Michigan State had Northwestern on the ropes, had the crowd buzzing, and had a chance to turn a gritty afternoon into something bigger. Instead, the final minute tore it all away.
A blocked 33-yard field goal with about a minute left opened the door, and former Spartan quarterback Aidan Chiles walked right through it. He led a 64-yard march in less than a minute, capped by a game-winning 34-yard field goal that sent No. 25 Northwestern to a 24-21 win and left MSU with another bitter finish.
The ending felt especially brutal because the Spartans had done so much right before that collapse. Their defense set the tone early, and special teams kept handing the offense chances to build on it. For most of the day, MSU looked like the better team.
The Spartan front made life miserable for Northwestern on the ground. The Wildcats came in averaging 203 rushing yards per game, fourth in the Big Ten, but MSU held them to minus-14 rushing yards over the first two drives and finished with 134 yards rushing at 3.2 yards per carry. Senior defensive lineman Ben Roberts led the charge with season highs of eight tackles, three for loss and two sacks, as part of a five-sack performance by MSU.
That came with the Spartans missing all of their starting linebackers and cornerbacks.
“Everybody made it possible for me. My coaches do a great job preparing me,” Roberts said.
“But like I said, don’t matter. We lost.
I’m all about winning.”
Even with the pressure MSU generated, Northwestern grabbed an early 3-0 edge after a strip sack of sophomore quarterback Alessio Milivojevic set the Wildcats up at the Spartans’ 10-yard line.
MSU answered through special teams. Kenneth Williams brought the ensuing kickoff back 44 yards to Northwestern’s 49, and the Spartans finished the drive 12 plays later when Milivojevic kept it on a fourth-and-2 rollout and scored from 3 yards out. That touchdown put MSU ahead 7-3 and gave the Spartans their first opening-quarter touchdown and first Big Ten lead of the season.
Northwestern punched back through the air and retook the lead at 10-7. After an MSU turnover on downs, the Wildcats moved into position for a 41-yard field goal, but special teams flipped the field again and blocked the kick.
That stop sparked a 77-yard drive in nine plays. Milivojevic finished it with a 32-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Bryson Williams, his first career score, and MSU led 14-10 going into halftime.
The defense delivered one more loud moment before the break. Sophomore edge rusher Anelu Lafaele suplexed Chiles to the turf for a sack that fired up the crowd. It was MSU’s first halftime lead over a ranked opponent since 2022 and its first Big Ten halftime lead since Maryland last season.
The third quarter slowed to a crawl. Northwestern managed the only points of the period with a field goal, trimming the Spartans’ lead to 14-13 entering the fourth.
MSU then seemed ready to stretch the margin. Senior wide receiver Chrishon McCray ripped off a 41-yard punt return to the MSU 48, and two plays later Milivojevic found him on a straight-line throw down the middle. McCray made the catch, slipped a defender and finished the play in the end zone to put the Spartans up 21-13 with 7:19 to play.
Milivojevic finished 19 of 30 for 216 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for 17 yards and a score.
“Had a lot of time in the pocket, came back to the field and saw McCray streaking on the field. He went and made a play,” Milivojevic said. “So props to him for ultimately beating his guy and going to finish that play for a touchdown.”
But Northwestern wasn’t done. Chiles led a 77-yard drive in nine plays and the Wildcats converted the two-point try to tie the game at 21-21.
That set the stage for an anxious stretch that looked headed for overtime. MSU went three-and-out, Northwestern’s next drive stalled on fourth down, and then the Wildcats rolled the dice with a fake punt from their own 28-yard line while tied with a 2-4 opponent on the road.
MSU still had its chance. The Spartans bled more than two minutes off the clock and got to the 15-yard line, only to see the field goal blocked.
From there, Chiles took over one last time, and Northwestern finished the job.
“I get paid to win, and we’re not winning, so it starts and ends with me,” Fitzgerald said. “We’ve got to look at all the reasons why things happened the way that they did, and just get back to work and roll those sleeves up.”
“There was a lot of right in this group,” Fitzgerald said.
MSU fell to 2-5 and will try again Saturday, Oct. 24, at UCLA, which is 5-0.
In Other News...
Michigan State Just Entered A Big Ten Recruiting Fight Up Front
Michigan State has added another name to its board up front, extending an offer to Illinois high school standout Ben Coleman, a 6-foot-4, 285-pound hybrid tight end and blocker whose recruiting profile has already put him on the radar of several programs. Coleman is viewed as one of the more highly rated prospects in his state and nationally, which makes this the kind of battle the Spartans have to stay active in if they want to keep pace in the Big Ten trenches.
What makes Coleman especially interesting is the way his game blends size with versatility, giving him a profile that could fit a few different offensive roles depending on how a staff wants to use him. With other schools involved and his recruitment still unfolding, Michigan State is now part of a competition that figures to keep growing as more programs press their case for one of the regions more intriguing blockers. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Suddenly Needs Unsung Spartans To Step Up Vs Northwestern
Michigan State is heading into its matchup with Northwestern with the kind of lineup uncertainty that forces depth pieces into the spotlight. With injuries affecting several spots, the Spartans will need more than their headline names to hold up, and that puts added pressure on players like running back Jaziun Patterson and the offensive line tandem of Rakeem Johnson and Robert Wright Jr. in a game where every clean snap and steady assignment matters.
On the other side of the ball, the margin for error looks just as thin. Defensive end Kenny Soares Jr. and cornerbacks Jeremiah Favorite and KJ Deriso are among the players who may have to absorb bigger roles, and Michigan State needs that next wave of Spartans to look ready quickly. The challenge now is whether those unsung players can stabilize the depth chart in time to keep the matchup from turning into a test of survival. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Showed 2 Encouraging Signs In A Brutal Northwestern Loss
For much of Saturday, Michigan State had enough going on to make the loss sting even more. The Spartans hung with No. 25 Northwestern deep into a close game, and there were real signs that the program is starting to sort out some problems. The defense generated multiple sacks, with Anelu Lafaele, Ben Roberts and Eli Coenen all getting in on the pressure, while Coenen also came through with a blocked field goal that kept the game within reach.
The offense also showed a little more life under Nick Sheridan, whose playcalling helped Michigan State move the ball more consistently than it has at times this season. Even with limited talent, the Spartans found enough rhythm to stay alive into the final stretch before the game turned on a blocked potential go-ahead kick and a late Northwestern field goal. It was still a brutal loss, but for a team trying to find traction, the performances on both sides offered a small bit of encouragement to carry forward. [Read more 🡒]