3 Key Matchups To Watch During MSU's Next Game vs. Illinois
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Two teams in desperate need of a victory are preparing for one another this weekend.
Michigan State (2-3 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) is reeling a bit after three straight losses, including a 31-3 blowout at Wisconsin last week. Illinois (2-3 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) is in a similar spot, though. The Fighting Illini lost at home to Purdue last week, which snapped a 19-game losing streak during conference play for the Boilermakers. Both teams are struggling, but there are still a few key matchups to watch.
MSU CB Tre Bell vs. Illinois WR Collin Dixon
Illinois' best player is wide receiver Collin Dixon. He's perhaps the best wide receiver Michigan State will see this season, excluding Rutgers' KJ Duff in the season finale. Dixon has 546 receiving yards already this season, which is only behind Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith (823) and Duff (628) on the conference leaderboard.
Dixon's 40 catches this year are also third in the Big Ten, and his eight receiving touchdowns are tied for second. MSU cornerback Tre Bell won't be the only defensive back tasked with covering Dixon this Saturday, but he'll likely be the primary guy as the boundary-side corner.
Bell has been a little up and down at times this season, but he's generally been a decent starting corner for Michigan State this fall. Pro Football Focus says Bell has allowed eight catches on 15 targets for 139 yards and a touchdown this season, including a 61-yarder on the opening play at Notre Dame. Bell played well on Saturday at Wisconsin, though, not allowing any catches and only being targeted once across 14 snaps, which is an admittedly small sample size.
The task gets more difficult for the Spartans' defensive backs this week, though. Illinois isn't a better team than Wisconsin, but it does have better receivers and a better passer at quarterback, Katin Houser, another former Spartan. Houser can use his legs, too, but probably isn't the threat to run all over MSU's defense as Wisconsin's Colton Joseph did.
MSU WR Rodney Bullard Jr. vs. Illinois CB Juice Clarke
Once Michigan State has the ball, much of its passing attack attention will likely target Rodney Bullard Jr., who will probably line up against Illinois boundary-side corner Juice Clarke quite a bit. This matchup is interesting because it pairs two players who have been a little inconsistent at times this season.
Bullard looked fantastic during the Spartans' season opener against Toledo, catching seven passes for 90 yards and a touchdown. He also had a 53-yard catch against Notre Dame. Bullard hasn't had more than three receptions since Toledo, and he also had just one catch for 13 yards last week at Wisconsin (the Spartans' longest play of the game). Michigan State doesn't really have a serious big-play threat at receiver, but Bullard is the closest thing.
Clarke at Illinois is susceptible to giving up some yards, though. PFF says he's allowed 275 yards on 29 targets and 19 receptions. The 275 allowed yards are actually the eighth-most among all FBS cornerbacks this year and the second-most among those at Power Four schools.
The game-by-game numbers are up and down, though. Clarke was targeted 11 times for 104 yards against FCS Southern Illinois and got targeted 12 times for 117 yards at Ohio State. In the other three games against UAB, Duke, and Purdue, though, Clarke has only been targeted six times for 54 yards total.
MSU RTs Johnson/Wright vs. Illinois DE Will Holmes
Michigan State has allowed 17 sacks this season, the most in the Big Ten. Illinois has only gotten to the opposing quarterback three times, the fewest in the Power Four. This is actually the Illini's second game since they let go of defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck after just four games on the job.
Illinois actually began the season with a 3-3-5 defense, which will generally have a tough time generating a lot of sacks. It still often had just three defensive linemen against Purdue last week.
Will Holmes is Illinois' best pass rusher right now. PFF credits him with 16 pressures this year, double the second-place player. The Utah State transfer has 1.0 sack this year as well, coming against Duke.
Holmes normally lined up against Purdue's right tackle last week, meaning he'll likely be going up against either Rakeem Johnson or Robert Wright Jr. at Michigan State. That'll be the battle to watch as MSU tries to finally give quarterback Alessio Milivojevic clean pockets consistently and get its offense going.
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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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