Back-to-back heartbreakers for the Spartans as they find themselves losing in the remaining seconds against Northwestern, 24-21.
The Michigan State Spartans played one of their most complete games in years against the Northwestern Wildcats, playing well in all three phases of the game. The offense had 305 total yards as they were moving the ball up and down the field. Jaziun Patterson averaged 4.8 yards per carry, and Alessio Milivojevic threw for two touchdowns. The defense sacked Aidan Chiles five times and played like they were lit on fire, even without Jordan Hall, Brady Pretzlaff, Tre Bell, and Charles Brantley. The special teams blocked a kick and had plenty of explosive returns to set the offense up with short fields. They just came up short against the Wildcats, losing on a last-second field goal.
Michigan State carried their momentum from the ending of last week’s game against Illinois into this matchup against Northwestern. The stadium was rocking, and the defense got the job done early. After Michigan State lost a fumble around the ten-yard line in the first quarter, MSU’s defense sacked Aidan Chiles and forced a fumble of their own. Unfortunately, they did not recover, and it led to a Northwestern field goal. Michigan State’s offense answered with a touchdown drive of their own, set up by a kick return that set them in Northwestern’s territory. Alessio Milivojevic kept it on an RPO and ran into the end zone for a touchdown to take the 7-3 lead. It was that play that sparked Michigan State’s effort in this game and kept them in front for a majority of this game.
Later in the game, it felt like something had clicked for the Spartans when they had the lead, 14-13, and, after a penalty, Alessio Milivojevic hit Chrishon McCray down the field for a 53-yard touchdown reception. That play sparked the crowd and gave MSU an eight-point lead over the Wildcats with a little over 12 minutes remaining. That moment made it feel like Michigan State was going to come out on top with their first Big Ten victory of the season against Pat Fitzgerald’s former team. Aidan Chiles then led a nine-play, 77-yard drive for a Northwestern touchdown, where they tied the game after the two-point conversion. Michigan State got the ball back with a little over three minutes left on the Northwestern 28-yard line. All they had to do was run the clock down and set up Liam Boyd for what would have been the game-winning kick. Northwestern responded with a block of their own and then drove down the field in less than a minute with eight plays to set up their own game-winning kick to win, 24-21.
This loss was a gut punch for the Spartans, as they generally played a solid game in all three phases while leading for a majority of the game. It was not like last week, where the comeback attempt fell short. This time, they were in control for most of the game; the defense was getting stops, the run game was clicking, and Milivojevic looked good. This was just a mix of a couple of plays not going their way, leading to their demise. It was a tough loss for a team that keeps getting better but could not find a way to pull this one out. They desperately needed this one.
