Nebraska enters its toughest game of the season with a clearer idea of how best to attack Michigan State, thanks to one of the best Spartans' top defenders being ruled out for Saturday.
While the Huskers won’t face Brady Pretzlaff, they will still have to deal with running back Cam Edwards, despite the RB1 leaving the game against Notre Dame early last weekend. The new Big Ten availability reports revealed the status of both players.
The most unfortunate situation for Pretzlaff is that it’s the second early-season injury in back-to-back years. He played in the first three games of the season last year but suffered a season-ending injury in Week 3 against Youngstown State. While there’s no indication yet that the junior linebacker is out for the season this time around, it’s ironic that he suffered an injury in the same game in both 2025 and 2026.
Pretzlaff’s injury just ahead of the Spartans’ game against Nebraska is especially bad news for his team, as the linebacker was among the top tacklers so far this year. In parts of three games, he recorded 17 tackles, just one less than team leader Devin Vaught, who has 18 stops. According to PFF, Pretzlaff is one of the team's highest-graded defenders, with an overall rating of 75.4, and he’s been especially effective on pass defense, with a 76.5 pass coverage rating.
Michigan State loses Brady Pretzlaff but expects Cam Edwards against Nebraska football
Michigan State will be without Pretzlaff, but Cam Edwards’ apparent return is a big boost for an offense that has struggled at times this season and scored just 10 points last week.
Edwards’ early exit against Notre Dame was never really discussed by Spartans head coach Pat Fitzgerald. When asked Monday whether he expected the running back to be ready for Nebraska, he demurred and said the point of the availability was to answer questions like that. Edwards was not included on either of the two reports so far this week, meaning he’s expected to be “full go.”
Edwards is not only Michigan State's leading rusher, but he’s also been the Spartans' workhorse. His 60 carries so far this year are four times as many as any other running back on his squad. He’s taking those 60 carries for 288 yards and three touchdowns. He also has 3 catches for 12 yards.
Edwards’ best game so far this season was against Eastern Michigan when he carried 21 times for 152 yards and 2 touchdowns. Against Notre Dame last week, he had just 12 carries for 38 yards.
The running back transferred to the Big Ten school this offseason after playing four years with UCONN. His 2025 campaign was easily the best of his career, running for 1,240 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also averaged 5.9 yards per carry, after slipping by nearly a full yard per carry this season.
While Michigan State will be out one of its best defenders on Saturday afternoon, Nebraska didn’t emerge unscathed from last week’s game against North Dakota. Most notably, safety Rex Guthrie was downgraded from healthy to doubtful on Thursday’s availability report. The Huskers will also be without tight end Carter Nelson, who had his first reception of the season against the Fighting Hawks before leaving with a leg injury.
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