Michigan State football: Offensive Snap Counts vs UCLA revealed

On Saturday, Michigan State football hosted UCLA for Homecoming. Unfortunately, it was not a joyous occasion for the green and white. The Spartans lost to interim head coach Tim Skipper in an embarrassing blowout, falling 13-38 after entering as one touchdown favorites.

The offense did little to help the case, as their opening drive touchdown accounted for over half their yards at halftime. How did player rotation look during the inexplicable, inexcusable loss?

As always, starters will be italicized. Percentages will be out of the 61 offensive snaps on Saturday. For last week’s usage, against Nebraska, check here.

Quarterback

Aidan Chiles: (37) 61%

Alessio Milivojevic: (24) 39%

Chiles suffered another hard hit to the head this game, and was “banged pretty good,” per head coach Jonathan Smith. The junior did not return to the game. Before he left, he was not performing very well, with another inaccurate, mostly down day after the first touchdown.

Milivojevic relieved Chiles, and out-passed him (100 yards to 66 yards), and even finished with one more attempt and the same number of completions as the starter. Nothing is known about Chiles’ status for the Indiana game next week.

Running back

Makhi Frazier: (35) 57%

Brandon Tullis: (20) 33%

Elijah Tau-Tolliver: (6) 10%

Frazier was the lead back on Saturday, having triple the amount of carries as his fellow backs combined, and was targeted twice in the passing game, too. Frazier showed a spark, with 4.8 yards per carry, but the Spartans were so far behind he did not see many high-leverage carries.

Tullis recorded his best game by a landslide in pass protection, and Tau-Tolliver had a pair of touches on the day. Overall, there were much bigger issues that the running back room on Satuday.

Fullback

Jay Coyne: (3) 5%

The Spartans rarely ran the I-Form on Saturday, and their results out of the formation were not inspiring, to say the least. Coyne’s offensive role cannot diminish much further, but that might be the case with much more imposing teams looming on the schedule.

Wide Receiver

Omari Kelly: (58) 95%

Nick Marsh: (55) 90%

Chrishon McCray: (37) 61%

Evan Boyd: (6) 10%

Rod Bullard Jr.: (3) 5%

Until a fourth quarter flurry by Marsh, the receiver room was missing in action on Saturday. The Spartans got stonewalled by UCLA’s defensive backs, and inaccurate throws did not help the case, either. Marsh accounted for nearly half the team’s 166 receiving yards, with 77 yards and the sole receiving touchdown of the day.

Kelly added a pair of catches for 21 yards, and McCray had a 23-yard scamper late to stay in the box score. Overall, it was not a great outing.

Tight Ends

Jack Velling: (54) 88.5%

Michael Masunas: (20) 33%

Kai Rios: (8) 13%

The tight end room took heavy hits this week, with Jayden Savoury and Brennan Parachek each being listed on the injury report with undisclosed ailments. The remaining three Spartans with experience did not make things much better.

The trio accounted for the bottom three PFF grades on offense. Masunas had a strong run blocking game, but a pair of drops sunk his grade. While one was a high target, the normally reliable tight end had another off day.

Kai Rios dropped his first target as a Spartan, and the hope is that Michigan State football will have one of the two injured players heal up fast.

Offensive Line

Conner Moore: (61) 100%

Matt Gulbin: (61) 100%

Ashton Lepo: (54) 88.5%

Caleb Carter: (54) 88.5%

Gavin Broscious: (36) 59%

Kristian Phillips: (32) 52.5%

Rustin Young: (7) 11.5%

Yet again, Jonathan Smith sent Rustin Young in for a pair of series. This time, however, it came in the first half, and then the Hawaiian was only seen again on the extra point in the fourth quarter.

This time, it was the right call, as Lepo and Moore ranked in the top three for offensive performers.

Moore played his third straight “iron man” game, and Gulbin has yet to miss an offensive snap for Michigan State football this season.

On the guard front, the rotation may finally be ending, but not due to a decided battle. Kristian Phillips left the game with a lower body injury, and was spotted with crutches post-game. That is a tough break for the junior who has been one of the best pass blockers on the team.

The Spartans travel to No. 3 ranked Indiana next week. The game will be on Peacock. My early prediction is not favorable. The Hoosiers opened as 26.5-point favorites for a reason.