Michigan State football will kick off the 2021 season a day earlier — with a Friday primetime matchup just north of Chicago.
The Spartans’ opener at Northwestern was moved to a 9 p.m. start Sept. 3 at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois to begin Mel Tucker’s second season. The game will be televised on ESPN.
It was one of six kickoff times announced Thursday. MSU will return home to host Youngstown State on Sept. 11 (Big Ten Network), then travel to Miami (Fla.) on Sept. 18 (ABC or ESPN). Both of those games start at noon.