Michigan State football offensive snap counts at Nebraska revealed

On Saturday, Michigan State football fell to Nebraska, 27-38. The Cornhuskers pulled away after the Spartans grabbed a 21-14 lead late in the third quarter. The Spartans fell apart, with the offensive execution going away and their defense tiring out after being placed in bad field position repeatedly.

How did the offensive snap counts break down? As always, the starters will be italicized. The offense was on field for 72 snaps against Nebraska. For the USC offensive snap count breakdown, check out this link.

Quarterback

Aidan Chiles: (60) 83%

Alessio Milivojevic: (12) 17%

Chiles went down injured during the first Spartan touchdown drive, hitting his head on the turf. Milivojevic finished the drive with his first touchdown pass to Jack Velling, before Chiles returned to the field.

Chiles did not look the same after injury, regressing to his 2024 self. He threw two interceptions and was not on target for most passes. Recognizing that limitation, he ran wild in the third quarter, rushing for a pair of touchdowns to pull the Spartans ahead.

His offensive line gave out, again, and Milivojevic was called in to finish the game with MSU down by 17 points. A-Mili had another touchdown drive, sneaking the ball in for his first rushing touchdown.

Running Back

Makhi Frazier: (44) 61%

Brandon Tullis: (25) 35%

Elijah Tau-Tolliver: (3) 4%

Heading into the game, the expectation was for MSU to run wild against the Cornhusker defense. That was not the case. The Spartans could not get much push. Worse yet, Frazier and Tullis each had bad blocks that allowed Chiles to get sacked.

Tau-Tolliver had a bad drop on the first second down of the game, and was seldom seen after that. Tullis had a good catch on a late wheel route. Frazier, again, showed why he was the clear cut top back. That said, he did not do enough to help the chances of a Michigan State football win.

Fullback

Jay Coyne: (5) 7%

Coyne was called on for his handful of snaps per game, as always. However, the I-Formation is being snuffed out increasingly more as the season goes on.

Wide Receiver

Omari Kelly: (65) 90%

Nick Marsh: (60) 83%

Chrishon McCray: (50) 69%

Evan Boyd: (9) 12.5%

Rod Bullard: (4) 5.5%

When the quarterbacks complete 15 of their 30 attempts, it is hard to draw much from the receiver group. The main problem became the reliance on the deep ball, where the Spartans hit exactly two, to tight end Jack Velling and running back Brandon Tullis late in the game.

Marsh and Kelly each saw a dip in their production, and McCray was targeted six times for one catch. From what was observed, it was a scheme issue, alongside facing one of the best pass defenses in the country.

Boyd made his first career catch as a Spartan after three prior targets, and was taking the occasional Marsh rep after the River Rouge (MI.) product was under-the-weather during the week.

Bullard was made for a few packages, but those play calls were not used much on Saturday.

Tight Ends

Jack Velling: (58) 80.5%

Michael Masunas: (27) 37.5%

Brennan Parachek: (6) 8%

Jayden Savoury: (4) 5.5%

Velling had one of his best games of the season, with his second touchdown of the year. Surprisingly, all three of Velling’s catches came with Milivojevic in at quarterback. The senior seemed to be in a better rhythm with the Illinois quarterback, and that becomes something to monitor if the backup is relied upon again.

Masunas did not perform to his lofty expectations, with the junior putting up a season-worst PFF grade and going without a catch for the first time all year.

Parachek and Savoury each saw a handful of snaps, with the freshman providing a good cross-formation block. It is worth noting that Savoury was motioned in after lining up wide once. A new formation to monitor for the Spartans.

Offensive Lineman

Matt Gulbin: (72) 100%

Conner Moore: (72) 100%

Ashton Lepo: (66) 92%

Kristian Phillips: (57) 79%

Gavin Broscious: (50) 69%

Caleb Carter: (37) 51%

Rustin Young: (6) 8%

Without Stanton Ramil, the Spartans shifted Conner Moore to left tackle and Ashton Lepo took the reigns of his 2024 spot of starting right tackle. It did not work. Lepo and Moore each allowed bad sacks that took Aidan Chiles out of the game.

There is a whole piece breaking down the failure of the tackle spot on Saturday, written by yours truly. That is how the game went.

The guard spots were slightly better, but Caleb Carter had a bad game in pass protection. Phillips, meanwhile, had his most complete game since the FAU contest last season. He may be fully back. After last week, the main thing about the offensive line is that we need to see more Rustin Young.

Gulbin and Moore each played another “iron man” game. For Moore, this is his second in a row. For Gulbin, he has done so for all five games this year.

With UCLA up next this weekend, the hope is Michigan State football can put them away and give more players a chance to shine on offense.