Michigan State takes the Paul Bunyan Trophy 15-6, and Beck is out

ANN ARBOR — Michigan lost the Paul Bunyan Trophy to Michigan State 15-6 on Saturday night, and on Sunday head coach Kyle Whittingham fired offensive coordinator Jason Beck.

The athletics recap said the Wolverines gained 192 yards and converted two of 10 third downs. Michigan State held the ball for 38:07 to Michigan’s 21:53. Michigan turned it over four times, two interceptions and two fumbles. Attendance was 111,172. Kickoff was 7:45 p.m., the temperature was 40 degrees, and the game ended at 11:14 p.m. Michigan is 5-4, 2-4 in the Big Ten. Michigan State is 3-6, 1-5. The next Michigan game is Saturday, Nov. 14, at Oregon, 12:30 p.m. Pacific, on FS1.

Liam Boyd kicked all of Michigan State’s points: field goals of 21 and 37 yards in the second quarter, 38 in the third, and 24 and 49 in the fourth. The scoring summary lists the 49-yarder at 4:09 of the fourth, after a four-play, 6-yard drive. Savion Hiter scored Michigan’s only touchdown, a 1-yard run with 1:35 left, set up by a 31-yard catch by JJ Buchanan, the longest Michigan play from scrimmage. The extra point failed. The box score lists Tommy Carr at 138 passing yards, Bryson Kuzdzal at 49 rushing yards, and Andrew Marsh at 38 receiving yards. Michigan State’s Alessio Milivojevic threw for 188, Brandon Tullis rushed for 86, and Chrishon McCray caught passes for 92.

Sunday’s change

Whittingham’s Sunday statement said Beck was relieved of his duties immediately. “The results have not matched our desired outcome, and I felt that a change in leadership was required for our offense,” Whittingham said. He said the staff needs to put the offensive players and the team in the best position to succeed. He called Beck a great man and coach and said it did not work out the way Michigan wanted. Jim Harding will be interim offensive coordinator for the rest of the regular season. Whittingham said he will run a national search for the next coordinator. The firing statement does not name a play-caller for Oregon beyond Harding’s interim title.

What the photo is

Michigan State’s five field goals and Michigan’s one touchdown are the whole scoring summary. Carr’s 138 passing yards and Milivojevic’s 188 are the quarterback lines on the box. Tullis’s 86 rushing yards are the Spartans’ ground game. The 21:53 of possession is why 192 yards felt like less. Sunday’s firing names the offense, not the defense, as the piece Whittingham changed.

The picture is Michigan Stadium. It does not show Boyd’s five field goals, Hiter’s late touchdown, or Sunday’s announcement. The trophy changed hands on Saturday. The coordinator change is a separate sentence from Sunday, tied to the same offense the recap measured at 192 yards. Oregon is six days out. Harding’s title lasts through the regular season. The national search is the sentence that says Beck’s job will not simply be handed back.

Sources:
University of Michigan athletics, “Michigan Drops Rivalry Matchup to Michigan State,” Nov. 7, 2026, https://mgoblue.com/news/2026/11/8/football-u-m-offense-struggles-as-wolverines-drop-bunyan-trophy-to-msu
Michigan box score and scoring summary, Nov. 7, 2026, https://mgoblue.com/sports/football/stats/2026/michigan-state/boxscore/30382
University of Michigan athletics, “Whittingham Announces Change to Offensive Coaching Staff,” Nov. 8, 2026, https://mgoblue.com/news/2026/11/8/football-whittingham-announces-change-to-offensive-coaching-staff
Photo: Dwight Burdette, “Michigan Stadium and Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor, Michigan.JPG”, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMichigan_Stadium_and_Crisler_Arena%2C_Ann_Arbor%2C_Michigan.JPG

Ann Arbor

Tags: Ann Arbor · Michigan football · Michigan State · Kyle Whittingham · Paul Bunyan Trophy