EAST LANSING, Mich. (Interstat) — Nebraska defeated Michigan State 31-13 on Saturday in an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision game at Spartan Stadium. The Cornhuskers improved to 4-0. The Spartans dropped to 2-2. Nebraska’s offense produced balanced gains through the air and on the ground, and its defense delivered stops and a blocked field goal in the second half. Michigan State stayed within striking distance into the third quarter but could not finish drives consistently.

Michigan State opened the scoring in the first quarter when Liam Boyd made a 48-yard field goal with 5:10 remaining. Nebraska answered with Anthony Colandrea’s 44-yard touchdown pass to Kwazi Gilmer with 1:45 left in the quarter. Gilmer caught the deep middle pass at the Michigan State goal line, and the play was reviewed for pass completion. The call was upheld, and Kyle Cunanan’s kick made it 7-3. In the second quarter, Mekhi Nelson ran 4 yards for a touchdown with 11:54 remaining. The play was reviewed for whether the runner broke the plane, and the call was upheld. Cunanan’s kick made it 14-3. Cunanan added a 32-yard field goal with 10 minutes left to make it 17-3. Michigan State responded with Jaziun Patterson’s 2-yard touchdown run with 6:07 remaining. Liam Boyd’s kick made it 17-10. Nebraska closed the first half when Colandrea found Vincent Genatone for a 13-yard touchdown with 2 seconds left. Genatone caught the short middle pass at the Michigan State 11-yard line and reached the end zone. Cunanan’s kick made it 24-10 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Boyd made a 46-yard field goal with 10:02 remaining for the Spartans, cutting the Nebraska lead to 24-13. Later in the period, Boyd lined up for a 52-yard attempt with 1:27 remaining, but Nebraska’s Williams Nwaneri blocked it. Nebraska put the game further out of reach in the fourth quarter when Genatone scored on a 1-yard run with 10:05 remaining. The Cornhuskers then protected the lead. Michigan State could not answer. Nebraska finished with 31 points. Michigan State finished with 13.

Anthony Colandrea was Nebraska’s top star. Colandrea completed 15 of 27 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 10 times for 66 yards. Alessio Milivojevic led the Spartans’ passing attack and completed 18 of 26 passes for 208 yards for Michigan State. Quinn Clark caught two passes for 34 yards for Nebraska. Danny Odem III made four tackles. Anthony Jones Jr. had five tackles. Victor Evans III and Dwayne McDougle III each recorded seven tackles. Owen Chambliss led Nebraska with eight tackles and added an interception. Donovan Jones had three tackles and a sack. Jacory Barney Jr. caught one pass for 12 yards and returned one punt for 12 yards. Luke Lindenmeyer caught four passes for 25 yards. Jamir Conn made four tackles and a sack. Kwazi Gilmer caught four passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. Nyziah Hunter caught one pass for 12 yards and returned one kickoff for 18 yards. Janiran Bonner caught one pass for 5 yards. Jamal Rule ran four times for 4 yards. Vincent Genatone ran three times for 4 yards, caught one pass for 13 yards, and scored two touchdowns. Isaiah Mozee ran seven times for 23 yards and caught one pass for 10 yards. Archie Wilson punted three times for 131 yards. Kyle Cunanan handled kicking duties.

Nebraska’s defense also received production from Vincent Shavers Jr., Owen Stoudmire and Caleb Benning, who made four, four and three tackles, respectively. Kade Pietrzak had three tackles and a quarterback hurry. Williams Nwaneri recorded two tackles, two sacks and a quarterback hurry while also blocking the field goal. Dawson Merritt and Jahsear Whittington each had two tackles and a sack. Justyn Rhett, Derek Wacker, Keelan Smith and Dexter Foster each made two tackles. Riley Van Poppel, Cameron Lenhardt and Mason Goldman each added one tackle. Andrew Marshall intercepted a pass. Nebraska finished with six sacks and two interceptions. Nwaneri led the pass rush with two sacks. Chambliss and Marshall recorded the interceptions.

For Michigan State, Brennan Parachek caught three passes for 40 yards. Ben Roberts made four tackles. Charles Brantley made four tackles. Andrew Brinson IV made five tackles. Devin Vaught made eight tackles. Caleb Wheatland led the Spartans with nine tackles and a quarterback hurry. Rodney Bullard Jr. caught two passes for 11 yards. Kai Rios caught one pass for 16 yards. Jayden Savoury caught two passes for 24 yards. Nikai Martinez made four tackles and a quarterback hurry. Fredrick Moore caught four passes for 43 yards. Chrishon McCray caught four passes for 47 yards and returned two punts for 7 yards. Brandon Tullis ran once for 2 yards. Marvis Parrish ran three times for 6 yards and caught one pass for 11 yards. Cam Edwards ran four times for 16 yards and caught one pass for 23 yards.

Nebraska had previously defeated North Dakota 34-7, Bowling Green 56-7 and Ohio 49-21. Michigan State had beaten Eastern Michigan 35-7 and Toledo 30-20 before falling to Notre Dame 27-10. Nebraska is scheduled to face Maryland, Indiana, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Rutgers, Ohio State and Iowa. Michigan State is set to face Wisconsin, Illinois, Northwestern, UCLA, Michigan, Washington, Oregon and Rutgers. The Cornhuskers remained unbeaten with the road victory. The Spartans moved to .500.

Interstat’s game simulator projected Nebraska 28, Michigan State 25. Interstat’s ELO system gave Nebraska a 57.8 percent probability to win. Michigan State had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 5.5. The total score of 44 went over the over/under line of 49.5.