Michigan State football took a truly devastating gut punch on Saturday, Sept. 26, suffering a brutal 31-13 Week 4 loss to Nebraska at Spartan Stadium. This wasn’t just a loss, it felt like a complete unraveling, defined by an awful combination of mistakes and crucial injuries.
The Injury Bug Went Right for the Jugular
Talk about bad luck! The injury bug bit hard, leaving Michigan State’s roster looking like a MASH unit. The Spartans lost their best player on offense, Cam Edwards, to a knee injury. Your top offensive weapon, gone. Then, their defensive anchor, Jordan Hall, went down with a leg injury. As if that wasn’t enough, they were already playing without their top-four cornerbacks, and starting linebacker Brady Pretzlaff was also sidelined. That’s a decimated squad, gutted in key positions. How do you even compete at a high level when your depth chart looks like that? It’s a testament to the remaining guys, especially on defense, that they actually held tough at times. They produced stops on Nebraska’s first three drives to start the second half, showing serious heart.
Turnovers and Crushing Mistakes Piled Up
But the injuries, as devastating as they were, were only half the story. The mistakes were just as crippling, self-inflicted wounds that killed any chance of a comeback. Quarterback Alessio Milivojevic was under siege all day, sacked a staggering six times by Nebraska, showing a complete lack of protection up front. The team coughed up the ball twice, losing one crucial fumble, while Milivojevic threw two back-breaking interceptions. Plus, multiple costly penalties just killed momentum dead. After scoring a field goal on their first drive after halftime, the Spartans fumbled on their very next possession. Later, tight end Jayden Savoury made what looked like an incredible catch to get them into prime scoring position, only for it to be agonizingly overturned after a tough review. Milivojevic then fumbled again and, even though they recovered it, they missed a 52-yard field goal attempt. From that point, Nebraska cruised. It was an ugly game, pure and simple, and the Spartans handed it to them.
This team has to regroup, and fast. They’ve got to shake off this terrible outing and show some real grit. Next up is a road trip to Madison, Wisconsin, to face the Badgers next Saturday, Oct. 3, at 12:30 p.m. on BTN. This one’s got a bit of extra spice, too, because it’s the first time MSU will face a Luke Fickell-coached team since he “spurned” the Spartans for a chance to replace Mark Dantonio back in February 2020. Fickell eventually landed in Madison in 2023, and his Badgers are 2-1, but just opened conference play at No. 14 Penn State. Can Michigan State fix the turnover issues, rally around their injured teammates, and somehow pull off an upset on the road? That’s the question on every fan’s mind after this brutal Week 4.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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