Michigan State · Big TenBoyd helps Michigan State beat Toledo
Liam Boyd and the special-teams unit powered a 30-20 win Friday after the Spartans went 4-8 in 2025.
SEP 5, 2026
The Pate State · Editorial IllustrationWith its offense and defense producing mixed results, Michigan State opened the 2026 season Friday, Sept. 4, with a 30-20 win over Toledo, On3 reported. Kicker Liam Boyd spearheaded a special-teams effort that played a critical role in the victory, with the rest of the unit also contributing.
The Spartans moved to 1-0 after going 4-8, including 1-8 in the Big Ten, last season. Toledo finished 8-5 in 2025, giving Michigan State an early win against a team that had a winning record a year ago.
The result gives Michigan State a chance to build momentum before a Sept. 19 road game at Notre Dame. The Spartans host Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Sept. 12, before that test.
The account did not include Boyd’s statistics, team special-teams numbers or the specific plays that swung the game. The unit’s impact can be measured for now only by the 30-20 result.
The Spartans are 1-0, and special teams got them there.
01 · The Detail Beneath the HeadlineWhat Most People Are Missing
Michigan State has already banked one-quarter of the victories it managed in 2025, and it did so against a Toledo team that finished with twice as many overall wins and six times as many conference wins last season. The opener cut against that record gap while the offense and defense were uneven.
The schedule now offers one intermediate checkpoint before the level rises. A win over Eastern Michigan on Sept. 12 would put the Spartans halfway to their entire 2025 victory total before the Sept. 19 trip to Notre Dame; the Sept. 26 Nebraska game then opens Big Ten play. Special teams therefore can buy Michigan State more than one result: It can keep the season’s record ahead of its uneven scrimmage units through the nonconference runway.
02 · The Open QuestionsQuestions to Be Answered
Can Boyd and the special-teams unit create the same edge against Notre Dame?
Notre Dame is the first opponent on Michigan State’s schedule that Josh Pate placed in his preseason bracket, at No. 9. The Eastern Michigan game on Sept. 12 is the lone checkpoint between the Toledo performance and that Sept. 19 trip. Boyd’s field-goal results and the unit’s returns and coverage against Eastern Michigan would show whether Toledo exposed a lasting strength or supplied a one-game swing; the same categories against Notre Dame would show whether the advantage survives a rise in opposition.