Michigan State heads to Wisconsin carrying more than just a 2-2 record and an 0-1 mark in Big Ten play. The Spartans are coming off back-to-back losses, and the blow got even heavier with star running back Cam Edwards out for the rest of the season. If they’re going to have a shot at knocking off the Badgers in Madison, they’ll need a few players to swing the game their way.
At the top of that list is starting quarterback Alessio Milivojevic. The last two weeks have been rough.
Against Notre Dame and Nebraska, he turned the ball over four times and didn’t account for a touchdown. Against the Cornhuskers, he threw an interception and lost two fumbles, and it looked like he had open receivers he never found on all three plays.
The numbers back up the frustration. Milivojevic has 748 passing yards, which ranks 16th in the Big Ten after Week 4, and his three passing touchdowns are the fewest among starting quarterbacks in the conference.
Notre Dame and Nebraska both featured secondaries that rank among the best MSU will see all season, but Wisconsin is no slouch in coverage either. The Badgers are 22nd nationally in pass defense and held Penn State’s Rocco Becht to 114 yards on 29 attempts last Saturday.
For Michigan State, this is about more than just the matchup. A solid day in Madison would help Milivojevic get some confidence back after what has been a shaky stretch.
That confidence was one of his better traits when he took over late in 2025, especially for a redshirt freshman. This season, though, something has looked off.
His average depth of target is up from last year, and so are his average time to throw and his pressure-to-sack ratio. One bad outing can be explained away.
Two straight bad games start to raise eyebrows. Three in a row is when it becomes a pattern.
Jaziun Patterson is another player under the spotlight now that Edwards is gone. He stepped in as the lead back for most of the Nebraska game and handled the role well enough. His line - 16 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown - doesn’t jump off the page, but the performance looked better in real time, and Pat Fitzgerald agreed.
"Jazz Patterson stepped up and graded out very high," Fitzgerald said during his weekly Monday press conference. "There were a couple of runs that were very close to popping for explosives. But it's great to see him performing."
Michigan State is also leaning harder on center Trent Fraley, who has clearly become the team’s best offensive lineman. More and more of the run game is going right at the A-gap behind him, and Fitzgerald said Monday he believes the ground attack is close to breaking open. Fraley may be the piece that turns those modest gains into bigger ones.
He also has a tricky assignment this week. Wisconsin occasionally puts a nose tackle directly over the center, and Hammond Russell IV is often the player in that spot. Russell made his presence felt at Penn State by forcing an interception on a tipped pass just outside the Nittany Lions’ red zone.
On the other side of the ball, Michigan State’s defense took a beating against Nebraska. At one point, four of the Spartans’ top five corners were unavailable.
Tyran Chappell was ruled out on gameday, Tre Bell got hurt during warmups, and Keshawn Williams and NiJhay Burt both went down during the game. That left Charles Brantley and Andrew Brinson IV playing most of the snaps.
Brantley has been MSU’s CB3 this season, while Brinson had not played a defensive snap before the Nebraska game.
The first availability report of the week should provide a clearer picture of who might return. Fitzgerald only confirmed Monday that Edwards is done for the season, and he pointed everyone else back to the report. Michigan State should have Brantley on Saturday, but getting Bell and/or Chappell back would be a major help.
The linebackers are just as important. Nebraska hit that group hard, too.
Brady Pretzlaff was already sidelined after getting hurt against Notre Dame, and then Jordan Hall, Dion Crawford, and Caleb Wheatland all left the Nebraska game at different points, though Wheatland returned quickly. DiMari Malone and Adam Shaw picked up snaps because of it.
Hall being available Saturday after getting carted off would be a surprise, but Fitzgerald’s silence on Monday may be a good sign. Pretzlaff and Crawford appear to be the main questions heading into the week.
In Other News...
Michigan State May Finally Have A New Answer For Its Stalled Offense
Four weeks into Pat Fitzgeralds tenure, Michigan State is still searching for a cleaner offensive rhythm, and the strain has started to show on the other side of the ball as well. The Spartans have not found enough consistency to take pressure off a defense that has been asked to carry too much, so the staff is looking for ways to get more out of the roster it already has.
One possible piece is tight end Carson Gulker, the Ferris State transfer who has drawn notice for his athleticism and versatility. Offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan said Gulker may be in line for more playing time as Michigan State tries to be more efficient with its personnel, though his blocking still needs work before he can become a major factor. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Still Has A Real Path To A Wisconsin Upset
Michigan State heads into its matchup with Wisconsin still looking for answers after a rough stretch, and Pat Fitzgerald knows the margin for error is thin. The Badgers have already shown they can beat a quality opponent, knocking off Penn State and landing just outside the AP Top 25, which makes this a tricky spot for a Spartan team trying to steady itself.
There are still reasons to think Michigan State can make this interesting if it cleans up its own issues and gets help from a few key areas. The Spartans will be leaning more on Jaz Patterson with Cam Edwards injured, and Patterson has already shown he can be productive against Wisconsin, giving Michigan State at least one familiar piece to build around as it tries to find the kind of opening that could turn this into an upset. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Enters Wisconsin With Its Offense Suddenly Under Pressure
Michigan State heads into Wisconsin with its offense facing a new layer of uncertainty after the loss to Nebraska and the season-ending knee injury to leading rusher Cam Edwards. The Spartans have already had to navigate an up-and-down stretch, and now the challenge becomes even more immediate against a Wisconsin team coming off its largest comeback win in two decades against Penn State, a result that has given the Badgers fresh momentum at home.
For Michigan State, the timing is especially tricky because the backfield picture has shifted so suddenly, forcing the staff to reshuffle around Edwards absence. Wisconsins recent surge adds another test, and both coaches have acknowledged the stakes of where each team stands entering the matchup. The Spartans are trying to steady an offense under pressure, while the Badgers are leaning into a strong response after a dramatic victory that changed the tone around their season. [Read more 🡒]