Michigan State came up short again Saturday, dropping a 24-21 decision to Northwestern, but the Spartans showed enough across three phases to make this one feel very different from the uglier stretches earlier in the season.
The offense was better. Not perfect, not even close, but better.
Michigan State put together two long touchdown drives and added another long scoring strike, with Alessio Milivojevic finishing 19-for-30 through the air without an interception. Jaziun Patterson gave the ground game a boost as well, averaging 4.8 yards per carry on 15 attempts.
Still, the mistakes were too costly to ignore. Milivojevic was stripped and lost a fumble deep in Spartan territory, and he missed Rodney Bullard deep twice on throws that would have gone for touchdowns if they’d been on target.
Michigan State also went just 3-for-12 on third down. There’s progress here, but there’s still plenty of work left for the quarterback and the unit as a whole.
The defense turned in what looked like Michigan State’s strongest outing of the season, especially given the injuries and the matchup. When the offense coughed up the ball and left the Spartans defending their own goal line, the defense held firm and forced a field goal. Later, with Michigan State clinging to a 14-10 lead and Northwestern driving into the red zone, the Spartans got a stop on third-and-6 and again held the Wildcats to three points.
That group also found a pass rush again. Michigan State had not been getting to the quarterback much of late, but Saturday the Spartans recorded five sacks and often got pressure with just four linemen.
The finish, though, was brutal. Northwestern punched in a long touchdown drive after Michigan State went up 21-13, and after one more important stop, the Spartans were carved up in six plays on the final possession that led to the winning field goal.
Strong effort. Painful ending.
Special teams were a major reason Michigan State stayed in it. Kenneth Williams ripped off a 44-yard kick return that set up a touchdown, Chrishon McCray added a 41-yard punt return that led to another score, and Eli Coenen blocked a field goal that kept the Spartans within three in the first half.
Rhys Dakin also handled punting well. But all of that got overshadowed when a 33-yard field goal that looked like it might be the winner was blocked with 1:05 left.
The coaching staff had its fingerprints all over the good stuff. The defensive plan did a good job against the Wing-T and made life difficult for Aidan Chiles.
Joe Rossi, in particular, drew praise for nearly everything except the ending. On offense, Michigan State mixed in effective runs, pushed the ball downfield and used tempo to get things moving.
Nick Sheridan also had a few calls that stood out, including a simple throw to an open running back on an early key third down. Special teams coach LeVar Woods continued to show why he was such a strong hire.
Northwestern’s turnaround was also part of the story. Pat Fitzgerald’s team, which looked finished two weeks ago - and even in the first half a week ago - has suddenly found some life.
The final sequence is going to stick with Michigan State, though. With a short field and a chance to finish the game with a touchdown - or even to bleed the clock inside the 10 and take a knee - the Spartans settled into a stretch of five straight runs, one of them good for a first down, and never fully put Northwestern away.
If the blocked field goal doesn’t happen, maybe the next defensive series plays out differently. Maybe.
But the choice to handle that moment the way they did stood out as a missed chance to take the game.
Now comes a trip to the Rose Bowl to face UCLA in Los Angeles, where the Bruins are playing with a backup quarterback. It is a winnable game, and it will be in a setting that should mean something to Michigan State, with a crowd that could be split nearly down the middle.
Then comes the bye week, followed by Michigan. After that, if this team still hasn’t turned effort into results, November could get rough.
For now, though, the Spartans seem likely to bring this same fight into the next couple of games.
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 🡒]