Michigan State injury updates: Report shares most recent status of two Spartans WRs

The Michigan State receiver room just got a big piece back ahead of hosting Ohio State, as wideout Jaron Glover is expected to play against the Buckeyes, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Glover missed the previous two games for the Spartans.

However, there is some troublesome news mixed in for freshman wideout Nick Marsh. He missed Michigan’s State’s Week 4 loss at Boston College and is going to be a game time decision against the Buckeyes, Thamel reported.

The Spartans host the Buckeyes for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Spartan Stadium this Saturday.

Marsh and Glover are the Spartans second and third leading receivers at the position in terms of catches — tight end Jack Velling is second on the team in receptions — and Marsh leads the Spartans with 232 yards. Both he and Glover have managed a touchdown each so far in 2024, despite their various injuries.

Regardless, the Spartans will still also lean on Velling and other top receiver Montorie Foster, who has a team-leading 17 catches and 200 yards, along with a touchdown.

The Spartans aren’t too caught up measuring their rebuild against the Buckeyes

Michigan State has lost each of its last eight meetings with Ohio State and is a 23.5-point underdog heading into this year’s matchup, which is set for Saturday night at Spartan Stadium.

The last Spartans win in the series was also the most recent chapter of an MSU-OSU upset saga. A 41-yard Michael Geiger field goal clinched a 17-14 Spartans victory and stunned Buckeyes faithful in the Horseshoe as a talent-laden 2015 Ohio State squad saw its College Football Playoff hopes dashed.The video player is currently playing an ad. You can skip the ad in 5 sec with a mouse or keyboardSkip Ad

Sometimes it’s green, sometimes it’s white, but Michigan State has often been the kryptonite for Ohio State, like in 1998 when John Cooper’s top-ranked Buckeyes squandered a 24-9 lead, or in 1974 when Woody Hayes’ No. 1 Buckeyes fell victim to an infamous goal line finale in a still-controversial 16-13 “Bizarre Bowl” defeat.

First-year Spartans head coach Jonathan Smith was asked this week if he used the Oregon game as a measuring stick when he was previously coaching at Oregon State and, likewise, if he’ll use the Ohio State game as such for this year’s Michigan State team, which is 3-1 after a disappointing loss in a Week 4 thriller at Boston College.

“I don’t know if we sit here and pinpoint, ‘OK these two opponents are going to tell us where we’re at as a program,’” Smith said. “We got a bunch of respect for them. But again, we’re going to treat this Saturday and our approach to this Saturday very similar, understanding that you’re going to have to play really well to win a game, and I think we approach that week in and week out.”

While Michigan State has a knack for beating the odds in games against Ohio State, things haven’t been close lately in the series. After the Buckeyes escaped the 2016 matchup with a 17-16 victory, here are the scores of their last seven wins over the Spartans: 48-3 (2017), 26-6 (2018), 34-10 (2019), 52-12 (2020), 56-7 (2021), 49-20 (2022) and 38-3 (2023).

Smith, though, isn’t focused on past results.

“We’re excited about the opportunity on Saturday,” he said. “We get 12 of them guaranteed. I want our approach to be pretty consistent. We respect everybody we play. Obviously, these guys demand some respect, and so we’ll give them that with our work and preparation. I think, hopefully, we’ll get to the point on Saturday where they’re going to be excited to play in this game.