Michigan State LB Wayne Matthews taken off Coliseum field on cart after frightening injury

By Canadian Press on September 20, 2025.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michigan State starting linebacker Wayne Matthews has been taken off the Coliseum field on a cart after getting hurt while making a tackle in the Spartans’ game against No. 25 Southern California on Saturday night.

Matthews was hurt while tackling USC running back Waymond Jordan in the red zone with 42 seconds left in the second quarter. Matthews’ teammates signaled for help from the sideline after he didn’t get up from a pile of players, and Michigan State’s medical personnel immediately tended to Matthews on the field.

Matthews, whose jersey was cut off on the field, was eventually loaded onto a backboard and a cart while players from both teams watched reverently. The linebacker appeared to give a thumbs-up to his teammates before he was driven across the field and up the Coliseum tunnel.

The Spartans gathered for a team prayer huddle before they continued the game.

Matthews is a fifth-year senior who spent his first three collegiate seasons at Old Dominion before joining Michigan State last year. He had two tackles against USC, giving him 26 in the Spartans’ first four games.

Michigan State’s other starting linebacker, Jordan Hall, was ejected in the second quarter for targeting.

USC scored on the first play after Matthews’ injury and eventually took a 24-10 lead into halftime.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/college-football

The Associated Press