Winners, Losers From Michigan State's Lifeless Loss at Wisconsin
In this story:
That was ugly.
Michigan State football just got knocked down again. The Spartans lost their third game in a row, 31-3, at Wisconsin on Saturday, in another game where the final result was hardly ever in doubt, and this performance felt more lifeless than the last. Here are the parts of MSU who did well, and the many more who did poorly against the Badgers.
Winners/Risers
DL Eli Coenen
Finding a “winner” from this game is definitely a little tough, but interior defensive lineman Eli Coenen continued to play well for Michigan State on Saturday. He’s been one of MSU’s best defenders all season, and he continued to keep up the pace on Saturday, getting a tackle for loss on the very first play of the game and breaking up another pass at another point in the first half.
If you’re looking for a bright spot or a player to hone in on the rest of the way, Coenen is one of those guys. The former Illinois transfer is one of the few players on this roster who is truly an above-average player at his position in the Big Ten, probably next to center Trent Fraley, linebacker Jordan Hall, and punter Rhys Dakin.
C Trent Fraley
Michigan State can also still rely on some steady play from Fraley. He’s been the team’s best offensive lineman all season, and that statement is still holding true after Game No. 5. The Spartans kept trying to run in between the tackles during the first half before they were forced to air it out a bit more in the second, and Fraley continued to get some push, even against some pretty decent Badger defensive tackles.
This was not a good game for the rest of MSU’s offense overall, though. Michigan State did OK at preventing negative plays, but it sacrificed all of its hopes of any sort of explosives in exchange. The Spartans’ longest play of the first half, in which they only really scored points because of a pair of 15-yard Wisconsin penalties just before half, was just 11 yards. The longest play of the game was 13 yards.
Losers/Fallers
Coaching Staff
This is the first game where some of the decisions from Pat Fitzgerald and the staff have felt a little head-scratching. It started on the first offensive drive of the game, when Fitzgerald opted to go for it on a fourth-and-7 from the plus-40. Michigan State dialed up a deep ball to Fredrick Moore, and it was batted away.
That early in the game and from that distance, it felt like punting and pinning Wisconsin deep would’ve been the wise decision. That’s even before factoring in the fact that MSU’s offense has been anemic lately, the Spartans’ defense is a bit short-handed, and Dakin is one of the better punters in the Big Ten.
Michigan State’s second offensive drive also came to a frustrating end. Offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan did a nice job getting Alessio Milivojevic into a rhythm to start things out, but once the Spartans got near or into field-goal range, they took him out for Cam Fancher. MSU then called three run plays in a row, going for 3, 2, and 3 yards. Fancher stayed in on fourth down, and his pass was knocked down.
The Spartans also just looked woefully ill-prepared on third downs. Wisconsin built its early lead through a bunch of third-down conversions, and it felt like the Badgers were overwhelming Michigan State’s defense on a lot of those critical third downs. There were run plays called on third-and-5s and longer that moved the sticks with ease.
Frankly, the lifeless look from the Spartans on Saturday is partially on the staff as well. This game was going to say a lot about the blue-collar culture Fitzgerald is trying to instill in East Lansing. It didn't say a lot that was good.
It's still Year 1, but that didn't look like the same MSU team that went to South Bend and hung around for a bit just two weeks ago. Injuries are certainly a factor, but the adversity has made Michigan State worse, not better.
Linebackers
Jordan Hall was very much missed on Saturday. The defensive line actually seemed to do relatively fine, at least against the run, but there were a ton of plays where MSU’s linebackers were getting washed or blocked out of plays with some ease. Wisconsin kept running the ball again and again and again, knowing the Spartans don’t have their best player on the defensive end available. It felt like bully-ball at times, and a lot of the issues were at the second level.
Defensive coordinator Joe Rossi talked a fair bit on Tuesday about the designed quarterback runs they’d be expecting and how important it would be to stop those. Well, Wisconsin quarterback Colton Joseph had 79 rush yards on eight carries by halftime, had a 47-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and finished his day with 141 yards on the ground. Wisconsin had 228 as a team.
Some of that is on the defensive line for allowing those lanes to be opened up, but it’s on the linebackers to contain the damage. That didn’t happen at all against an opponent that was “meh” as a rushing team entering Saturday.
To make matters worse, Caleb Wheatland also went to the locker room with an injury on Saturday. He's been the only linebacker in the two-deep who had been reliably healthy up to that point, so his status moving forward will be something to keep an eye on.
WR Rodney Bullard Jr.
Michigan State has been asking a receiver to step up as a top option all season. Nobody did that on Saturday, but wide receiver Rodney Bullard Jr. was a virtual non-factor on Saturday. The only time he was really noticed was when he drew a pass interference call late in the first half.
He entered the game as MSU’s leading receiver with 193 receiving yards. Bullard didn’t even have an official target or catch until there were less than three minutes left in the third quarter, and the Spartans were already down 21 at that point. It was his only target of the game. Wide receiver and the lack of a serious playmaker in that room have been massive problems, and Bullard was completely blanketed on Saturday.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
Follow jacobcotsonika