What PFF Grades Say About Michigan State Football Offense Vs Toledo

Michigan State football opened the Pat Fitzgerald era with a victory, although it was closer than the fans wanted. The Spartans, on the strength of five Liam Boyd field goals, beat Toledo 30-20.

The offense was humming, but kept stalling and settling for field goals once they got near the Rocket 30-yard-line. That becomes confusing to grade the offense, which is perfect to let PFF do it’s job of analyzing how each player did.

24 Spartans took the field on offense, and PFF has a grade for all of them. Here, it is time to highlight the top 5 for best and worst on Friday night.

Top Five Michigan State Football Players on Offense, Per PFF

• QB Alessio Milivojevic: 87.4
• WR Rod Bullard Jr.: 72.3
• RB Cam Edwards: 69.5
• C Trent Fraley: 69.5
• WR KK Smith: 67.8

Overall, the top performers tended to rise to the top. Alessio Milivojevic was highly efficient on Friday night, although a graded of 87.4 is surprising when considering a few of his plays were borderline turnover worthy and he held onto the ball too long at points. That said, he was efficient at taking what the defense gave to him and using his legs to evade defenders and extend plays.

Bullard came up huge for the Spartans, with him and Alessio Milivojevic establishing a steady rhythm at the start of the fourth quarter after the Rockets grabbed the lead. Bullard capped off the drive with a touchdown and the ensuing two-point conversion. His grade is not higher due to a ball that was in his catch radius that sailed through his hands, resulting in the first field goal of the night. In Bullard’s defense, it was an extremely tough play.

Edwards got a touch on 57% of his snaps, with 29 touches on the day. He had a high output, but it was not an efficient output. The UConn transfer had 98 yards on the ground on his carries, averaging less than four yards per carry.

Trent Fraley was the anchoring force of the offensive line in his first start for MSU, with the center paving the way for some of the best runs of the night. When things went wrong for the Spartans in the run game, it was usually from a tackle or guard spot.

KK Smith being the final name is a pleasant surprise. The Notre Dame transfer showcased his hands when targeted, having a strong catch the only time he was targeted on Friday night.

Bottom Five Players on Offense, Per PFF

• WR Bryson Williams: 55.9
• WR Fredrick Moore: 55.7
• RT Rakeem Johnson: 53.8
• TE Brennan Parachek: 51.2
• TE Kai Rios: 47.4

Overall, the receiver and tight end room had a struggle of a night, with the third receiver spot and tight ends besides Jayden Savoury struggling to create much separation.

Williams had a strong night and showcased why he is in the rotation, but the only pass thrown his way was one he could not haul in. That tanked his receiving grade and put him on this list in the bottom. He and KK Smith were the only receivers to play on Friday that did not get a snap in the slot.

Moore was a surprising name to the starters list, but did little to showcase why he should win the WR3 role over Williams or Smith. He caught all three passes thrown his way, but did not create separation or yards after catch, only garnering 25 yards on his three catches.

Johnson was the lone lineman to make this list, which was a surprise. The third-year player had a tough assignment with Andrew Zock and Isaac Zay, and the defenders gave the lineman some teaching tape on Friday. Johnson has promise, but needs to improve quickly if the Spartans want to contend in Big Ten season. Another hit towards Johnson’s grade was a holding penalty.

Parachek being listed was unsurprising, as his receiving grade was hit multiple times by last of separation. The longtime Spartan’s role is a blocker, but he even struggled there. The Dexter native only beat out pass-catching threat and fellow tight end Jayden Savoury in run block grades. Week one was the week to work the kinks out, but for now, it appears the Spartans are missing Michael Masunas’s ability on blocks.

Rios was the third tight end rotating in during the game, with his role as an additional blocking threat and bigger body for wildcat packages to run behind. Unfortunately for Rios, his run block grade was just above Parachek’s but still the third worst. With Rios as only a role player, that bad run block grade led to the lowest among the offense.