PASADENA, Calif. - Michigan State came out hot, forced two turnovers and even grabbed the first touchdown of the day. Then the whole thing unraveled in a hurry.
At the Rose Bowl on Saturday, the Spartans’ promising opening stretch against No. 9 UCLA vanished into a 28-10 loss that extended their slide to six straight games. Michigan State is now 0-5 in Big Ten play and will head into its bye week after returning home.
The numbers told the story of how quickly the game slipped away. Michigan State finished with just 156 total yards, and only 83 of them had come before the fourth quarter. The Spartans also had a season-high 13 possessions and got almost nothing out of most of them.
It was a tough setup from the start for first-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald’s team, with true freshman Kayd Coffman making his first career start on the road against an undefeated opponent with College Football Playoff hopes. The offense was already thin without injured starter Alessio Milivojevic and starting running back Jaziun Patterson, and the situation got worse when Marvis Parrish - playing in place of Patterson after Cam Edwards’ season-ending injury - left after the third snap.
Coffman finished 4-for-10 for 42 yards, one touchdown and one interception in his second collegiate appearance before giving way to redshirt freshman Leo Hannan just before the fourth quarter. Hannan completed 9 of 15 passes for 67 yards with an interception and guided MSU’s second scoring drive, a 15-play, 69-yard march that ended with Liam Boyd’s 46-yard field goal. The Spartans did not complete a pass in the second or third quarters.
Kenneth Williams, listed as option No. 4 at running back, carried 17 times for 54 yards and also caught Coffman’s touchdown pass. Michigan State never found a real rhythm on the ground, and the offense stalled for long stretches after its opening series.
The defense briefly gave the Spartans life. On UCLA’s first play from scrimmage, standout defensive tackle Ben Roberts was lost for the game, but Michigan State still managed to create chaos early.
Safety Devin Vaught jarred the ball loose from Anthony Woods and returned the fumble 56 yards to the UCLA 15-yard line, setting up a quick scoring chance. Two plays later, Coffman found Williams for a 14-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
But the Bruins answered immediately. Michigan State’s own turnover led to UCLA’s first points, as Williams was stripped on the second play of the next drive and the Bruins took over 19 yards from the end zone. Javian Thomas finished that possession with a 7-yard touchdown run as UCLA started to lean on the Spartans’ front after Roberts went out.
Michigan State forced another fumble midway through the second quarter, with Vaught again doing the damage and Nikai Martinez scooping it up before racing to the UCLA 19. The Spartans could not cash in.
Coffman then missed Donavyn Pellot, who stepped in front of the throw and took it 67 yards the other way into the red zone. UCLA finished that sequence with Wayne Knight’s 1-yard touchdown and a 14-7 lead.
From there, Michigan State’s offense largely disappeared. The Spartans managed only one first down after the opening drive and went through seven straight possessions of four plays or fewer, including a one-play kneeldown to close the half.
UCLA quarterback Ty Dieffenbach briefly went down injured near the end of the first half, but returned for the opening drive of the third quarter and helped the Bruins push the game out of reach. Brian Rowe Jr. beat freshman cornerback Jeremiah Favorite deep for a 63-yard touchdown, making it 21-7, and UCLA later stretched the lead to 28-7 on a drive extended by offsides flags on Michigan State on third-and-short and fourth-and-short.
Michigan State’s injury problems kept piling up, too. Defensive tackle Ben Roberts never returned, and safety Devin Vaught later limped off after making a tackle. The Spartans were already navigating a roster full of health concerns, and the losses only made the day tougher.
UCLA finished with 445 yards and improved to 7-0 under first-year head coach Bob Chesney. The Bruins ran for 247 yards and three touchdowns, repeatedly finding success once Roberts was out of the game and Michigan State had trouble holding up at the point of attack.
Hannan entered late in the third quarter to start Michigan State’s 11th drive, which began at its own 2-yard line. Williams picked up a 13-yard run to get the Spartans moving, but the drive ended in a punt. UCLA then drove to the MSU 3-yard line before turning the ball over on downs, which set up Hannan’s field-goal drive.
Michigan State’s trip to Pasadena ended with another loss, and the Spartans dropped to 3-5 all-time against UCLA in their first appearance at the Rose Bowl since the 2013 season finale.
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