EAST LANSING, Mich. — The only thing missing on Saturday at Spartan Stadium was the fans, and it's probably a good thing the Michigan State faithful weren't around.
If they were, the chorus of boos would likely have been reigning down early and often as Michigan State opened the Mel Tucker era with a brutal performance, turning the ball over seven times. Rutgers, a team that had lost 21 straight Big Ten games, took advantage and rolled to a 38-27 victory.
It was the first win for Rutgers over Michigan State since it joined the conference in 2014, and its fourth victory overall.
This one was doomed from the start as Tucker's team looked like the one that didn't practice all spring and had parts of its summer and fall workouts shut down because of COVID-19. The seven turnovers — five lost fumbles and two interceptions — were the most for the Spartans since a 43-36 win over Minnesota on Nov. 11, 1981.
Sophomore transfer Jayden Reed had 11 catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns, but he fumbled twice, both ending promising drives for the Spartans.
And quarterback Rocky Lombardi, who was the only one to take a snap under center, was 31 for 44 for 319 yards and three touchdowns, but he threw two interceptions and fumbled inside the MSU 5 in the first half.
Rutgers (1-0) scored 21 points off the turnovers as coach Greg Schiano won in his return for Rutgers, the team he led from 2001-11.
Isaih Pacheco ran for two touchdowns while quarterback Noah Vedral threw for one and ran for another for the Scarlet Knights.
It was clear early on that Rutgers would be the aggressor as it took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards on 10 plays, a 25-yard third-down pass from Vedral to Max Melton the key to the drive. The Scarlet Knights capped things off with a 12-yard run by Pacheco to take a 7-0 lead.
The Spartans followed by starting a long run of shooting themselves in the foot. Lombardi connected with Reed on a 19-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage, but Reed fumbled the ball and the Scarlet Knights got the ball right back.
The Michigan State defense answered with a three-and-out, but on the next drive, Lombardi was sacked and fumbled the ball. It was recovered by Rutgers' Tyreek Maddox-Williams and four plays later Johnny Langan scored on a 1-yard run to give the Scarlet Knights a 14-0 lead less than halfway through the first quarter.
Late in the quarter, Michigan State was able to get the ball moving behind the running of freshman Jordan Simmons. Facing a fourth-and-1 at midfield, Lombardi hit Reed, who made a quick move then went 50 yards for the touchdown to pull the Spartans within 14-7 with 23 seconds left in the quarter.
Michigan State's next drive ended when Lombardi was intercepted by Rutgers' Tre Avery. Two plays later, Vedral scored on a 24-yard run to extend the lead to 21-7.
The Spartans were putting together another solid drive in response, but after gaining 10 yards on a catch, Reed fumbled again, this time in Rutgers territory. The defense answered with a Shakur Brown interception, but his return for a touchdown was called back for an illegal block. Michigan State ended up settling for a 45-yard field goal from Matt Coghlin to pull within 21-10 with 3:13 left in the half.
Rutgers wasn't done, though, returning the kickoff to nearly midfield, setting up a six-play drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown run for Pacheco. The Spartans managed a 48-yard field goal from Coghlin to close the half down, 28-13.
Michigan State overcame its fifth turnover — a fumble by Simmons on the first drive of the second half — by creating one of their own on punt coverage. Linebacker Chase Kline hit Rutgers return man Aron Cruickshank, jarring the ball loose and it was recovered by Antjuan Simmons.
On the next play, Lombardi hit Jalen Nailor with a 30-yard touchdown pass to bring MSU within 28-20 with 6:30 left in the third quarter.
The Spartans forced another turnover on the next drive but failed to capitalize, getting stuffed on fourth down from inside Rutgers territory. The Scarlet Knights answered with a 44-yard field goal from Guy Fava with 12:20 to play to extend their lead to 31-20.
Rutgers put the game away with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Vedral to Shameen Jones with 4:38 left in the fourth quarter, pushing its lead to 38-20. The Spartans added a 4-yard touchdown pass from Lombardi to Reed with 1:53 to play to close out the scoring.
