Michigan State’s trip to Wisconsin turned into another ugly night, and the final score told the story early and often. The Spartans dropped their third straight game, 31-3, in a performance that looked even flatter than the one before it.
There were a few bright spots buried inside the loss, though not many. Interior defensive lineman Eli Coenen kept stacking up strong snaps for Michigan State.
He made a tackle for loss on the game’s first play and later broke up a pass in the first half, continuing what has been a solid season for one of MSU’s most dependable defenders. The former Illinois transfer has been one of the few players on the roster performing at an above-average level at his position in the Big Ten, alongside center Trent Fraley, linebacker Jordan Hall, and punter Rhys Dakin.
Fraley was steady again, too. Michigan State’s best offensive lineman has held that title all season, and that didn’t change in Game No.
- The Spartans kept leaning on runs between the tackles in the first half before opening things up more after halftime, and Fraley still managed to generate some movement against a respectable Wisconsin defensive front.
Beyond that, the offense never found much of anything. Michigan State avoided a bunch of negative plays, but it did so by giving up any real shot at explosive gains.
The Spartans’ longest play in the first half was only 11 yards, and that came on a sequence where they picked up points mostly because Wisconsin was flagged twice for 15 yards just before the break. Their longest play of the game was 13 yards.
Some of the game management decisions also stood out. On the opening drive, Pat Fitzgerald chose to go for it on fourth-and-7 from the plus-40, and Michigan State went deep to Fredrick Moore.
The pass was broken up. Given the distance, the stage of the game, the way MSU’s offense has been operating, the defense’s short-handed situation, and Rhys Dakin’s value as a punter, the safer move seemed obvious.
The Spartans’ second drive ended in a way that was just as frustrating. Nick Sheridan got Alessio Milivojevic into a rhythm early, but once Michigan State approached field-goal range, Cam Fancher replaced him. Then came three straight runs for 3, 2, and 3 yards, and Fancher’s pass on fourth down was knocked away.
Wisconsin also had its way on third downs. The Badgers repeatedly moved the chains while building their early lead, and Michigan State’s defense never looked comfortable in those situations. There were even run calls on third-and-5 or longer that Wisconsin converted without much resistance.
That broader lifelessness wasn’t just on the players. Fitzgerald is trying to build a blue-collar culture in East Lansing, and this game was supposed to say something about that effort. It didn’t say much that was positive.
This is still Year 1, but the Spartans didn’t look like the same team that went to South Bend and hung around two weeks ago. Injuries matter, but the response to adversity has made Michigan State worse, not better.
Jordan Hall’s absence was obvious. The defensive line held up reasonably well against the run, but the linebackers were often getting washed out of plays or blocked away with ease.
Wisconsin kept hammering the ball on the ground, and at times it felt like pure bully-ball from the Badgers. A lot of the damage came at the second level.
Joe Rossi had spent Tuesday talking about Wisconsin’s designed quarterback runs and how important it would be to stop them. Instead, Colton Joseph rushed for 79 yards on eight carries by halftime, ripped off a 47-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and finished with 141 rushing yards. Wisconsin totaled 228 on the ground.
That was a problem for the line, but it was also a linebacking issue. Against a Wisconsin rushing attack that came in as merely “meh,” Michigan State never found the answer.
The injury situation may have gotten worse, too. Caleb Wheatland went to the locker room during the game, and with Hall already out, his status will be worth watching moving forward. Wheatland had been the only linebacker in the two-deep who had been reliably healthy.
Michigan State also got nothing from its receiving corps. The Spartans have spent all season searching for someone to emerge as a true top target, and Rodney Bullard Jr. was barely involved at all. His only real mention came on a pass interference call late in the first half.
Bullard entered the game as MSU’s leading receiver with 193 receiving yards, but he did not record an official target or catch until there were fewer than three minutes left in the third quarter, long after the game had already tilted heavily toward Wisconsin. That was his only target of the day. The lack of a real playmaker at receiver has been a major issue all season, and Bullard was completely erased on Saturday.
In Other News...
Michigan State Just Made An Early Big Ten Statement At UCLA
Michigan State walked into Pauley Pavilion and left with the kind of conference win that can change the tone of a season. The Spartans handled UCLA in straight sets, controlling the match from start to finish and not allowing the Bruins much breathing room in any part of the night. It was their first conference road sweep since 2024, a reminder that this group is already showing some early Big Ten muscle.
The result pushed Michigan State to 12-1 overall and 2-1 in league play, while UCLA dropped to 10-4 and 1-2 in conference action. Alanna Bankston led the way with 15 kills, and Carmen Waye added eight kills with five blocks as the Spartans gave themselves an early statement on the road, with plenty of season still ahead to see how far that edge can carry them. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Suddenly Has Bigger Questions Than Just One Ugly Loss
A 31-3 loss to Wisconsin left Michigan State with more to sort through than just a bad Saturday afternoon. The offense never found traction, and the Cam Fancher package that had been part of the conversation did not provide the spark the Spartans needed, adding to the sense that this side of the ball may need a reset rather than a tweak. There is also a broader feeling that the staff may have to look harder at younger receivers and consider different play-calling ideas if it wants to get the unit moving again.
On the other side of the ball, Wisconsins run-heavy approach kept Michigan State on its heels and turned the game into a long, frustrating slog. That puts more attention on defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, whose group has to show it can handle exactly the kind of physical, methodical plan the Badgers used to control the afternoon. And with Cam Fancher leaving with a non-contact leg injury, the Spartans may soon have even fewer answers to work with as they try to regroup. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State's Cam Edwards Problem Looked Bigger Than Ever In Madison
Michigan States trip to Madison underscored just how much the offense has been leaning on Cam Edwards. Without its star running back, the Spartans had a hard time finding any rhythm in a 31-3 Big Ten loss to Wisconsin, while quarterback Alessio Milivojevic spent much of the afternoon under pressure. The result was a one-sided game in which Michigan State never got comfortable and Wisconsin dictated the pace with long, steady possessions.
The trouble did not stop on offense. Michigan States defense had no clean answer for Wisconsins ability to stay on schedule, with the Badgers repeatedly extending drives on third down and getting production from Colton Joseph as both a passer and a runner. For the Spartans, the larger concern is whether the ground game can hold up without Edwards, because the version that showed up in Madison had too few answers on either side of the ball. [Read more 🡒]