The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Michigan State Football’s Loss to Nebraska

On Saturday, Pat Fitzgerald and the Spartans got their first taste of Big Ten action. Michigan State football welcomed Nebraska to Spartan Stadium in their first matchup against a team in the same skill range, based on betting lines.

The Spartans turned dysfunctional first series into three points in their second series, before momentum shifts and injuries led to a downward spiral. Ultimately, the Spartans lost 31-13. Here is the good, bad, and ugly from Saturday’s game.

The Good

Defense Started Strong

In each of the first few series for the first and second halves, the Spartans came out on fire. They created pressure and forced Anthony Colandrea out of the pocket, aiding a defense that was short four of their top six corners.

The run game had little-to-no space to play, making Colandrea’s legs the biggest threat for the Spartans.

Third Quarter

Michigan State football appeared poised to begin a climb out of their deficit from the first half. The Spartans shut down the Cornhuskers on their first two series of the third quarter and had the momentum and stadium in their favor.

The offense had drives, Jaziun Patterson was finding holes, Alessio Milivojevic was taking what the defense gave him. Naturally, there is a reason that only the third quarter is mentioned.

Weather

The temperature was perfect for the Big Ten opener and it was a picturesque day in East Lansing. This is an attempt for more positivity before the categories of bad and ugly.

The Bad

Pass Blocking

The pass game was completely dysfunctional on Saturday, from bad reads to plays where the quarterback was left stranded with no one to throw to and defenders creeping in.

Alessio Milivojevic was hit hard, being sacked five times and being hit an additional three or four times. The quarterback had no chance on at least three of his sacks due to the pass blocking. Part of this comes from a rotating lineup courtesy of injuries.

Wide Receiver Separation

The other part working against Alessio Milivojevic was the wide receivers struggling to get clear of their defenders. While Andrew Marshall is a star cornerback and Donovan Jones is well on his way, the Spartans have had this theme be recurring all season and it was exposed on Saturday.

The Ugly

Injuries

Everything went wrong on injuries on Saturday. To begin, Brady Pretzlaff and Tyran Chappell each were ruled inactive two hours before kick. Tre Bell then went down in warmups, putting the Spartans down two corners.

Keshawn Williams and NiJhay Burt each got injured early, leading to Andrew Brinson IV to be called off the bench to get his first game reps since 2024.

During that time, Conner Moore and Cam Edwards each got injured, with Edwards needing the cart and Moore being ruled out for the game by halftime. Moore was soon joined by Ben Murawski in getting injured, although the tackle returned to the game. Luka Vincic also got injured during the contest and need help to the sidelines.

On the first play of the third quarter, Jordan Hall went down injured and needed the cart to exit the stadium. Michael Richard sprinted over to the medical tent with an ankle issue and returned sporting a bulky wrap, as did Chuck Brantley.

The linebacker room injuries were not done yet, as Caleb Wheatland was down for a few plays, along with Dion Crawford getting injured and not returning to the game.

Discipline

During the first three games of the season, the Spartans had cleaned up their penalties, with the Spartans rarely seeing a whistle and avoiding “takes not talent” penalties. That was a common point, and part of what led to the frustration with the last coaching staff.

On Saturday, old habits re-emerged. The Spartans saw a defensive hold on a punt, two unsportsmanlike conducts, and multiple holds. These plays killed multiple momentum-shifting plays, including a blocked punt and a batted ball to set up a third-and-14.

With a razor-thin margin of error in year one of Fitzgerald’s rebuild, these are mistakes the program cannot afford to make.

Turnovers

Speaking of the margin of error, losing the turnover battle 3-to-0 is not ideal to winning Big Ten games. The Spartans had bad plays, including two ill-advised throws that resulted in interceptions and multiple strip sacks, one of which was recovered.

Alessio Milivojevic and Cam Fancher each made throws were they stared down a receiver, letting defensive backs get a head start to pick the pass off. On top of that, there were two other passes nearly intercepted, plus a fumble that the Spartans recovered. This game could have gone much, much worse, and the Spartans already had lost by 18.