Michigan State Loses RB Cam Edwards To Knee Injury

Michigan State's conference opener went bad fast, and the scoreboard had nothing to do with it. With 9:41 left in the 1st quarter against Nebraska, Cam Edwards caught a screen pass and went 23 yards before Nebraska's Danny Odem III brought him down. Edwards grabbed his right knee as soon as he hit the ground. Nobody watching needed a trainer to explain what that meant.

Chris Vannini

@ChrisVannini

Michigan State RB Cam Edwards suffered what looked like a nasty knee injury on a tackle. He's in the medical tent.

The medical tent was only the first stop. Edwards was carted to the locker room and looked visibly frustrated on the way, which is usually a bad sign. He came back to the sideline in the 2nd quarter wearing street clothes and on crutches. The team didn't give a diagnosis during the game, but walking back in on crutches doesn't leave much room for optimism.

This one hurts because Edwards was the engine of the offense. The junior came into the game with 288 yards on 60 carries, 7th among Big Ten rushers. Before the season, Pat Fitzgerald said he could be one of the best running backs in the country. You don't replace that by moving the next guy up the depth chart and hoping.

Things got worse from there, on the field and in the stands. Chris Vannini, who was watching the game, said the air went out of the whole stadium once Edwards went down.

Chris Vannini

@ChrisVannini

Michigan State's had no energy since Cam Edwards got hurt. The crowd, too. They need someone to make a play.

Fitzgerald went with the standard next-man-up line. Jaziun Patterson and Marvis Parrish are expected to get the bigger share of the carries, and Brandon Tullis could also get work. None of the 3 has handled a lead-back workload like the one Edwards was carrying, and Nebraska's defense saw that difference right away.

Next up is Wisconsin. The key question is whether Edwards is on the field for it, and every report so far points the wrong way. If he's out, anyone betting on Michigan State has to price an offense that lost its best player in the 1st quarter of Big Ten play, and a team that looked like it lost its spark along with him. Keep an eye on the injury update this week. Right now it's the biggest story in East Lansing.