The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Michigan State Football’s Win Over Michigan

On Saturday, Michigan State football took down Michigan in the Big House, 15-9. The Spartans reclaimed the Paul Bunyan Trophy for the first time since 2021 and gave Pat Fitzgerald his first Big Ten Conference win in the green and white.

The game was a Big Ten slugfest, and was one that was lower scoring than nearly anyone projected. There was plenty of good, bad, and ugly in the game. Let’s dive into it.

The Good

Defense

The first thing mentioned in this article had to be the defense. Joe Rossi, whenever the fanbase counts him out and writes him off, pulls off a masterclass. While Michigan’s offense is not prolific by any means, Rossi was on pace to shut the Wolverines out for the first time in 12 years by any opponent.

The best Michigan offensive drive of the night occurred once Rossi dialed into a much more conservative prevent defense. Even then, the second the game came into doubt, Rossi lined Kenny Soares up at defensive tackle on a two-point conversion, where a Soares spin move promptly ended all Michigan hopes with his sack.

The defensive line played lights out with five sacks, NiJhay Burt forced two turnovers, Devin Vaught flew around the field in his one quarter of action, Nikai Martinez was a heat-seeking missile. The Spartans completely dominated the Wolverines in a style not seen since at least the 2013 season.

The defensive play was so great that Michigan went and fired offensive coordinator less than 24 hours after the game kicked off.

Quarterback Play

Heading into the match, not much was known about the status of third-year player Alessio Milivojevic. He emerged from the tunnel with tape on his throwing hand, and took two hard sacks in the first half. However, the quarterback came alive in the last two minutes of the second quarter, leading the team down the field for two field goals.

In the second half, Milivojevic continued his game manager role, taking what the Michigan defense gave him, with a few big time throws sprinkled in. Milivojevic had a 30-yard pass on fourth down which was dropped by Bryson Williams. The receiver redeemed himself in the fourth quarter with a long completion downfield that Milivojevic dialed up when seeing a corner blitz.

Facing tremendous pressure, the quarterback was able to uncork the ball to Williams, much in the same way he did on a drag route to Chrishon McCray in the fourth quarter.

McCray was all over the field, and he claimed Michigan corner Jyaire Hill’s ankles, which might still be located on the Wolverine 15-yard line in the Big House. McCray dominated on a day where the Spartans entered without tight end Jayden Savoury, one of their best options in the tough season.

Kicking Game

Anyone who watched this game knew the kicking game was coming. Liam Boyd had ice in his veins on Saturday night, drilling all five field goals in a hostile Ann Arbor crowd. The kicker overcame an illegal leverage play on the first field goal to drill it, then kept at his craft.

Boyd was perfect on the night, drilling from as long as 49 yards out to lead the Spartans past their in state opponent. Nick Duzansky was perfect on his snaps, and Rhys Dakin had an amazing game as both punter and holder.

All-in-all, it was a beautiful day on the kick game in an ugly contest from an unbiased spectator.

Brandon Tullis

Tullis gets a special shoutout here. The running back stuck the course despite a demotion from starting running back at points in 2025 to the fourth- or fifth-option after the regime change.

He recorded a career-high 25 carries for 86 yards, showcasing himself as a power back, breaking tackles and falling forward for first downs. Tullis had previously faced some criticisms for his running style, and the Texas native proved himself and got the last laugh Saturday.

Better yet, Tullis was also responsible for some well-timed blitz pickups that gave Alessio Milivojevic an extra second for a pass completion.

The Bad

Injuries

As if entering the game with an injury list that was longer that rivals the Detroit Lions was not bad enough, more Spartans went down on Saturday. Devin Vaught, after an amazing interception in the opening quarter, was unable to play by the end of said first quarter.

Rod Bullard Jr. also went down injured and did not return. Kenneth Williams took a stinger to the thigh and played sparingly. Dion Crawford got injured in the second half. Chrishon McCray was hobbled getting up. NiJhay Burt, in the middle of the game of his life, got hurt and proceeded to vomit on the field multiple times on his way back to the sideline.

The Spartans had already lost Jayden Savoury and Brayden Thomas via the injury report, along with second-year receiver Braylon Collier not making the bus ride down to Ann Arbor.

Team Discipline

In a game that was not the most fairly called, the Spartans prevailed. However, there was a few occasions where the Spartans had put themselves in bad positions. Kenneth Williams got away with a blatant facemask, and the team had gotten an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that wound up pushing themselves out of field goal position during the game.

Additionally, in his post-game press conference, Pat Fitzgerald mentioned multiple occasions of Spartan players not meeting the standards of respect and accountability he wanted in their conduct during the game. The head coach mentioned those will be addressed immediately and swiftly, with one play on the field and actions post-game needing to be discussed.

The Ugly

Rewatching The Game

It was a glorious defensive battle and slugfest. That said, this game is not one to watch offensive highlights on. The Spartans had a gritty, old-fashioned “three yards and a cloud of dust” approach to the game. Defensively, it was a battle of one inch at a time.

For fans that enjoy offense or at least semi-entertaining football, this one might be hard to stomach. Maybe the “sicko” ex-lineman side of me is talking here, but I still find value of it. At one point, Spartans OnSI beat writer Jacob Cotsonika wrote that this game was a 1926 special, and I agree.

Dropping the Paul Bunyan Trophy

As much as I want the ugly category to only have one item this week… come on, Jordan Hall and Kenny Soares Jr., you two could not hand off the Paul Bunyan Trophy clean?