Aidan Chiles had a nearly flawless performance in Week 12 agains the Illinois Fighting Illini but the Michigan State Spartans and their quarterback fell just short of a victory in the Big Ten matchup.
Chiles was locked in. He completed 23 of 40 pass attempts for a game-leading 256 passing yards and two touchdowns through the air. However, the Michigan State running game simply couldn't find its footing and only earned 87 yards throughout the whole game and found the endzone zero times.
So, despite MSU's quarterback putting on a show, and outplaying Illinois QB Luke Altmyer, the Spartans flew home with a 38-16 loss in their pockets.
Final. pic.twitter.com/wzenGaH86s
— Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) November 16, 2024
Altmyer only completed 19 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns through the air but the Fighting Illini earned an impressive 138 yards on the ground for an additional three touchdowns – courtesy of running back Josh McCray.
The MSU defensive unit struggled to bring down the Illini running backs and even Altmyer produced 20 yards on the ground.
Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith gave credit where credit was due, pointing to Illinois' ability to convert on third downs as a major factor in the Fighting Illini's win.
"Congrats to Illinois, played really well, executed really well," Smith said. "A lot of it boils down to the difference on third down. 2-of-15 on third down. We got a lot to play for on a short week."
While the Spartans converted an abysmal two third-down attempts, the Fighting Illini were able to convert on 8-of-15 third downs. Illinois also converted on its singular fourth-down attempt while Michigan State only converted four of its six attempts on fourth down.
The Spartans are scheduled to play against the Purdue Boilermakers on Nov. 22 – just six days after their loss to Illinois.