EAST LANSING – Free Press sports writer Chris Solari grades Michigan State football afterthe Spartans’ 31-13 loss to Nebraska on Saturday, Sept. 26 at Spartan Stadium.
Offense: D
The final tally reads 257 total yards of offense, but three turnovers and six sacks hamstrung any progress. Alessio Milivojevic had 74 of his 208 passing yards in the fourth quarter after the outcome was determined and before his interception on his final throw of the game. The sophomore quarterback got rattled with his read progression and identifying open receivers, holding onto the ball too long on some occasions while also enduring a MASH unit around him. Even worse, the Spartans lost starting running back Cam Edwards and left guard Conner Moore on the same play midway through
the first quarter.
Milivojevic got sacked on back-to-back plays after those injuries, one of which was when he tripped over the feet of left tackle Ben Murawski, and then fumbled on two more second-half sacks. He lost one fumble. Backup/specialty quarterback Cam Fancher fared no better, taking a 15-yard loss on a sack and then throwing an interception in Nebraska territory seconds after the Huskers took a 14-3 lead.
With Edwards out and the offensive line shuffling with injuries, Iowa transfer Jaziun Patterson finished with 54 yards and a 2-yard touchdown run on 16 carries as the makeshift blocking group in front of him held their own in the run game.
Defense: D
After a fiery three-and-out to start the game and then another apparently right after on Nebraska’a second drive, Joe Rossi’s group appeared revitalized after the loss at Notre Dame. But that second possession continued with a special teams penalty (more on that in a bit).
The big-play bugaboo returned immediately when cornerback Charles Brantley got beat for a 20-yard pass and then safety Devin Vaught and Brantley lost track of Kwazi Gilmer for a 44-yard touchdown pass two plays later in the first quarter. Those two plays accounted for more than 17% of the Cornhuskers’ 369 total offensive yards.
After losing its two starting cornerbacks (Tyran Chappell and Tre Bell) before kickoff, MSU’s defense began to suffer attrition similar to the offense's. The biggest blow came when linebacker Jordan Hall suffered an apparent left foot injury on the first play of the second half, particularly with fellow starter Brady Pretzlaff already out after getting hurt at Notre Dame. Then second-string linebackers Dion Crawford and Caleb Wheatland both left the game with injuries but returned.
With all the moving parts and depth pieces needed, MSU’s front four mostly contained mobile quarterback Anthony Colandrea (66 yards, 10 carries). However, the Spartans did not create a turnover for the second straight game and failed to get a sack for the first time.
Special teams: C-
A defensive holding call on Evan Young when Jack Yanachik had blocked a Nebraska punt changed the entire momentum of the game in the first quarter.
MSU kicker Liam Boyd drilled field goals from 48 and 46 yards out, but he had a 52-yarder blocked – his second of the season. The Huskers turned that block into a knockout punch touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
Punt returner Chrishon McCray also muffed a punt but recovered it, third-phase errors that the Spartans were not experiencing through the first three games.
Coaching: C-
Pat Fitzgerald put blame on himself and the staff for not having the team ready, while also digging into the “next man up” cliché bag. But he and his coordinators can only do so much when the top layer of talent on an already-thin roster suffers as many injuries as MSU did Saturday. That obviously falls on them for roster construction and not getting younger players coached up to be part of a rotation before being force into one by attrition at the quarter-post of the 12-game schedule.
Offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan at times dialed up some creative calls that had openings that were missed, but the offense languished. Meanwhile, Rossi abandoned the pressure that worked early in the first two drives after the two long first-quarter passes, but his unit continued to push through the injuries and some short-field situations after turnovers.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football vs Nebraska grades: Injuries skew the marks
