EAST LANSING– Michigan State University’s campus, after four straight losses out of its football program, was buzzing with energy throughout the day on Saturday. The Spartan fanbase had rallied behind their squad in droves ahead of its annual battle for Paul Bunyan against No. 25 Michigan.  

The MSU faithful and players on the field knew that if the season was ever going to get back on track, it had to come against the Wolverines at home. Instead of belief and the returning Spartan football alumni willing MSU to victory, UM took care of business with a 31-20 road win and extended its streak in the series to four straight victories.  

“Obviously, it’s not good enough. I thought these guys prepared throughout the week, energized for this one, and came down to sloppy play,” MSU head coach Jonathan Smith said. “We finally get an answer offensively and we got opportunities twice on their side of the field, fourth down, don’t get it done, and just where it’s not good enough to overcome some of the penalties we inflicted on ourselves. A couple tough calls, not good enough tonight.” 

MSU got the ball first with a chance to electrify a packed Spartan Stadium, but got completely shut down through the first fifteen minutes. Junior quarterback Aidan Chiles found junior wide receiver Chrishon McCray on an eight-yard screen pass on the first play from scrimmage for a promising opening.  

However this was Chiles’ only completion and MSU’s longest play of the quarter with zero first downs picked up. Chiles getting the ball knocked out on a keeper ended the first drive and set the Wolverines up in plus territory, putting the defense in some early trouble. UM then fed a healthy dose of snaps to junior running back Justice Haynes making his return after exiting the USC game on injury. 

Haynes returned as the feature back and made an early stamp with an eight-yard gain on fourth down to set up a first and goal. The Spartan defense made an important early stand here though, getting some pressure on true freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood and forcing two straight incompletions towards the endzone. MSU forced the field goal after the giveaway, but the Wolverines were back in business after the teams traded a few punts.  

Defensive pass interference and the running back pair of sophomore Jordan Marshall and Haynes got UM moving again. While Underwood struggled through the air the entire half, he benefited from a well blocked keeper to the left as he tight roped the sideline into the endzone.  

Now behind by 10, the Spartan attack needed to come up with something quick but UM senior linebacker Jimmy Rolder had other ideas. He brought Chiles down for a 12-yard sack and finished his day with 10 total tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss, and a QB hurry.  

After getting the ball right back though, MSU’s offense found an unlikely spark out of the run game when all else had failed. Sophomore running back Makhi Frazier, who only amassed one yard against Indiana, put the Spartans on his back with a powerful 48-yard gain.  

“I hand the ball off, he cut back and I decided to lead block,” Chiles said. “I got rocked but it is what it is, I mean get out get a few more yards, just being a team guy nothing special.”  

MSU got past the sticks for the first time all night and rode Frazier all the way to the Wolverine goal line. It took the teams trading a few 15-yard penalties and three straight QB sneaks, but Chiles eventually got in for his sixth rushing touchdown of the season to cut the lead. Frazier had his best performance in weeks with 109 yards on 14 carries, his first 100 yard game since the opener against Western Michigan.  

The Spartan defense continued to play with intensity all over the field. The much maligned secondary tested Underwood, covering one on one balls well against the Wolverine receivers and junior defensive lineman Jalen Thompson getting two QB hurries.  

While UM focused more on the run game, they were contained to 85 total yards in the half with junior linebacker Jordan Hall flying around for nine total tackles. Hall was limited through the second half though as he was brought off the field in the third quarter. The MSU defensive effort held the halftime deficit to 10-7 with the offense unable to keep momentum truly rolling. The pair of quarterbacks both found the endzone with their legs but combined for only 11 completions netting 85 yards.  

Out of the locker rooms, the Wolverines wanted to send a message by finally establishing the ground game. This is when Haynes started taking over as two clear lanes up the middle broke up for 20 and 28 yard gains. 

MSU almost reversed the course of the game a few plays later with a sack fumble on a pass rush from senior defensive back Malcom Bell. However, he was controversially deemed offside on his pursuit towards Underwood, giving Haynes more opportunity to do damage. After a few breakaways up the gut, Haynes tested a bounce off the left tackle for a five yard walk in score.  

Once again, the score stagnated after a few quick punts from both sides but Underwood finally found passing success after establishing ground dominance. His longest throw of the night was delivered to freshman wide receiver stand out Andrew Marsh who found a soft spot in the zone for 27-yards, ending his night with three catches for 54 yards. Underwood was largely held accountable through the air with 86 passing yards and going 8-17 on completions. 

However he managed the game effectively with UM’s offensive scheme leaning heavily on Haynes, who broke free to the left again on the next play for his second touchdown as he ripped this one off for 14-yards.  

Haynes had his way with these two scores and 152 yards on 26 carries as UM possessed a three score lead headed into the fourth. In his first appearance back from injury, Haynes officially reclaimed the Big Ten’s leading rusher title with 857 yards on the season thus far.  

“I think overall, defense did a well enough job stopping the run, they had some runs that got out,” Hall said. “I missed the whole, almost a quarter so I didn’t see how the third really went but I felt like defensively we stopped the run and then it all falls to just execution of those runs that got leaked out.” 

Smith and MSU, entering another fourth quarter coming from behind, mounted another letdown comeback attempt. It took Chiles all night but he did find rhythm at game’s end, finding sophomore wide receiver Nick Marsh on a 24-yard strike towards the near sideline with sophomore running back Brandon Tullis punching in the score from the half yard line. This got MSU in range to make this interesting down the stretch, being behind by 11 after a failed two point attempt.  

“Yeah, aggression a little, chasing points at that point, the analytics, where the score was at where regards to multiple scores, got to catch up to,” Smith said. “You go for two earlier in the game than later, it kind of declares your strategy moving forward, all that went into it. 

Chiles ended an inefficient performance with 130 yards on 14-28 passing with Marsh being his number one target. He made six of those catches for 75 yards, being the passing attack’s focal point in a loss yet again.  

“They were just playing defense, we just couldn’t execute as well as we could,” Chiles said. “There’s a few plays that I wish we could have back but you know you can’t change the past.” 

The defense came through on multiple instances with a quick stop and Haynes forced fumble by senior linebacker Wayne Matthews III, but questionable offensive decision making reared its head. The Spartans in field goal range got snuffed out twice on fourth and short attempts with the game still at hand. The first a short pass to senior tight end Jack Velling knocked away by Rolder and then Chiles stuffed at the point of attack, essentially wrapping up the Wolverines road victory.  

“It’s fourth-and-three. We were going to need a touchdown at some point during the game, and where our distance was, that’s not a guaranteed three points,” Smith said. “All of that went into like, we’re going to need a touchdown at some point, fourth-and-3, felt like the best call was to go get a touchdown on that drive.” 

The usual script for MSU football continued after this, as Marshall added to his highlight tape on a 56-yard sprint to officially put it out of reach. This forced the fourth straight relief appearance from freshman quarterback Alessio Milivojevic as MSU ended another game completely out of it.   

MSU takes its fifth straight defeat, remains winless in conference, and will end the month of October without a single victory. They will start November with a chance at Minnesota with both teams aiming to get back in the win column after difficult weekends. Kickoff in Minneapolis is set for 3:30 next Saturday. Jacob Maurer and Kyle Keegan will be streaming live at https://impact89fm.org/ or over the air locally at 88.9 FM.