Michigan State spent most of Saturday hanging around, then watched the game slip away in the final moments.
The Spartans had a 33-yard field goal lined up with a little more than a minute left and a chance to move in front. Instead, the kick was blocked, and Northwestern wasted no time turning that break into a decisive response against MSU’s shorthanded defense in the clutch.
Even in defeat, there were pieces for Michigan State to build on. Fitzgerald has been talking about constructing the program in East Lansing on “bedrock,” and there were signs of that here.
It is not about talent, and it is not about where the Spartans stand in terms of NIL. It starts with things like effort, discipline and putting players in position to compete.
That effort has been there. It was not there last year, and it is no small thing to get a 2-4 team to keep fighting every Saturday in this college football climate, especially with the injuries piling up.
Michigan State has also done a better job of staying away from the self-inflicted stuff. The dumb penalties are mostly gone, with silly false starts and unsportsmanlike flags showing up far less often this season.
On offense, Nick Sheridan seems to be figuring out what this group can actually do. With the limited talent available, the play selection and concepts have generally fit the personnel on the field. Michigan State did not look like it was forcing ideas that didn’t belong.
That mattered because this was a game the Spartans could have won. Illinois and Northwestern are two of the weaker defenses Michigan State will see this season, and Northwestern was also missing several key players in the secondary. With a little cleaner execution, and a few better throws from Alessio Milivojevic in key moments, MSU could have taken control and won by more than a single score.
Defensively, there were real concerns entering the day. Michigan State had to get through the game without its top four corners and top three linebackers, and the injuries on that side of the ball have become a major issue. Against a Northwestern offense that has been humming under well-regarded coordinator Chip Kelly, the Spartans looked like they might be in trouble.
Instead, Joe Rossi’s defense held up better than expected. There may have been some familiarity at work against Northwestern quarterback and former Spartan Aidan Chiles, but MSU’s defenders still played well above the level many would have expected.
The defensive tackles stood out most. Ben Roberts and Eli Coenen carried a heavy load, and both may have turned in their best performances of the season.
Roberts finished with two TFLs and a sack. Coenen added half a sack and a critical blocked field goal in the first half.
Still, the defense finally ran out of answers late. Michigan State had trouble finishing tackles in open space throughout the game, and Northwestern made it pay in the fourth quarter with very soft coverage that kept giving the Wildcats room to work.
In Other News...
Michigan State Has 3 Big Roster Questions Against UConn
Michigan State gets a useful early measuring stick when it hosts UConn at Breslin Center in a preseason exhibition, and the Spartans have a few roster questions worth watching long before the games count. Freshman center Ethan Taylor, sophomore Cam Ward and freshman two-guard Jasiah Jervis all stand out as players who could shape how this team looks once the 2026-27 season arrives, with each bringing a different kind of intrigue after what they have already shown.
For Tom Izzo, this is less about the final score than about what the rotation starts to reveal. Taylors presence inside, Wards sophomore leap and Jervis fit on the perimeter all give Michigan State something to evaluate against a high-level opponent, and UConn should provide a real stress test for where those pieces stand. The Spartans will leave the exhibition with answers, but probably not all of them. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State May Finally Have The Defensive Front Fans Wanted
Michigan States defensive front looked more like the unit fans had been waiting for in the win over Northwestern, with several players drawing strong Pro Football Focus grades and the group showing the kind of disruption that had been missing at times earlier in the season. Under recently hired coach Winston DeLattiboudere, the line has taken noticeable steps forward, and the Spartans are seeing a blend of veteran presence and younger pieces start to come together.
What makes the performance matter is that it did not feel like a one-game outlier so much as another sign of a room that is being developed the right way. The staff has been encouraged by the progress up front, and with that mix of experience and growth, Michigan State may be closer to having the defensive line it has been trying to build for a while. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Has One Costly Problem It Can't Keep Wasting
Alessio Milivojevic gave Michigan State a little bit of everything in the loss to Northwestern, and that has become part of the problem for a team trying to stop the slide. Pat Fitzgerald pointed to the quarterbacks touchdown passes as proof the offense can still find answers, but he also noted the missed opportunities that left the Spartans with too much wasted potential in a game they needed to squeeze for everything it was worth.
Now comes UCLA, a matchup that adds another layer of uncertainty with backup Ty Dieffenbach having recently started because of an injury to the Bruins starter. Fitzgerald offered his read on both quarterbacks as Michigan State turns the page, but the larger issue remains the same: the Spartans cannot keep letting usable chances slip away and expect a losing streak to sort itself out. [Read more 🡒]