ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan State did not score a touchdown in Ann Arbor on Saturday night. It did not need one.
Liam Boyd kicked five field goals — every one of Michigan State’s points — and the Spartans beat Michigan 15–6 at Michigan Stadium, winning the Paul Bunyan Trophy for the first time since 2021 and snapping a six-game losing streak that had swallowed their season.
Boyd was perfect: 21 yards late in the second quarter, 37 yards on the last play of the half, 38 in the third, then 24 and 49 in the fourth to close the door. His five field goals are a career night by any measure, and they were the whole offense on the scoreboard — 15 points, all off one right leg.
Michigan State’s defense made sure that was enough. The Spartans forced four turnovers and sacked Tommy Carr five times, harassing Michigan’s freshman quarterback into a 14-of-26 night for 138 yards and two interceptions. This was a defense that arrived in Ann Arbor having forced fewer turnovers than any team in the Big Ten. It left with the ball four times.
The tone was set early. Devin Vaught intercepted Carr’s second throw of the night. Later, NiJhay Burt picked off a pass in the fourth quarter to set up Boyd’s 24-yarder, then stripped Andrew Marsh in the final minutes to set up the 49-yard kick that ended it. Alijah Lafaele forced a fumble that Nikai Martinez recovered. Michigan finished with 192 total yards — 54 of them rushing.
The game’s defining possession never reached the end zone either. Pinned at its own 1-yard line in the third quarter, Michigan State drove 79 yards in 17 plays and burned 10:41 off the clock before Boyd’s 38-yarder pushed the lead to 9–0. The Spartans held the ball for 38:07. Running back Brandon Tullis carried 25 times for 86 yards — more than Michigan’s entire team managed on the ground.
Alessio Milivojevic, back after missing the UCLA game, went 21-of-32 for 188 yards without a touchdown or an interception, and Chrishon McCray caught six passes for 92 yards, including the 35-yard catch-and-run that set up Boyd’s field goal at the halftime gun.
Michigan’s only points came with 1:35 left, when Savion Hiter scored on a 1-yard run — a touchdown that kept the Wolverines from being shut out at home by Michigan State for the first time since 1967. Carr was sacked on the two-point try, and Michigan never got the ball back with a chance.
Pat Fitzgerald is the third Michigan State coach to beat Michigan in his first attempt, after Nick Saban in 1995 and Mel Tucker in 2020. The win also ended a personal 13-game Big Ten losing streak for Fitzgerald dating back to his Northwestern tenure. Across the field, Kyle Whittingham’s first season at Michigan fell to 5–4.
Michigan State is 3–6 and 1–5 in the Big Ten. The record is not the story tonight. The trophy is.
Every play from Ann Arbor lives on the game’s Game Center page, and the rest of the college football slate is on the College Football hub.
Sources · 5 sources
- ESPN — game summary, box score and scoring summary, Michigan State at Michigan (event 401858511): final score 15–6, Boyd’s five field goals (21, 37, 38, 24, 49), Michigan’s four turnovers, team totals of 298–192 and 38:07 of Michigan State possession; double-read at build, Nov 7, 2026
- Associated Press — “Boyd makes 5 field goals, Michigan State forces 4 turnovers and has 5 sacks in 15-6 win over Michigan” (via NBC Sports / TSN)
- Detroit Free Press — Michigan State 15, Michigan 6 recap, Nov 7, 2026, including Fitzgerald as the third Michigan State coach to beat Michigan in his first attempt
- Sportradar — final score feed, Michigan State at Michigan
- The Ticket — “Worst turnover team in Big Ten picks off Michigan twice to spark upset”
