Michigan State just couldn’t finish the insane comeback on Saturday afternoon in East Lansing, trailing Illinois by 16 points in the second half before forcing overtime and ultimately losing 38-37 after a failed 2-point conversion.
The offense finally perked up, but the defense took several steps back in the crushing loss.
Who were the biggest winners and losers from Saturday’s loss?
Winner: Alessio Milivojevic
One of the most efficient college football quarterbacks from Week 6 happens to reside in East Lansing. Alessio Milivojevic got off to a slow start against Illinois but was lights out in the second quarter and beyond. He had 196 yards and two touchdowns and completed 22-of-26 passes. He was as close to perfect as a quarterback can be. After some people were calling for him to lose his starting job, he stepped up and shut down those whispers.
Loser: The refs
It feels like this is a weekly theme. Michigan State doesn’t play well enough to negate poor officiating, but the refs still blow several calls that changed the momentum of the game. This time, it was an offsides call against Samson Gash on an onside kick recovery that shifted momentum. It ultimately didn’t matter because Michigan State tied it up and forced overtime anyways, but if that’s called correctly, maybe the Spartans find a way to win in regulation. Big Ten refs continue to disappoint. Losers.
Winner: Jaz Patterson
After back-to-back pedestrian performances in place of an injured Cam Edwards, Jaziun Patterson had his best game as a Spartan against Illinois, rushing 17 times for 93 yards and three touchdowns. He was effective on the ground, didn’t go down easily, and he always seems to fall forward for an extra yard or two. Patterson averaged 5.5 yards per carry and gave the offense a huge boost. This is what Michigan State is going to need from him moving forward.
Loser: The secondary
Michigan State’s defensive backfield got shredded for most of the game against Illinois and even after Katin Houser left with an injury, his backup completed 6-of-8 passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns. The secondary has to be better because the tests are only getting tougher with Oregon, UCLA, Northwestern, Michigan, and Washington still left on the schedule — all feature talented quarterbacks. Aidan Chiles isn’t going easy on these guys next week.
Winner: Ben Roberts
Once again, Ben Roberts was the best defensive lineman on the field for Michigan State. He had seven tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss and he was the team’s second highest-graded defender from the loss. Unfortunately, he can’t do everything himself up front. We’re about to get to that.
Loser: The (lack of a) pass rush
Another consistent loser week in and week out, Michigan State’s pass rush has been downright embarrassing lately and that didn’t change in Week 6. The Spartans could not get after the quarterback as much as they should have with guys like Roberts, Kenny Soares Jr., and Eli Coenen up front. Zero sacks and one tackle for loss is embarrassing for a program like Michigan State that has a history of some of the best defenses in college football.
Add us as a preferred source on Google