The first half of the USC vs. Michigan State football game had plenty of action, and not all of it was good, especially not for the Spartans.
The Spartans did take a 7-3 lead in the first quarter, and it looked like they might just be able to hang, but the Trojans responded with three touchdowns to take a 24-10 lead into the half.
Right before the half, however, Michigan State linebacker Wayne Matthews III went down with what looked like any other injury, but he just didn't get back up. He was responsive, it seemed, with the trainers, but they brought out the stretcher, and he was carted to an ambulance where he presumably will be evaluated at a local hospital.
The broadcast didn't show what happened, and I don't want to speculate, but the team was very emotional after the injury.
Michigan State's Wayne Matthews III was carted off the field after a collision at USC. pic.twitter.com/4MfCEI2eX4
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) September 21, 2025
It was hard to see what happened exactly on the play, but it looked like there was a collision on a tackle of a USC ball-carrier, but the pile was too crowded to see who ran into who. You never want to see anything like this happen, and you could tell that the Spartans were crushed after that injury.
The defense would go on to give up a touchdown on the next play. Earlier in the game, Jordan Hall was ejected for targeting, so that meant that the defense was without its top two linebackers.
It's tough to come back from that defensively.
Hopefully Matthews is OK, and the scary injury isn't as severe as it looked. The Spartans have had some horrendous injury luck over the past two weeks.