GREEN & WHITE FOOTBALL

MSU moves 2016 season opener to a Friday

Joe Rexrode

Detroit Free Press

MSU will open its football season on a Friday night for a sixth straight year, announcing today its 2016 season opener against Furman has been moved from Sept. 3 to Sept. 2.

Offensive tackle Jack Conklin and Michigan State wide receiver Aaron Burbridge and running back Gerald Holmes and offensive lineman Brian Allen celebrate a touchdown during the 2nd half of a game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Spartan Stadium.

That's the Friday of Labor Day weekend, and it has become tradition for MSU, with athletic director Mark Hollis saying in the past that it allows fans to attend the game and still get away for the long weekend. MSU is 5-0 in the previous Friday openers, including last season's at Western Michigan.

There's no time or TV yet for the game, which will be MSU's sixth and likely last against an FCS team, now that the Big Ten is discouraging its schools from scheduling such games.