In Defense of MSU’s Chiles After Tough Game vs. Nebraska
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Things didn't go as expected at the quarterback position for Michigan State in its 38-27 loss to Nebraska on Saturday evening. One QB looked sharp, and it wasn't starter Aidan Chiles.
Backup Alessio Milivojevic came into the game on two different occasions. Once, after Chiles had to leave the field due to injury, and another time when the game was out of reach late in the fourth quarter. Milivojevic made some really nice passes, going 6-for-7 for 71 passing yards and two total touchdowns (one passing, one rushing).
Chiles, on the other hand, had a tough day. He completed just nine of his 23 passes, a rate of just 39.1%, for only 85 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions. Only 85 yards is the fewest of any game during Chiles' Michigan State career, and it was the fourth time in 17 total games where he didn't throw a touchdown pass.
Despite the strong showing from Milivojevic and the subpar one from Chiles, it would be extremely premature to start calling for any sort of quarterback competition. Here are some reasons why:
Offensive Line
Firstly, I think Chiles' final stat line makes him look worse than what he did out there. In the team's first full game without starting left tackle Stanton Ramil, the offensive line was not up to standard.
Without Ramil, MSU moved Conner Moore to left tackle and subbed in Ashton Lepo on the right side. That was different from what the Spartans did when Ramil went down at USC, where they kept Moore at RT there and placed Rustin Young on the left side. It wasn't great, but the offensive line's day against the Trojans certainly seemed better against the Trojans than it was against the Cornhuskers.
Chiles got sacked four times against a Nebraska pass rush that only had six total sacks through four total games. Against USC, whose pass rush is much stronger than the Cornhuskers', he only went down twice.
The amount of pressure that Nebraska was getting caused multiple inaccuracies and worse decisions from Chiles. One of his interceptions was just that --- Chiles got hurried, which resulted in him making a worse decision and throw than he would've made with a cleaner pocket. Again, he didn't play well, but a lot of the issues start with the offensive line, and particularly the offensive tackles.
Injury
The other thing is that Chiles clearly wasn't playing at 100% after he had to semi-briefly leave the game early in the second quarter. How severe the injury was or how it might've affected his day isn't known, but it was clear that there was some impact.
Hopefully, Chiles can get healthier and feel better with whatever he was dealing with in the lead-up to next week's game against UCLA, which just got a lot more interesting after the Bruins beat No. 7 Penn State on Saturday.
On Milivojevic
While he looked great, it's far too early to be calling for Milivojevic to have a shot at a starting role. One sample size of seven passes against a defense that probably didn't exactly spend much time preparing for him isn't enough to declare him on the same tier as Chiles.
Even with the tough day, Chiles still looks like a much, much better quarterback than last year. The best course of action is to still let him grow and develop, rather than try to upend everything offensively.
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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.
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