EAST LANSING – Alessio Milivojevic knew this might be Michigan State football’s most critical offensive possession of the season.
Standing on the sideline 21 minutes into Saturday’s game against Illinois, the quarterback yearned for a chance to get back onto the field. He’d only taken six snaps up to that point, and the Spartans gained just 8 total yards.
By the time he got the ball again with 8:57 left in the second quarter, MSU trailed by 17 points and Spartan Stadium had nearly gone silent.
“I think it was an almost must-score drive for us,” Miliovjevic said after practice Tuesday, Oct. 13.
The Spartans did just that on their third and final possession of the first half, marching 75 yards in 11 plays. It wasn’t enough to counter the Illini’s
six scores in their first seven drives en route to a 38-37 overtime win, but it got Milivojevic and Co. back in sync for their own offensive explosion.
After a Brennan Parachek fumble on the opening drive after halftime, MSU scored on its final five possessions (not counting a final-play kneel down at the end of regulation), including four straight touchdowns. The Spartans, who had failed to score a touchdown at Wisconsin a week earlier and had only one in losses to both Notre Dame and Nebraska, posted a season high for points and their average of 6.3 yards on just 54 plays was their best showing against a power-conference defense this season.
“I was proud for the response of the players,” offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan said Tuesday. “And really, we just started stacking better plays. We executed cleaner, better. And that’s what happened.
“We had six plays and we went three-and-out twice – that can’t happen, not to start a Big Ten conference game.”
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At the center of the offensive revival was Milivojevic, who set the tepid tone on the initial two drives by missing two open receivers on a first-play flea-flicker that resulted in a sack. The third-year sophomore rebounded by completing 4 of 5 throws on that critical third possession, including a 6-yard swing pass to running back Jaziun Patterson for the momentum-sparking touchdown with 3:29 left before halftime. It was Milivojevic’s first touchdown pass of the season against a power-conference opponent after throwing three in the first two games.
“It’s gotta motivate you,” Milivojevic said. “Being on the sideline – like, not being out there – it’s gotta motivate you to go in and be like, ‘OK, this next drive is 100. Every drive is important, but this next drive, we have to get something going. We have to go score the ball and get our team back in this game.’”
Milivojevic finished a tidy 22-for-26 for 196 yards and added a 24-yard TD pass to Fredrick Moore with 7:47 left in the fourth quarter. That came one play after the two made an 18-yard connection on fourth-and-7 to keep the drive alive. Milivojevic also had his second straight game without an interception after throwing three during losses to the Irish and Cornhuskers.
“If he was 23-for-27, it probably would’ve been a touchdown the first play,” MSU coach Pat Fitzgerald said Monday about Milivojevic taking a sack on the flea-flicker. “He owned it this morning. That’s the sign of a really mature guy. I think he and Nick, along with (quarterbacks coach John McNulty), there’s a rapport being built.
“We’re six games into it, and I saw ’Less probably played his best game.”
It helped the Spartans’ passing attack that they also were able to efficiently run the ball. Patterson continues to thrive after the season-ending injury to Cam Edwards, rushing for 92 yards and three touchdowns in the second half and overtime while adding three more catches out of the backfield for 26 yards and his first-half TD catch.
Yet the ultimate overtime loss after finding that rhythm made it sting just a little bit more than the previous defeats.
“I didn't really feel the the four touchdowns,” Patterson said Tuesday. “I felt like, honestly, I didn't complete my job, because the job is to get the win.”
For MSU (2-4, 0-3 Big Ten) to end its four-game losing streak, players know they must carry that offensive surge into Saturday’s visit from red-hot Northwestern (4-1, 1-1). The Wildcats are allowing just 16.2 points a game (22nd in the Football Bowl Subdivision) but are giving up 380.6 yards per game (98th nationally). That includes a secondary that is allowing 233.4 yards per game, which is 15th-most in the Big Ten and 100th in FBS.
“I think the message is you gotta play 60 minutes in the game. You gotta play from start to finish,” Sheridan said. “You don’t have to play perfect. But you need to play consistently well in order to win in this league.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Did Michigan State finally find something with Alessio Milivojevic?
