Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
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| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 2 | W 35-7vs Eastern Michigan | 3 | 5 | 1.7 | 0 | 8 | Season-high 5 yds |
| Wk 7 | L 21-24vs No. 25 Northwestern | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Total | 3 | 5 | 1.7 | 0 | 8 |
Zion Gist is a running back at Michigan State who has played in 2 of Michigan State's 8 games this season, most recently Oct 17.
Michigan State is 2-6.
A game that shows it: 5 rushing yards against Eastern Michigan — Week 2, 2026.
5 rushing yards · 0 rushing TD · 3 carries
What fans said
vs Eastern Michigan, Sep 12What is up with Clarizio? We had to might a lot of blue bloods to get him to sign here and even Gist is getting carries ahead of himMichigan State fan, r/CFB game thread
Where to follow
Career stats
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| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Michigan State | 3 | 5 | 1.7 | 0 | 8 |
| Career | 3 | 5 | 1.7 | 0 | 8 |
Game log
Signature game
Week 2 · 2026
W 35-7
5 rush yds (3 car)
Dominant 28-point win at home against Eastern Michigan.
With A. Milivojevic — 170 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 85.1 · 14 rush yds (7 car) · C. Edwards — 152 rush yds (21 car) · 2 TD
Teams and coaches
2026Michigan State2-6HC: Pat Fitzgerald · Run-leaning
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 2.5 YDS/g, 1.7 YPC, 0.0 TD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Pat Fitzgerald
Pass share
44.3%
222 pass / 279 run
Plays / game
62.6
8 games
Team sack rate
9.4%
256 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
3 carries in 2 games
Fewer touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Starter
The No. 2,642 recruit in the country is carrying the ball in the Big Ten as a redshirt freshman.
Two seasons at Michigan State
2026 is in progress.
- 2026 Michigan State FitzgeraldYear 2 · 2 games
- 2025 Michigan State SmithYear 1 · on the roster, no stat line
- High school Lincoln-Way EastFrankfort, IL · Class of 2025Three-star, No. 2,642 in the 2025 class. Signed with Michigan State.Also from Lincoln-Way East: Jonas Williams (USC), Caden O'Rourke (Northwestern), Jacob Alexander (Illinois) and 5 more.
2025
- Signed with Michigan StateThree-star, out of Lincoln-Way East
Coaching lineage · 2025–2026
2 coaches2025
Michigan State
Coaching transition mid-career: Jonathan Smith → Pat Fitzgerald. Worth noting in scheme + development context.