Michigan State Football Grades After 31-13 Loss to Nebraska

Graham Couch has given Michigan State an overall grade below 4, after the Spartans lost to Nebraska 31-13. It is a poor mark, but it does not condemn the team entirely — the defense played well enough to keep the contest close, while the offense failed to sustain a sustained push. The most notable moment of the afternoon came from a single play: a blocked punt that should have put MSU ahead was erased by a holding penalty, and the rest of the game followed that same pattern.

The Offense Struggles From the Start

Nebraska held the lead at the half after the Spartans crossed the goal line for a touchdown. That team also advanced deep into Nebraska territory on three more occasions. The Spartans ended with 22 first downs, matching the Huskers’ total. Still, the final tally showed that 13 points were not enough to come away with a victory.

The two quarterbacks both threw interceptions that went wrong. Alessio Milivojevic was sacked five times, with some of those hits likely due to his own mistakes as much as any weakness from his blockers. Cam Fancher took a 15-yard sack that he clearly cannot afford, though he was under pressure on the play right before it. The protection given to the quarterbacks was not good enough.

After Cam Edwards exited the game, the running attack held steady, with Jaziun Patterson carrying the ball 16 times for 54 yards and a touchdown. That level of efficiency is precisely what MSU will require going forward. But the issues were widespread: the offense struggled across the board, and nowhere more than in the red zone, where the team could not finish drives with scores.

Defense Holds Up, but Not Without Pressure

The Spartans’ defensive front is the healthiest unit on the roster. Michigan State kept Nebraska’s running backs in check and stood firm at the point of attack. It was when Huskers quarterback Anthony Colandrea got outside that he hurt the Spartans with his legs. MSU generated some pressure on Colandrea early, but failed to record a sack and did not force a turnover for the second consecutive week. The defense did come up with a fourth-down stop when the game was still in doubt.

The game took a turn for the worse when Kenny Soares was called for a personal foul after striking a Nebraska player in the groin. That penalty ended a promising defensive stand just as MSU seemed ready to get off the field. The team’s discipline was far from what it had shown in the first three games, but the defense did not keep MSU out of the contest in the fourth quarter.

Special Teams Costs the Spartans the Lead

The Spartans suffered their first truly expensive special teams mistake of the season when they blocked a punt in the opening quarter. That play would have handed them the ball deep inside Nebraska’s end zone, putting them in position to take an early 10-0 lead. But the entire sequence was wiped out by a holding penalty against MSU’s Evan Young. Nebraska promptly marched down the field and found the end zone, taking a 7-3 advantage that it never relinquished.

The remainder of the day went smoother. Rhys Dakin booted two punts of roughly 50 yards, with one nearly dodging a block. Liam Boyd connected on field goals of 48 and 46 yards, although a 52-yard attempt was stopped. Kenneth Williams, facing his former squad, registered a solid 23-yard kick return. Aside from that one stop, it was a decent day for the Spartans’ special teams.

Grades by Unit

Coaching Decisions Under Fire

The attack struggled to gain momentum at the start of the contest. Nick Sheridan and his coaching staff need to discover ways to establish advantages right away, even when obvious openings aren’t available. They managed to do so by accelerating their pace late in the opening half, and it proved effective — though that approach cannot realistically sustain a full game. This MSU squad lacks the talent to recover from deficits, and must score early rather than fall behind.

The coaching staff’s job is to find a way to win despite having a roster with some limits and a young quarterback at the helm. That is simpler stated than accomplished. The column points out that the offense was slow to get going and had trouble operating from the opponent’s side of the 50-yard line, which points to a team that does not yet know how to perform under pressure.

Discipline Slips Across the Team

The Spartans’ collective team discipline regressed, and you could sense some frustration, which is not nothing and a sign of character and buy-in. Still, the game ended up resembling many of the contests the program has played over the last four years.

The Holding Call That Changed Everything

Nebraska never fell behind after the Spartans’ blocked punt was recovered by the home team for a score. That recovery gave Michigan State a chance to take an early 10-0 lead, which would have reshaped how the rest of the game unfolded. Instead, the lead never came. The Spartans found themselves trailing 7-3, and they spent the remainder of the contest trying to catch up.

This team’s outlook, once viewed as a favorable one, now appears rather difficult across the next few weeks, particularly given the alarming loss of key players and the lack of sufficient advantages to win without catching some breaks. MSU did not catch any Saturday.

Saturday’s result was simple: MSU got no breaks, and that gap is what turned a close game into a loss by two touchdowns. The defense performed well enough to keep things within reach. The offense failed to sustain a sustained drive. One big error from special teams proved costly. The coaching staff must find ways to gain an edge early, though doing so is easier said than done given a roster with some limitations and a young quarterback.

Source material: “Michigan State football grades for the Spartans' performance against Nebraska,” Yahoo Sports.

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