After a dismal first half, Michigan State responded with 17 straight points to take a fourth quarter lead in Minneapolis, only to relinquish it on a late game-tying drive by Minnesota to send it to overtime.
Two crucial pass interference calls or, more accurately, one non-call on the Gophers and one enforced on the Spartans, and a questionable replay review, sent MSU into their second bye week with a sixth straight loss.
Michigan State took the field at Minnesota without several key players. Makhi Frazier, Chrishon McCray, R’Quan Buckley, and Brennan Paracheck were added to the injury list and, after playing against Michigan last week, Stanton Ramil was also listed as out for this game.
But the biggest pre-game announcement was that Alessio Milivojevic would be starting his first game at quarterback for MSU, replacing Aidan Chiles.
Milivojevic would have to wait out Minnesota’s first series though as MSU kicked off. The Spartan defense took the field, with coordinator Joe Rossi on the sideline for the second game in a row, and held the Gophers to a three and out. Nikai Martinez made a nice tackle on a second down pass and then the Spartans forced an incompletion on third down to get off the field.
Milivojevic and MSU took over on their 21 and immediately looked to pass. Alessio found Rodney Bullard for a first down over the middle on MSU’s first play and then a swing pass to Marsh picked up another 8 yards. After a false start penalty, Brandon Tullis rumbled for 8 and another first down. Later, on second down, Milivojevic hung in the pocket, took a hit, and found Omari Kelly downfield for a first down at the Minnesota 35.
Bryson Williams picked up 6 yards on a nice run but then mistakes doomed a promising game-opening MSU drive. Michigan State went to Kelly on an end around and he nearly took it to the end zone. However, a holding penalty on Nick Marsh downfield wiped out most of Kelly’s effort. It was still enough to give MSU a first down at the 23. That was as far as it went though. Milivojevic was sacked for an 8 yard loss. Then, he threw an absolute laser leading Marsh into the end zone but saw the pass go just off Marsh’s fingertips. Elijah Tau-Tolliver picked up a few on a third and 18 run. That brought on Martin Connington but his 46 yard field goal attempt went wide left.
Minnesota took over and picked up a first down on a pass interference call on Malcolm Bell but punted again three plays later.
Michigan State then took over on their 19 and promptly went three and out, punting it back to Minnesota at their 37.
Fame Ijeboi went for 49 yards to quickly get Minnesota into the red zone. Michigan State briefly recovered from there and had a chance to force a field goal attempt on third and 10. Drake Lindsey found Jalen Smith at the 1 yard line for the conversion and then Ejeboi went untouched into the end zone to put Minnesota up 7-0.
MSU seemed to go back and forth on their next drive and it ended in typical fashion. Milivojevic was sacked for a loss of 6 to start the drive. But then completions to Kelly and Jack Velling picked up a first down. Tau-Tolliver went for 8 and then the Spartans gained another first down when Minnesota was called for pass interference trying to defend Marsh. MSU had it at the Minnesota 45 at that point but the Gophers got to Milivojevic again – their third sack of the first quarter – for a 7 yard loss.
After the sack, Michigan State started the second quarter facing a second 17 and Milivojevic found Bullard for a 16 yard gain on a rollout pass to make it third and 1. Michigan State appeared to have a trick play set up here but called timeout just before the snap. When they came back on the field, the Spartans opted for a slow-developing pitch play to Tau-Tolliver that lost a yard and perhaps encapsulated all of Spartan Nation’s frustrations for the season. When MSU went for it on fourth and 2, Milivojevic’s pass to Marsh was broken up and Minnesota had the ball back at their 37.
Completions from Lindsey to Javon Tracy and Lemeke Brockington moved the ball to MSU’s 29. The Spartans yielded another first down but then held for a 30 yard field goal attempt. Brady Denaburg’s kick was good and the Gophers led 10-0.
After the field goal, Michigan State’s next drive ended in a three and out and the fourth sack of Milovojevic. Minnesota took over on their 33 but couldn’t go anywhere. Malik Spencer broke up the Gophers’ third and 8 pass to get MSU off the field.
Minnesota’s defense picked up right where they left off when MSU took over – with their fifth sack of the game. This one was for a loss of 9, pushing MSU back to their own 9 yard line. The Spartans responded though, with an 11 yard run from Tau-Tolliver. Alessio finally had some time to throw on the next play and found Kelly over the middle for a gain of 15 to keep MSU going. It was backwards again from there though.
Tullis lost 5 with Minnesota immediately in MSU’s backfield. Milivojevic took another hit on the next play but found Kelly on the sideline to pick up 9. With MSU facing third and 6, Minnesota produced their sixth sack of the day to bring on punter Ryan Eckley once again.
After the two minute timeout, Minnesota fielded the punt and took over on their 24. The Gophers 2 minute offense was initially effective. A delayed hand off to Ejeboi went for 11. A nice Lindsey throw over the middle to Tracy, and poor tackling by MSU led to a 35 yard gain. Lindsey to Jameson Geers picked up another 14 as Minnesota continued to threaten to extend the lead. The Spartans held from that point though and Denaburg came on for a 33 yard field goal attempt. This one was well off the right as the Spartans dodged a bullet.
With 13 seconds to go in the half, Aidan Chiles came on at quarterback, replacing Milivojevic, who was being checked for a head injury in the medical tent. Chiles handed off to Tullis, who went for 13 yards but time ran out from there as Minnesota took a 10-0 lead to the break.
In his first start for the Spartans, Milivojevic went 10-13 for 114 yards but Minnesota’s 6 sacks kept the Spartans scoreless. With the sack yardage, MSU finished the half with just 16 rushing yards on 18 carries.
Minnesota was more effective on the ground, gaining 81 yards on 12 carries with much of that coming on Ejeboi’s 49 yard run that led to the Gophers’ touchdown. Lindsey was 11-19 for 110 yards for Minnesota in the first half.
Michigan State appeared to get a break to start the second half. Tau-Tolliver fumbled the kickoff and it rolled into the end zone. Elijah ran it out and was stopped near the goal line but the officials must have ruled a touchback and MSU started at the 25. Milivojevic was back in after needing to be checked for a head injury at the end of the first half.
After a Tullis rum for 9 and a Milivojevic to Kelly incompletion, MSU faced third and 1. A delay of game penalty made it third and 6 but, perhaps, things were darkest before the dawn. Milivojevic rolled right, connected with Rodney Bullard, who was aided by some key downfield blocking by Marsh and went 71 yards for the touchdown. In one play, MSU was back in it, trailing only 10-7 early in the third quarter.
Ejeboi went around end for a first down on Minnesota’s first play of the second half. Malcolm Bell was called for a facemask, giving the Gophers another 15 yards. In one play, the Gophers were in MSU territory but that was all they would get. MSU defended consecutive screen passes very well to make it third and 10 for Minnesota. Quindarius Dunnigan made it easier for Minnesota by jumping offsides but the Spartans held on third and five.
Tom Weston’s punt was near perfect and pinned the Spartans at their 5 to start their second drive of the half. Michigan State was able to get some traction in their run game here to move the ball away from their own goal line. Tau-Tolliver had runs of 13, 5, 1, and 11 yards. An end around to Marsh that went for 9 had the Spartans close to midfield but things stalled from there. Milivojevic locked in on Nick Marsh and threw into double coverage on third and 3. The pass went incomplete and MSU punted, with Eckley flipping the field and pinning Minnesota at their 9.
MSU got Minnesota into a third and 5 where Jordan Hall stopped a completion to Jalen Smith JUST short of the line to gain, forcing a Minnesota punt. A fair catch by Kelly had MSU starting on their 34 with 5:50 to go in the third quarter.
The Spartans got going as Milivojevic found Marsh over the middle for a first down in Minnesota territory. After another slow developing toss play lost 2 yards (can we please stop doing this play?) Milivojevic connected with Kelly for 22 to the Minnesota 29. Then it was Milivojevic to Charles Taplin, whose first catch for the Green and White went for 8 yards. Milivojevic kept it and picked up the first down on the next play. Then, Alessio audibled and found Kelly for 6 before a Tullis run had MSU with a first and goal.
Unfortunately, Minnesota responded with their seventh sack of the game here, pushing the Spartans all the way back to the 20. MSU ended up settling for a 34 yard Connington field goal to finish the drive and tie the game at 10 with 14:16 to go.
Minnesota opted to return the kickoff and started at the 20. Isaac Smith recorded a sack for the Spartans, dropping Lindsey for a loss of 6. Lindsey and the Gophers recovered though, converting a third and 10 on another nice over the middle throw, this time to Geers. Michigan State responded well though and got the Gophers into another third and long. Aydan West defended Lindsey’s sideline attempt to Lemeke Brockington and MSU got off the field.
MSU took over on their 24 looking for the lead. Two Tullis runs gained 6 yards. On third down, Milivojevic escaped the pressure, put his head down, and converted the third down with his feet. Then, Alessio read the rush and found Jack Velling in the flat for another first down. Offensive Coordinator Brian Lindgren looked to take a shot here and it worked. Marsh was wide open down the left sideline. Milivojevic underthrew him, but Marsh still had time to wait for the ball and take it to the Minnesota 4. The drive stalled here though after a run from Tullis and two from Milivojevic only gained a total of one yard.
MSU brought out Connington again but his 24 yard kick from the right hash was just wide right and it remained 10-10 with 5:23 to go. UNDERTHROW COSTLY?
After failing to take the lead, the Spartan defense yielded one first down but held from there. Jordan Hall was where he needed to be on this series for the Spartans and they were able to get off the field with the game still tied.
Weston’s 51 yard punt had MSU starting at their 12 with 2:59 to go. No matter. Elijah Tau-Tolliver went off tackle for 83 yards to start MSU’s drive and MSU was in position for the go ahead score at the 2 minute timeout. They took advantage with two Tullis runs, the second one pounding it in from the 1 yard line to give MSU their first second half lead in quite some time at 17-10 with 1:52 to go.
After taking the lead, and with a strong effort from the defense all day, Michigan State wasn’t quite able to get out of its own way. The kickoff went out of bounds, giving Minnesota the ball at the 35. A Lindsey to Tracy crosser went for a short gain but a facemask by Jordan Hall gave the Gophers a first down in MSU territory. A couple plays later, on a third and 4, Lindsey found Brockington in a very narrow window over the middle to convert.
Minnesota kept moving, getting a first down at the MSU 8 on a Lindsey to Greer completion with 34 seconds to go. Lindsey looked to Greer again and drew a pass interference call on Spencer in the end zone to put the ball at the 2 yard line. A Lindsey sneak had the Gophers in the end zone and, when PJ Fleck opted for the extra point, it was 17-17 with 29 seconds left.
Michigan State had one more chance in regulation but, with Minnesota playing deep coverage and only rushing 3, couldn’t move the ball. Ryan Eckley’s punt ran out the clock and brought the game to overtime.
MSU won the toss for overtime and elected to go on offense first. Milivojevic picked up 5 with a check down to Kelly on the sideline. Tau-Tolliver then went for 2 more. On third and 3, Milivojevic looked for Bullard in the end zone. The pass was a little too long but pass interference was called on Minnesota after a defender appeared to grab Bullard’s jersey. With MSU appearing to have a first down and lining up to run a play, the referees . . . changed their mind. They reversed the PI call, making it fourth down for MSU. This, apparently, is what it takes to see some emotion out of Jonathan Smith on the sideline.
Martin Connington hit the 36 yard field goal to put MSU up 20-17 but MSU couldn’t hold it from there.
Minnesota started their overtime possession and faced a third and four. Lindsey looked to Brockington in the end zone and drew a PI call on Bell. The officials stuck with this call, putting the ball at the 4 yard line. MSU stood strong for the next two plays and it was third and goal from the 3. Lindsey rolled left, evaded a tackle deep in the backfield, and ran it to the goal line. The referees ruled it a touchdown but TV replay appeared to show the ball inches short of the goal line. After review, the touchdown was upheld and Minnesota walked off with a 23-20 victory.
Milivojevic finished 20-28 for 311 yards as the Spartans outgained Minnesota 467-301. Penalties were a problem for the second straight week for MSU though, as the Spartans were called for 10 infractions totaling 96 yards.
MSU falls to 3-6 and 0-6 in the Big Ten.
