LINCOLN, NEB.– Coming out of the bye week, Michigan State hoped to come out prepared and rejuvenated for a second straight B1G road game. The Spartans endured a number of ups and downs with some strange moments, but ultimately the Nebraska Cornhuskers came through with a 38-27 victory in front of the 407th consecutive sellout home crowd.
“We’ve gotta get better. We’re coming off a bye. And again credit to [UN] those guys had a bye, too,” MSU head coach Jonahtan Smith said. “I’m pretty confident in the group, we’re gonna stick together and these guys are gonna continue to battle. We’ve gotta find a way to play better quality football for 60 minutes.”
MSU was tested from the jump as the Huskers threw an opening sucker punch. After a Spartan three and out on their first possession, many expected to see sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola light it up through the air. Instead, Raiola complemented a steady ground attack courtesy of junior running back Emmit Johnson.
Working with a shorter field after a nice punt return from sophomore wide receiver Jacory Barney Jr., Johnson broke loose a 14-yard rush to push within the red zone. He later capped off the drive on a stretch to the left endzone corner for the two-yard touchdown to open up the scoring. Disaster then struck the Spartans on the very next drive, as junior punter Ryan Eckley was clobbered on a blocked kick by junior defensive back Jamir Conn deep in MSU territory. The ball was easily recovered for the Huskers touchdown as UN stole every bit of momentum.
“It’s a normal football game, there’s gonna be highs and lows, and you gotta try and balance the two, we struggled to balance them like we have in the past,” senior tight end Jack Velling said. “We still got fight on this team, I think we were showing that at times, we just gotta show it throughout, you know, all four quarters.”
Faced with an early do or die situation, sophomore running back Makhi Frazier and the Spartan rushing attack aimed to stabilize the game flow. Junior Quarterback Aidan Chiles got him going on a swing pass under pressure for 12 yards and finding space for a 10-yard gain on a handoff. After grinding their way inside the Husker territory, MSU took on a marathon goal to go situation.
After a pass interference call extended the drive inside to the UN six, Chiles was dropped in the backfield and stayed on the grass. Chiles came back for the rest of the game but was brought into the sideline tent for the remainder of the possession, putting all the pressure on freshman backup Alessio Milivojevic to keep the Spartans alive. The young arm, thrust into a high stress environment, played with poise. Drawing another pass interference and finding Velling wide open in the back of the endzone on a drive lasting 9:45 with 17 plays.
Milivojevic’s first career touchdown pass brought MSU back into the game but both defenses more than settled in after a fiery start. Later into the second quarter, Barney Jr. turned in another big special teams play by ripping off a 57-yard punt return to the MSU 26-yard line. Yet after two straight sacks on Raiola and a botched snap, the Spartans forced them way out of scoring range on a 4th and 42. Senior defensive back Mallik Spencer and sophomore edge rusher David Santiago ignited a dormant MSU pass rush. Finishing the game with five sacks, seven tackles for loss, and three QB hurries as a group for a season best performance. Raiola, not having many down field chances after this, finished the first half with 24 passing yards.
“We were able to get to the quarterback, get off the field on third down, something we kind of struggled with in the first quarter, getting off the field,” junior linebacker Jordan Hall said. “We were able to cover well and generate pressure well.”
After coming back in from injury though, Chiles had his fair share of issues as well. Unlike himself to start the year, a bad ball and a poor read resulted in two interceptions, both picked off by senior defensive back DeShon Singleton. The Huskers secondary at large was once again elite as Chiles had his most difficult day through the air, coming away 85 yards on nine completions out of 23 attempts.
The offensive line struggled both ways as well in another tough result for the Spartans pass protection. Chiles was dragged down in the backfield four times with three QB hurries as well, freshman defensive lineman Williams Nwaneri led the charge with one and half sacks. After all the drama and misfires from both squads through the first 30 minutes, MSU was somehow still in a competitive position down 14-7 at half.
The Spartans now came out of the locker room as the aggressor with clutch moments on both sides of the ball. Starting with a fake punt from the Huskers snuffed out by sixth year linebacker Darius Snow. Chiles now had the ball in plus territory and decided to carry the team with his legs.
The field general for MSU gave himself the nod on a few scrambles and options, a new component to the game UN had no answer for. Peaking on a fourth down conversion where Chiles spun out of a tackle and followed his blocks to the endzone to tie it on a 16-yard dash.
Hall, feeding off the newfound juice, hid in coverage on the very next Huskers snap and picked off Raiola over the middle for his first career interception. After being taken out of the USC matchup on a targeting call, Hall bounced back as MSU’s tackle leader with eight total and five solo.
“I actually couldn’t see the quarterback on that play but just from working some of these route combinations in practice I kinda knew where the window was on that play,” Hall said. “Had four picks in practice this week so I was kinda due for one but I think it happened at a crucial time in the game.”
Once again, the Spartans took advantage through the rush and on big fourth downs, getting three conversions on such plays. Right back on the doorstep, Chiles on QB sneak from the four-yard line got himself in for the score again as MSU suddenly had the lead.
“Yeah it’s fun, that’s what this offense is supposed to be about and we were clicking,” Velling said. “I wish we kept clicking throughout the fourth quarter.”
While the Spartans made their money on the ground, it was still tough sledding and running room was largely a premium. Frazier became MSU’s leading rusher with 58 yards on 18 attempts, only about 3.2 yards per carry.
Unfortunately for the Green and White, struggles on both attacks without fortunate field position would loom large. On the next Husker possession and on a critical third down, Barney Jr. got in space downfield for a 45-yard strike from Raiola.
“It was a good play, kudos to them, I’m not too sure, I forget kinda which play it was, I think it was a double move on the outside. I mean they got good players,” Hall said. “It would have been nice to get off the field and you know get the ball back in the offense’s hands, they were hot, but unfortunately that drive didn’t end the way we kinda wanted it to.”
This ball finally got the Huskers moving as two plays later, Johnson broke free for 23-yards on the right side for the score and his longest rush of the game. Johnson, while somewhat contained in yardage, became a workhorse when the Huskers threatened. Johnson carried the load for three touchdowns and 83 yards on 13 carries.
The Huskers took the lead back shortly thereafter after another special teams miscue by MSU. Sixth year linebacker Sam Edwards muffed a high and short kickoff he was not expecting to come his way and UN fell on top of it, making it three turnovers for the Spartans. While the Huskers only came away with three and the Spartans still had a shot at it, the offense totally ran out of gas in the fourth quarter and opened the door for Raiola to put an end to it.
“Yeah, it wasn’t to our standard. Let’s start with punt. Obviously, the returns. Obviously, the protection part,” Smith said. “Again, we want to be better with our accuracy on some of those punts, not giving them the ball right down on the middle of the field. Kickoff, the return game, we turn it over there. When they’re kicking off to you, you’ve gotta end the play with the ball.”
It took the teams trading a few punts, but the real knockout blow came on a one play drive with under seven minutes left. Raiola quickly hit sophomore wide receiver Nyziah Hunter on a screen pass, who shook the first few defenders and broke into the wide-open secondary for 59 yards and a jog into the end zone.
“That was a backbreaker. One guy we needed to stay outside, we get trapped in. And again, credit to these guys, Nebraska, good call, the kick-outs,” Smith said. “We’ve got a guy, if he keeps with his leverage, it’s not a 50-yard touchdown. It’s still a positive play, but not a touchdown.”
After a limited first half and start to the second, Raiola eventually found his way to a solid performance. Going 16 for 24 passing, 194 yards, and one touchdown, with Hunter earning the leading receiver mark with the score and four catches for 93 yards.
The Spartan offense on their next possession was in desperation mode. In a must go for it spot, Chiles tried his best to stay alive but was wrestled down for a ten-yard loss, giving the ball back to the Huskers in the red zone and putting the exclamation point on a UN conference victory. The teams swapped a few more meaningless scores, but the writing was on the wall.
“I think at the end of the day that’s our job as the defense to you know, accommodate for where the offense is at right now,” Hall said. “I’m sure they would agree it probably wasn’t their best day today, it wasn’t our best day either especially in the late stretch of this game but we have to be able in those situations to just respond better.”
In yet another winnable game where MSU threatened, the Spartans fell short once again. Falling to 0-2 in conference as the Spartans could not capture either game on this road trip. MSU will look forward to homecoming weekend in East Lansing against UCLA in need of a win, going against a Bruins team suddenly with life. Kickoff for next Saturday is set for noon with Jacob Maurer and Kyle Keegan broadcasting live on 88.9 FM locally or streaming at https://impact89fm.org/.
