Michigan State Football Struggles to Slow Down Wisconsin, Downed 31-3

On Saturday, Michigan State football traveled out to Wisconsin for their first conference road trip of the season. The Spartans looked to rebound after a rough 31-13 loss to Nebraska to open their Big Ten play. Unfortunately, the Spartans would be down their best offensive and defensive players, with Cam Edwards and Jordan Hall each ruled out.

The Spartans went down early, and were unable to stay out of their own way on third down. With perfect weather in Wisconsin, here is the game recap from the 31-3 loss.

First Quarter

Wisconsin got the ball first after the Spartans won the toss. The Spartans could not get off the field on third down, and that resulted in a Colton Joseph 20-yard score that was just over Kenny Soares Jr.’s outstretched arms, with the ball bouncing off his back into Jacob Harris’s arms.

Michigan State football got the ball back and drove down field, but a series of plays ruined the drive. Alessio Milivojevic was sacked after Ben Murawski folded on third down, forcing the quarterback to step up right into a sack. The Spartans elected to go for it on 4^th-and-7, but a deep shot to Fred Moore was broken up.

The Spartans were forced to defend a short field, and could not stop Wisconsin on third down. The Badger drive was capped off by another Joseph touchdown pass to Harris, this one on a beautiful play design and rollout by Joseph.

The Spartans got the ball back, and started their drive as the quarter expired.

Second Quarter

KK Smith got his first catch since week one during the drive, giving MSU a first down. The Cam Fancher package came out, but it was a four-and-done as Fancher ran twice, had a handoff to Parrish, and could not convert 4^th-and-2 as Fancher had his pass batted down.

The Badgers responded with a drive that had three separate conversions of third-and-eight or more, with Kenny Soares finally getting the stop on two clutch plays in the red zone, where he beat sophomore tight end Emmett Bork for a tackle for loss and then deflected Joseph’s pass on third down.

The Spartans were able to rally for a field goal to end half, benefitting from two Wisconsin defensive penalties to work their way downfield. Milivojevic displayed a strong connection with Jayden Savoury, connecting three times on the drive. MSU settled for a 31-yard field goal with nine seconds left.

The Badgers kneeled it to halftime.

Third Quarter

Alessio Milivojevic got the ball out of half, and the Spartans responded with a short drive. Cam Fancher substituted in, but was injured after he knocked knees with a Wisconsin defender after a dive.

The Spartans went for it, and could not capitalize. On a short field, the Badgers had their own short drive, but that was due to a 47-yard house call by Colton Joseph on the ground.

The Spartans and Badgers exchanged some punts, with neither team gaining much yardage. However, it is worth noting that Michigan State football had their fourth turnover on downs of the game.

Fourth Quarter

The Spartans started by forcing a Badger punt, and some Marvis Parrish started gaining some traction, followed by a Milivojevic first down rush to push the Spartans past midfield.

Chrishon McCray had a fourth down drop, with the fifth turnover on downs for the Spartans in the game.

The Badgers elected to go for it on 4^th-and-inches, converting with a Colton Joseph sneak. The next play, the senior aired it out to Malachi Coleman for a 46-yard touchdown, making it 31-3.

The Spartans elected to trot out Kayd Coffman for his career debut, with the freshman having one pass batted down, two rushes, and a sack in his first series.

Wisconsin took the punt and had their own three-and-out to bring the game to the two-minute timeout.  The Spartans ran the clock out after receiving the punt.

FINAL

Michigan State Football 3

Wisconsin 31