerald is a proven leader who understands the full mission of intercollegiate athletics —competitive excellence, academic achievement, and the holistic development of student-athletes,” Guskiewicz said in a statement released by MSU. “His track record of building disciplined, resilient teams and his commitment to coaching with integrity make him an exceptional fit for Michigan State University. I’m confident that under his leadership, Spartan Football will thrive on and off the field.”

Both records are worse than what Smith just posted in a two-year stint with Michigan State (5-19, 4-14). Smith is owed $33.5 million in an 85% buyout of his seven-year contract signed in Dec. 2023, which can be offset by the salary of his next position.

The hire is the first by athletic director J Batt, who Michigan State poached from Georgia Tech in June to replace Haller.

“Today marks the beginning of a new era for Michigan State Football,” Batt said in a statement released by Michigan State. “Pat Fitzgerald is widely recognized as an exceptional football coach, whose teams play with extreme toughness and grit, demonstrate continual improvement and maximize potential. Pat is an excellent fit for Michigan State Football, as he understands the Big Ten, has great relationships throughout the Midwest and embodies the values on which our program was built. His incredible passion will resonate throughout the program, connecting with all members of our Spartan community, including student-athletes, coaches, staff, alumni and donors.

“As an institution, we are committed to providing the resources and infrastructure required to realize our shared vision of competing for championships, and with Pat leading the way, Spartan Football is positioned for sustained success at the Big Ten and national level. We are excited to welcome Pat, his wife, Stacy, and sons, Jack, Ryan and Brendan, to our Spartan family.”

Fitzgerald is the oldest football coach hired by Michigan State since its November 2006 hiring of Mark Dantonio, who was also about to turn 51 at the time.

The challenge ahead

Michigan State is on its third coach since 2020, and its seventh since 2000. The rigors of college football’s professionalization since the time Fitzgerald last patrolled a sideline make for challenges to which he will have to adapt.

Fitzgerald said on a recent ESPN College Gameday podcast that he “got an opportunity to sit here and get a Ph.D. in what’s going on in college football” while out of college coaching, picking up strategies to handle changes like the transfer portal, NIL and revenue sharing.

The Michigan State program Fitzgerald takes over faces a number of challenges in both recruiting and retention. His official hiring opens a 15-day transfer portal window in addition to the main window Jan. 2 to Jan. 16. That means he will have to make heads or tails of his current roster early.

So far, only two Spartans — running back Makhi Frazier and receiver Nick Marsh — have announced their intention to enter the portal. Others have followed Fitzgerald’s social media accounts since Sunday.

Fitzgerald succeeded with limited resources at Northwestern, a private school that prioritized academic rigor that affected recruiting capabilities for the football program. Fitzgerald made his mark developing more raw prospects into better college players — he sent 16 players to the NFL Draft in 17 seasons.

Michigan State doesn’t have those problems, but it does have a limited pool of funds to wield in the NIL space. Part of the problem stems from four losing seasons in football, as well as the sexual misconduct scandal of former coach Mel Tucker and the ho-hum tenure of Smith. Some fans are out on the program, and it will take a winner to draw some back in.

Tucker’s legacy also left one more stain on the program in November, when the NCAA announced a negotiated resolution for recruiting violations that led to 14 vacated wins, three years of probation and a number of recruiting limitations on visits and contact. Those are challenges Fitzgerald will inherit.

Batt makes his mark

Michigan State spent a lot of money to hire Batt as athletic director in June — arguably money it didn’t have. It spent more than $12 million on his six-year contract, plus $1.3 million to buy out Haller and more than $2 million to pay Batt’s buyout at Georgia Tech. Then his new department got more than $12 million in an internal loan to furnish revenue share payments with athletes, an expense deemed necessary to keep up with other Big Ten schools.

Batt came to East Lansing known as a revenue generator, someone who can find money for programs in need. That made him a favorite of Nick Saban as a deputy athletic director at Alabama and a success helming his own operation at Georgia Tech.

If there’s one tool Batt can use to generate more revenue, it’s football.

“Do not be confused: every athletics department competing at the highest level must be successful in football,” Batt said at his introductory press conference in June.

Success — at least, hope for it — comes with a cost. Smith’s buyout is more than $33.5 million, to be paid in equal monthly installments through Jan. 31, 2031. Batt did save money by hiring a coach who did not have a buyout at another institution. That would’ve been another expense.

Fitzgerald will have to build his staff, which also will cost money. Many position coaches are on expiring deals, but some aren’t, including offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren, who has another 14 months worth $1.5 million in base salary on his contract and defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, who is owed more than $1.9 million base salary for the same term. Because Smith was fired, in the event of a dismissal Michigan State would owe them the full remainder of their base salary and any bonuses from the past season.

Batt probably didn’t expect to hire a football coach this early, but the product on the field may have necessitated it. Michigan State lost eight straight games to open Big Ten play this season, which caused Smith to be booed at Spartan Stadium and other athletics events. Fans even chanted for him to be fired at Ford Field on Saturday, when he ended his tenure with a win.

In college athletics, the hiring of a football coach is often crucial to an athletic director’s own job security. Whether Batt made the right hire or not will affect his own legacy that is building less than six months into his tenure.

ANN ARBOR — This is it. The Game. Michigan-Ohio State. And whether it’s to maintain an unbeaten record or if there are no postseason stakes involved, whether you’re a multi-touchdown favorite or underdog, this game means everything to the two programs.

Top-ranked and defending national champion Ohio State, 11-0 this season and already a lock for the playoff, will face No. 15 Michigan 9-2, 7-1, vying for a potential berth in the Big Ten title game and playoff, on Saturday at Michigan Stadium in the series’ 121st meeting.

Michigan has won four straight against Ohio State, including a 13-10 upset last year as a three-touchdown underdog in Columbus. The Buckeyes won the eight games prior to that streak.

“Anybody that says that this is just another game is crazy, because it’s not,” captain and tight end Marlin Klein said Monday. “This is The Game, and that’s for a reason.

“I can’t really tell you what it feels like. I can’t really tell you the emotions that I have when I go out there for a game like that, especially for that game. You can’t really talk about it. You got to be in it, and you got to experience it.”

This will be Sherrone Moore’s second Michigan-Ohio State coach as head coach, but he led the Wolverines to victory in 2023 as acting head coach. Much has been made of Michigan having a perceived mental edge against the Buckeyes during the four-game streak. In 2023, the Wolverines were trying to remain unbeaten and went on to win the national championship. Last year, they had just become bowl eligible a week before and had nothing but pride on the line. This year, the Wolverines have the potential, if other things fall into place, of making the Big Ten title game and the playoff.

Mental edge or not, the Wolverines simply want to beat their arch rivals.

“Whatever happened in the past doesn’t matter, so all we can do is focus on now,” Moore said. “This is a new team, new staff, new players, new coaches, new environment, different, so all we can do is focus on today, and that’s it.

“But the players on the team the previous couple year’s wins, they know what it takes to win this fight, right? They understand what the game is about. But again, they’re a different team, we’re a different team.”

Klein said Moore’s message to the team Monday was clear.

“It’s about us. It’s about Michigan. That’s what it’s always about,” Klein said of the message delivered. “There’s a playoff game. We win this one, we’re in playoffs. But you win this game, you’ll be remembered in Ann Arbor forever. We, especially as seniors, get to put our stamp on this one, which is super exciting.”

Starting left guard Gio El-Hadi, also a captain, and Klein will share their experiences from this game with the younger players, and there are quite a few of them on offense, starting with freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood. Freshman receiver Andrew Marsh also will be making his Michigan-Ohio State debut, and the offensive line starts three redshirt freshmen.

El-Hadi has been around for these games since 2021, but last year was the first he started.

“And just that feeling you get, it’s kind of like when siblings fight,” El-Hadi said of facing the Buckeyes. “You guys know that feeling when siblings fight, you have that rage. We have three guys that never played against this team, so I try to explain to them how important it is to play against this team that’s (going to) be a brawl. They throw some jabs, we throw some jabs. Be a couple uppercuts.

“The end of the day, we have to win the game. That’s what’s important.”

Winning at Ohio Stadium last year for a second straight time after not winning in that stadium since 2000 was enormous for the program, which went on to upset Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

“It was sweet winning down there last year, but it’s gonna be even better here in front of our fans and our student section, our band and just in Ann Arbor, the best place on earth,” Klein said. “Getting that win against that team at home will be huge. So just super excited for the opportunity.

ESPN’s College GameDay and Fox Big Noon Kickoff will host their shows from Ann Arbor, and Moore is more than aware of the distractions before this game. He said he wants his players to remain in the playoff mindset they’ve embraced since losing at USC before winning five straight entering this game.

“There’s a lot of things going on, but at the end of the day, we got to channel our focus on our preparation, and that’s how you win,” Moore said.

Klein said he thinks about the Michigan-Ohio State game every day.

“That’s what this game means to me,” he said. “It means everything to me. If you ask me what the greatest day of my life was, it was last year going down there and beating them in their place. It was the best day of my life so far. And just trying to repeat that this year.”

He was asked how a win Saturday would rate.

“My senior year, Senior Day, them coming to our house in front of our fans, students, band,” Klein said, “it’ll be the best day of my life.”

Injury update

Two-time captain Max Bredeson, a fullback/tight end, was in a right boot and on crutches in the second half of the game at Maryland. Moore said Bredeson had X-rays.

“Didn’t look great, but if anybody can push through it, it’s Max Bredesen,” Moore said. “So we’ll know more as we go through the week.”

Receiver Semaj Morgan and linebacker Ernest Hausmann, a captain and the team’s leading tackler, did not travel to the Maryland game last weekend.

“Semaj will be fine, and Ernest will be day to day,” Moore said.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg scored 15 points and No. 7 Michigan routed San Diego State 94-54 on Monday night in the opening round of the Players Era tournament.

Elliot Cadeau and Morez Johnson Jr. each had 13 points. Nimari Burnett and Rodd Gale Jr. scored 11 apiece and Will Tschetter added 10. Michigan (4-0) outrebounded the Aztecs (2-1) 45-39 and scored 15 fast-break points.

For the Aztecs, freshman Elzie Harrington scored 15 points and B.J. Davis added 11. San Diego State turned the ball over 17 times.

Michigan started the second half with an 8-0 run to turn a 12-point halftime advantage to 20 points in the first 2:41. Johnson had five of the eight points. The Aztecs never got closer than 16 points the rest of the way.

The Wolverines led by 17 points midway through the first half, but San Diego State cut it o nine with 1:26 left in the half on Harrington’s 3-pointer. Burnett countered with his own 3-pointer with 1:05 left and the Wolverines went into the half with a 45-33 lead.

Up next

On Tuesday, Michigan will play No.21 Auburn, and San Diego State will face Oregon.

EAST LANSING (AP) — Kennedy Blair scored 25 points on 10-of-11 shooting and No. 22 Michigan State coasted to a 102-41 win over Oakland on Sunday.

Grace VanSlooten added 14 points and Theryn Hallock scored 10 for the Spartans (6-0), who forced 33 turnovers and turned those into 43 points. Rashunda Jones had nine points, eight assists and five steals.

Layla Gold had 13 points for the Golden Grizzlies (2-4), Oakland shot 28% (15 for 53).

Michigan State shot 54% (39 of 72) with 11 3-pointers.

Blair had 19 points in the first half on 8-of-9 shooting as the Spartans turned 22 turnovers into 27 points.

Emma Shumate hit a 3-pointer and Blair scored eight quick points to close the first quarter with an 11-0 run for a 22-8 lead.

Blair started and ended another 11-0 run starting midway in the second quarter that turned into a 27-4 burst to take a 53-22 halftime lead.

The Spartans continued to roll in the third quarter with 9-0 and 19-0 runs, pushing their lead to 49 at 83-35 when Blair drilled a 3 at the buzzer.

For good measure MSU had a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter to close its season-opening homestand.

Up next

Oakland plays St. Thomas of Nebraska on Tuesday.

Michigan State heads to the Bahamas to play Temple in Baha Mar Hoops on Friday.