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Initial Michigan State vs. UCLA injury report is comically bad for Spartans

This is not good.
ByConnor Muldowney
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Oct 17, 2026; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans quarterback Alessio Milivojevic (11) leaps and throws against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first quarter at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images
Oct 17, 2026; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans quarterback Alessio Milivojevic (11) leaps and throws against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first quarter at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The first injury report of Michigan State vs. UCLA game week is out and, well, it’s comically bad for the Spartans.

UCLA will be without several key players as well, including starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava who will miss the rest of the season with an injury.

Unfortunately, Michigan State will be missing much more than it has in previous weeks. The Spartans are going to be down Tre Bell, Charles Brantley, Jordan Hall, and Charles Taplin, among others, but there are some shocking “questionable” additions.

The Spartans may be without their starting quarterback-running back duo against one of the best teams in the Big Ten on the road. Not good.

Not only could the Spartans be without their new starting running back, Jaz Patterson, but they may also be missing QB1 Alessio Milivojevic.

On top of potentially missing Milivojevic and Patterson which came as a surprise to everyone considering both played the entire game against Northwestern but it’s that point in the season when everyone is banged up. And if Milivojevic can’t go, that means the Spartans will more than likely be down to Kayd Coffman who got the nod as the backup against Wisconsin.

If Patterson is out, that means Marvis Parrish would get the start and we’d finally see more Brandon Tullis after a quiet year and limited carries for last year’s RB2.

Caleb Wheatland, Brady Pretzlaff, and Ben Murawski are also questionable as the linebacking corps continue to be depleted by the weekly injury report.

Michigan State could look a lot different on Saturday.

It’s time for another youth movement

This feels like a yearly tradition at this point. Injuries are piling up for a team that’s likely not going to a bowl game and is in the middle of another “rebuilding” year so why not turn to some young guys to get some run and grow at the end of a lost season?

Youth movements are just par for the course lately for Michigan State and it doesn’t matter that Pat Fitzgerald is now in charge. He’s trying to put out the dumpster fire that Mel Tucker started and Jonathan Smith maintained and it’s going to come with some youth movement growing pains.

We’re going to see more DeJae White at linebacker, some Jeremiah Favorite at corner, and now some Parrish in the backfield and potentially Coffman at quarterback.

The youth movement is beginning and it might be a bumpy ride early on, especially for a road game against a ranked team, but these guys could pleasantly surprise us. This could be the start of building a solid base for the future. There might be a positive coming out of all these injuries to key players.

Or maybe I’m just coping.

Either way, Saturday should be fun.

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