Recap: Michigan State rides second-half surge past Central Michigan

It didn't start pretty, and may have given fans flashbacks to an up-and-down 2022 season, but Mel Tucker and Michigan State pulled it out in the end.

Noah Kim overcame a poor start to throw two second-half touchdowns and helped lead an offensive avalanche, as the Spartans scored 28 straight points to defeat Central Michigan, 31-7, in their season opener Friday night.

Kim, who was named the starter just a few hours before kickoff, started the game going 1-for-5 for minus-3 yards,with his passes going over the heads of his intended receivers and out of bounds. Whether it was nerves or lack of experience, Kim eventually found his rhythm and finished 18-for-31 with 279 passing yards and two touchdowns.

He wasn't the only Spartan with a good day, as Nathan Carter showed off his potential in the run game with 113 yards on 18 carries and a rushing touchdown. Kim threw his two touchdowns to tight end Maliq Carr and receiver Tyrell Henry, who had the highlight of the night thanks to his one-handed touchdown reception.

Defensively, the Spartans dominated by forcing six three-and-out possessions and holding Central Michigan to zero points after giving up a touchdown thanks to back-to-back facemask penalties in the second quarter. Cal Haladay led with 10 total tackles, a tackle for loss, and an interception in the third quarter. The defense had 10 total tackles for loss and three sacks from Jacoby Windmon, Aaron Brule, and Simeon Barrow Jr.

MSU scores 28 unanswered points for 31-7 opening-week blowout

Central Michigan is moving down the field in their last possession, with Michigan State drawing another facemask flag. Receiver Kenny Brewer makes an impressive one handed catch, but Central Michigan is unable to score on their final drive. (End of game)

Katin Houser comes in the game and looked shaky, getting sacked for a 9-yard loss on second down, then almost throwing an interception on third down as the last minutes of this game slowly tick down. (2:35)

Bauer makes an impressive run for a 14-yard gain, but then throws two straight incompletions on second and third down to bring out the punt team. Spartans take over on their own 35. (4:05)

Nathan Carter shows off the speed on first-and-10 and is taken out of bounds for a 37-yard gain into Chippewas territory. Noah Kim shows he capable of making a mistake in the second half, getting called for intentional grounding after badly overthrowing his target. Kim misses his target again on third-and-12 that leads to a punt, just the second MSU drive that didn't lead to a touchdown in the second half. (5:58)

Central Michigan now has back-up Jase Bauer in at quarterback, but CMU yet again goes three plays before punting the ball back to Michigan State. MSU takes over at its own 32. (7:22)

Kim throws second TD, Michigan State pulling away

Henry continues where he last left off, taking a pass from Kim for a 15-yard gain. Kim decides to run it himself on the next play, then is tackled out of bounds on a late hit that draws a penalty for 15 more yards. On first-and-goal at the 8-yard line, Kim and Carr finally connect in the end zone for Kim's second passing touchdown of the game, as Michigan State has now scored 28 unanswered points. (9:05)

Michigan State's defense continues to smother Central Michigan's offense, forcing their fifth three-and-out of the game. Central Michigan has only gained 35 yards since the beginning of the second half, not even entering Michigan State territory since scoring their only touchdown in the second quarter. MSU's offense gets a quick breather thanks to the defense and takes over at their own 45-yard line. (11:07)

MSU receivers Fitzpatrick, Henry make highlight plays to extend lead

(Start of 4th Quarter) The Spartan offense comes back on the field on their own 18-yard line with 14:40 left in the game. Kim finds Christian Fitzpatrick, who jukes out a CMU defender and runs all the way to the Central Michigan 10-yard line for a 72-yard gain. On second-and-goal, Tyrell Henry makes the play of the night, a leaping one-handed grab for his first catch and touchdown as Michigan State takes a 24-7 lead in the final quarter. (13:26)

Spartans exit third quarter with 17-7 lead

MSU's defense almost comes up with a first play interception against Emanuel, but the ball was dropped. CMU is able to create a first down, but Angelo Grose sniffs out a read option on second-and-8 for a loss of 5 yards, then Jacoby Windmon does a Dwight Freeney-like spin move to sack Emanuel on third down to force a punt and end the quarter. (End of 3rd Quarter)

Berger leads Spartan offense to second TD

Kim dumps it down to Evan Morris on first down, then Jalen Berger takes the next two carries for 8 total yards and a first down. La'Vario Wiley is called for pass interference as Kim tried to find Antonio Gates Jr. down the sideline, with MSU getting into the red zone. Berger scores on a 12-yard touchdown as MSU takes its first multiple possession lead of the game. (2:42)

Dillon Tatum makes an impressive tackle on first-and-10 on Sam Hicks for a 4-yard loss, then Aaron Brule brings down Emanuel for the third down sack. Tyrell Henry returns the punt for a huge gain to the CMU 45. (5:32)

MSU takes over on their own 31-yard line. Kim finds his favorite target so far, Tre Mosley on third-and-2 for a 14-yard gain. Dallas Finster is called for a false start, turning third-and-5 to third-and-10 and leading to a Carr dropped pass. Spartans are unable to take advantage of the turnover, then can't retrieve the ball on the punt, leading to a touchback for CMU. (7:53)

Spartans force first turnover thanks to Hall and Haladay

(Start of 3rd Quarter) Michigan State will kick the ball off for the beginning of the second half. CMU begins at their own 35-yard line. Emanuel scrambles on third-and-11 to make it fourth-and-1, then MSU is called for an illegal substitution as Central Michigan hiked the ball before an extra Spartan could get off the field. Emanuel scrambles yet again for a 12-yard gain as Central Michigan is quickly driving down the field. On second-and-5, Emanuel's pass is tipped by Jordan Hall and intercepted by Cal Haladay for the game's first turnover. (11:28)

Halftime: Michigan State leads Central Michigan, 10-7

Central Michigan takes over on their own 25-yard line, but the Spartans yet again force three-and-out as the Spartan offense gets the ball back with 23 seconds left on their own 37-yard line. Kim goes for a Hail Mary as time expires as the ball just hits the chest of Montorie Foster Jr. in the end zone for an incompletion. (End of 2nd Quarter)

Spartans strike quickly, regain lead

Spartans start their two minute drill on their own 16-yard line. Kim overthrows Maliq Carr on first down, then connects with Jaron Glover for 32-yard and 33-yard catches to set up first-and-goal at CMU's 2-yard line. Nathan Carter punches it in along with the extra point as the Spartans take a 10-7 lead. (0:48)

MSU penalties lead to CMU touchdown

The Chippewas take over on their own 30-yard line. On first-and-10, Emanuel evades defenders for a first down pass. The Spartans are called on consecutive facemask calls on defense as the Chippewas finds themselves on the MSU 12 in just three plays. Emanuel finds receiver Chris Parker open in the end zone as CMU takes a 7-3 lead. (1:51)

Noah Kim rolls right on first down and makes a great throw but Mosley drops it near the sideline at the 45-yard line. The offense makes up for it the next play with a screen pass to Carter for a first down at the Spartans' 47, with a roughing the passer call adding 15 more yards. Carter gains nine yards on three straight carries, but can't convert on a fourth-and-1 run down the middle as Jacques Bristol wraps him up before the first down marker. (3:11)

Central Michigan takes a touchback as they will start on their own 25-yard line. The Chippewas gain 9 yards on the ground thanks to Emanuel and B.J. Harris, but Emanuel throws it short on third-and-1 as the Spartans defense forces yet another quick three-and-out. The ball is punted for a short return as the Spartans take over on their own 25-yard line. (5:52)

Spartans force quick three-and-out, put up first points

Noah Kim's second completion is to Tre Mosley for a big 23-yard gain. Brandon Baldwin is called on a false start on third-and-12 to add five more yards for the Spartans to convert. Kim can't connect with Mosley again on third-and-17, but Jonathan Kim just barely makes a 47-yard field goal for the first score of the game. (6:55)

The Spartans' defense forced a quick three-and-out as Aumorion Smith makes a great tackle on third-and-6 to force fourth down. The punt by Central Michigan is short and goes out of bounds on their own 46-yard line as the Spartans offense looks to take advantage of the field position. (8:17)

Another quick possession by MSU

Spartans' running attack looked strong as Nathan Carter gained 11 yards through the ground, but Noah Kim overthrew another receiver on third-and-5 as Michigan State goes just six plays before punting the ball back to Central Michigan at the Chippewas' own 12. (10:08)

Big tackle for loss by Zion Young forces CMU to punt

(Start of 2nd Quarter) Myles Bailey picks up the first down on a 4-yard run, but Zion Young makes a big tackle for a 9-yard loss on a failed sweep. Spartans force an incompletion on third-and-18 for Central Michigan's first punt of the game. Fair catch made at MSU's 30-yard line. (12:44)

Spartans, Chippewas scoreless as first quarter ends

Central Michigan gains 2 yards off a run from Marion Lukes and Emanuel completes a pass for 6 yards to Chris Parker to end the quarter. Scoreless after a quick first quarter. (End of 1st Quarter)

Kim off to rough start, MSU offense stalls again

Spartans get the ball back on their own 2-yard line. Spartans are leaning on Jalen Berger as he gets three straight carries for a first down conversion. A screen pass on second-and-10 loses 3 yards, and Kim overthrows Antonio Gates Jr. on third down as Kim starts off 1-for-5 for minus-3 yards. Michigan State is forced to punt as Central Michigan takes over on its own 32-yard line. (:58)

Spartans come up with a big fourth-and-goal stand

Central Michigan has no trouble driving down the field after its fourth-down stop against the Spartans. Bert Emanuel goes 4-for-5 for 35 yards passing. Central Michigan got as close as the 5-yard line as the Spartans were lucky on a third-down drop, but Malik Spencer was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, giving the Chippewas a fresh set of downs. On fourth-and-goal at the 2-yard line, Emanuel slipped on a play-action pass and was brought down by Simeon Barrow Jr. (3:48).

Spartans unable to convert on fourth down in first drive

(Start of 1st Quarter) Nathan Carter starts off with a big run of 31 yards as the Spartans find themselves in Central Michigan territory in one play. Noah Kim goes 0-for-2, and the Spartans are able to draw offsides on fourth-and-6. But on fourth-and-1, Carter is unable to gain the extra yard and the ball is turned over to Central Michigan (13:19).

Kickoff

Michigan State will start the first half with the ball, as Noah Kim was named the starter before the beginning of the game. Tyrell Henry returns the kick from the end zone to the 26-yard-line. Alante Brown was injured on the kickoff return and is being carted off.

Pregame

Michigan State opens up its 2023 season against Central Michigan on Friday night at Spartan Stadium.

MSU head coach Mel Tucker and the Spartans look to rebound from a disappointing 2022 campaign, where they finished 5-7 and went 3-6 in the Big Ten. Tucker enters his fourth year as head coach of the program, his only winning season so far coming in 2021, when the Spartans finished 11-2 and capped off the season with a win in the Peach Bowl.

One of the main story lines entering this game and the rest of the season will be who has earned the starting job at quarterback between Noah Kim and Katin Houser, with Tucker leaving the position of starting quarterback up in the air.

The Spartans have gone 9-1 in their last 10 home openers, their only loss coming against Rutgers in the shortened 2020 season, which was also Tucker's first game as head coach.

Follow along here for live updates from Detroit News contributor Kameron Goodwill.

Michigan State vs. Central Michigan

▶ Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday, Spartan Stadium, East Lansing

▶ TV/radio: FS1/760 AM

▶ Line: Spartans by 14.5

▶ Records: Season opener for both teams

▶ Series: Michigan State leads, 8-3 (Last game: Sept. 29, 2018 — (at) Michigan State 31, Central Michigan 20)