MINNEAPOLIS– Michigan State, for the first time since September against Youngstown State, held a fourth quarter and needed one more defensive stand against Minnesota to lock down the first B1G victory of the year.
However, the Spartans collapsed late as miscues haunted them late and throughout the day in a 23-20 overtime defeat. The Gophers remained undefeated at Huntington Bank Stadium at 6-0 while MSU was handed a sixth straight loss.
“These things aren’t always easy but this group continues to battle, they want to rally and work together, they love this game and haven’t found results,” MSU head coach Jonathan Smith said. “I do think, on display for three hours, these guys are fighting and going and playing.”
MSU’s recent offensive struggles prompted a change at quarterback with redshirt freshman Alessio Milivojevic making the start. This turned the matchup into a duel between two young guns looking to provide a spark to their respective attacks with redshirt freshman Drake Lindsay on the other end. The first-time starter was also without some key weapons for the day, as sophomore running back Makhi Frazier and junior wide receiver Chrishon McCray were both ruled out due to injury.
“I’ve been playing football since I was three years old so I just look at it like another game, just going out there and giving my best effort with my teammates,” Milivojevic said. “Me and Aidan [Chiles] have a great relationship and he was just giving me tips, hyping me up, making sure I was ready to go… it’s for sure a little different, starting at the beginning and getting into a little bit of a rhythm.”
It looked like Milivojevic had the upper hand early with a promising opening possession, looking patient and accurate in the pocket. He found a streaking senior wide receiver Omari Kelly for 23-yards to get the Spartans in UM territory but miscues arose once again to stall the drive. Milivojevic was made uncomfortable early and often, starting with an eight-yard sack from senior linebacker Devon Williams. A missed deep shot to an open sophomore wideout Nick Marsh, a conservative run call, and a missed 46-yard field goal attempt from freshman kicker Martin Connington then left MSU with nothing.
This is exactly what the Spartans were stuck the rest of the half with a relentless UM pass rush constantly on the hunt. Milivojevic looked ready for the start when he could get rid of the ball, finishing the first going 10-13 for 114 passing yards, but he barely had the time or protection to do so. UM sacked Milivojevic six times in the first half in a complete effort on the front lines. Seven different Gophers are credited with sack contributions for the game with junior defensive lineman Anthony Smith getting 1.5 sacks and five total tackles.
“You know, feeling wise it’s Big Ten ball, I’m here to play Big Ten football so that’s gonna happen,” Milivojevic said. “Gameplan wise we were just sticking to it, I thought we moved the ball well, we just weren’t finishing drives and then second half we finished some drives better but we didn’t finish all of them, and that’s the result you get.”
As for the other struggling offense of the matchup, the Gophers run game broke their scoring slump. Redshirt freshman running back Fame Ijeboi established his feature status on the day with a 49-yard gash to the left side to set UM up in business. Ijeboi walked in through the goal line a few plays later and finished the day with 108 yards on 17 rushes.
The Gophers tacked on a field goal in the second quarter to go up 10-0 with the help of junior and senior wide receivers Jalen Smith and Le’meke Brockington, but the Spartan defense never completely broke. Smith and Brockington combined for 107 receiving yards on the day but coverage and pressure took chances away from Lindsay to truly capitalize on a few scoring opportunities.
Senior defensive back Malcom Bell had a nice sequence to end the half with a one-on-one break up in the endzone and aggressive tackling on a screen to Brockington. He ended the day with seven tackles, one for a loss, and two pass break ups as his play led to a missed 33-yard field goal.
The Spartans got pressure and disrupted the Gophers kicking rhythm to keep the deficit at 10-0 going into the second half. Lindsay did put up 197 yards in the passing game but in an inefficient 26-39 completion outing. For a second straight week the defense kept it close into the locker room, but the offense remained lifeless and in desperate need of someone to step up.
The much-needed big-time play came from an unlikely source in senior wide receiver and Division II Valdosta State transfer Rodney Bullard Jr. On an early third down, Milivojevic hit Bullard Jr. on a rollout to the right, who broke away for 71-yards and a score after dusting the first two potential tacklers. This touchdown catch helped Bullard Jr. to leading receiver status with four catches and 102 yards.
“It was a big spark and Rod made a great play, it was man coverage, I gave him a chance to go get it, he got it, and took it the rest so it was a big play,” Milivojevic said. “Sparked our offense for sure and got things rolling after that.”
On the other side of the ball, the defense largely suffocated the Gophers by rallying to the ball on throws to the flat and slowing down Ijeboi. Senior defensive back Nikai Martinez and junior linebacker Jordan Hall finished with identical stat lines of 10 total tackles with seven solos. This duo and the defensive game plan in the second half kept an adjusting offense alive.
“I think our execution had been a lot better than it had been in the last few weeks, wasn’t perfect obviously but I like how hard we played defensively, we were flying around,” Hall said. “I appreciate that and I appreciate the defense and this team so much for continuing to fight, you know it’s tough when things don’t go your way and I don’t think I can name another team in the country that can lose five straight and go out there and perform like we did.”
The play calling shifted towards an emphasis in the run game and getting the ball out of Milivojevic’s hands quickly, resulting in one second-half sack. This change also helped the young field general to an effective 311 yards on 20-28 passing. This includes a rare 48-yard deep ball with time in the pocket to Marsh late in the fourth quarter in a tied game.
“We’re all in this working at it, what we think is best on the situation on the calls, there’s no doubt we’re always searching for the best way to do it,” Smith said. “I look at the production offensively. It was definitely yardage-wise up quite a bit.”
The ball however, was underthrown rather than a hit in stride, leading to a major missed opportunity in a goal-to-go situation. After failing to punch it in on the doorstep, Connington went wide again but from 23-yards out. While the game remained tied, missing out on points this possession loomed large.
“I didn’t see signs it was a problem and he [Connington] didn’t come off, come making excuses in any way he owned it,” Smith said. “He came back and he really made a big kick in overtime to answer off a couple miss hits.”
Spartan running backs, senior Elijah Tau-Tolliver and sophomore Brandon Tullis, almost nullified this miscue after another defensive stop. Tau-Tolliver’s 85-yard burst helped him become the game’s leading rusher with 127 yards on 11 carries and Tullis bulldozed into the endzone for a 17-10 MSU lead. The Spartans looked to complete the turnaround and finally secure a conference victory, but Lindsay and company finally woke up offensively.
After a face mask against Hall, Lindsay answered the call with quick decisions in the pass game and capped the drive with a two-yard keeper for a touchdown. After being largely outplayed in the final 30 minutes and being out gained by 166 total yards, the Gophers did just enough to force overtime and get the win later on. While failed opportunities earlier in the game ultimately cost them, a few controversial calls in OT did not help.
With the ball first, the Spartans appeared to have a first and goal after Bullard Jr. drew a defensive pass interference in the endzone. Yet the flag was picked up by the officials after a lengthy delay which forced a field goal attempt to put MSU up by three.
“There’s not just one referee out there they got eight of them, the communication of the group of eight that put eyes on the call late, one came in with a stronger opinion to pick it up,” Smith said. “I felt like it was delayed in getting there but that is what the explanation was… not every call is gonna go your way and things, this is an emotional game, those are the calls.”
With a chance to win, UM got on the doorstep after a DPI against Bell and Lindsay did it again on the ground. This time on a fake hand off and roll to the left, featuring a massive stiff arm on a Spartan defender in the backfield and a sneak into the endzone corner. The officials reviewed to see if Lindsay stepped out of bounds early, but the call on the field was upheld and sealed MSU’s fate in another road conference loss.
“I said this last week, you get nothing done from being frustrated, that’s not our approach on our frustration level,” Hall said. “We got a bye week coming up, we’re going to go back to work, have the same process, and have the approach of just getting better. That’s going to be our outlook for the rest of the season.”
The Spartans continue to tumble and remain winless with a 0-6 record in Big Ten play. They will take this burden into the second bye week of the year before taking on Penn State in their final home stand on November 15, with kickoff time TBA. Jacob Maurer and Kyle Keegan will have the call on 88.9 FM locally or streaming at https://impact89fm.org/.
