The Good, Bad, and Ugly from Michigan State Football’s Brutal Loss to Wisconsin

On Saturday, Michigan State football took to the enemy confines of Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium. The Spartans were looking to find a way to win against a place that has not been friendly to them in recent years.

Unfortunately, things were not great for the Spartans. They fell to the Badgers 31-3 in a moment that might be the lowest the Michigan State football program has had since a 49-0 defeat to Michigan when the Spartans were effectively coach-less in 2023.

There was a lot of bad and ugly, and not much good, for the Spartans during the contest.

The Good

Short Game Offense Worked… Temporarily

With no Cam Edwards, the Spartans moved to a short game offense designed to get the ball out of Alessio Milivojevic’s hands quick. It was effective, as the Spartans were able to get to Wisconsin’s side of the field multiple times.

However, their drives would stall out around the Badger 40-yard-line. Any deep shot saw no separation despite the setup with the short game and run game. It resulted in ugly numbers by the offense, with 34 passes attempts for 108 yards and two sacks between three quarterbacks.

The longest play of the Spartan offense was 13 yards. However, they could still drive into opposing territory. There is a sliver of hope.

The Spartans Did Not Get Shutout

That is the last of the good. The Spartans avoided a shutout with Liam Boyd kicking a field goal from the Badger redzone. It was a drive where Milivojevic had a solid connection with Jayden Savoury and it gave the Spartans some hope heading into the second half.

The Bad

Offensive Line Play Continues to Underwhelm

The Spartan offensive line ‘upgrades’ to the bad category this week as there were only two sacks allowed. That said, the Badgers had only recorded five on the season heading into Saturday’s game.

The line did get some push and it was not the worst showing of the season for the starting five, especially with Conner Moore getting banged up on the first play from scrimmage.

Secondary Play

The secondary struggled, which was expected with the two-deep ravished by injuries. Malachi Coleman burnt the secondary for a 46-yard touchdown to ice the game.

However, there was some solid signs, with Jeremiah Favorite getting a taste of game action and having some strong reps. Favorite did have teaching tape to learn from, too, but the freshman had a solid debut.

Nikai Martinez and Devin Vaught have not looked strong against the pass all season, which has been an unpleasant surprise. This week, the secondary did see as many big gains against them, but that comes from Colton Joseph rushing at will. Joseph was held to a 45 percent passing clip on the day.

The Ugly

Defensive Line

The defensive line faced their second highly-mobile quarterback in as many weeks, and had not learned their lesson. Michigan State football was carved by Colton Joseph, with the transfer quarterback rushing for 141 yards on a day where he only completed nine passes.

On one of the first snaps of the game, the rush lost contain and got deeper than the quarterback. This theme continued throughout the game. Considering that Pat Fitzgerald had disclosed to media that was the top thing he knew to address with a mobile quarterback, that was inexcusable.

The Spartans now sit at one sack through three games of Power Four competition, which occurred on a play where CJ Carr could not get to the line of scrimmage. It is quickly becoming worrisome that the Spartans might see a similar streak to 2024, where they went six games without a sack mid-season.

Linebackers Getting Lost

No Hall? BIG problem for the Spartans. With Jordan Hall out, the Spartans struggled. The linebacker unit over pursued Joseph, went into the wrong lanes, and missed tackles. It was a rough watch and re-watch for Saturday’s contest.

The Spartan defense has looked awful without Hall, even dating back to the Toledo contest. If Hall’s injury is long term, there is not a positive diagnosis for Spartan football.

Playcalling Decisions

The Spartans had Alessio Milivojevic pass the ball quick, which was a solid plan. The running backs did not have a large discrepancy when compared to the Nebraska game, which was a concern.

However, the big concern comes from the personnel decisions on Saturday. With Alessio Milivojevic finally in rhythm, the Spartans moved to the Cam Fancher package for multiple runs and a batted down ball on fourth down. After their scoring drive to end the half, Fancher was again thrown into the game mid-drive during the opening drive of the second half.

The rotation of quarterbacks was too much of a wrinkle and it hampered a Spartan team already struggling to move the ball. Add in five unsuccessful fourth down calls, and the play calling gets an F or worse for grades this week.