5 MSU Players Most In Need of Big Performance at Wisconsin
In this story:
Saturday's game at Wisconsin is going to be huge.
Michigan State (2-2 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) needs a big response after taking two consecutive losses and also losing star running back Cam Edwards for the remainder of the season. The Spartans need some big performances to upset the Badgers (3-1 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) on the road. These are five players who could use a nice day in Madison the most.
QB Alessio Milivojevic
The player most in need of a positive Week 5 is starting quarterback Alessio Milivojevic. He's really struggled in the past two games against Notre Dame and Nebraska, turning it over four times without being responsible for a touchdown. Milivojevic had an interception and two fumbles (one lost) against the Cornhuskers, and it seemed like he had an open receiver he didn't find on all three of those plays.
Milivojevic's 748 passing yards rank 16th in the Big Ten after Week 4, and his three passing touchdowns are the fewest among starting quarterbacks in the conference. Notre Dame and Nebraska have two of the best secondaries MSU will see this season, but the Badgers' defense does just fine through the air themselves. Wisconsin ranks 22nd in the nation in pass defense and only allowed Penn State's Rocco Becht to throw for 114 yards on 29 attempts last Saturday.
This trip to Madison will be important for getting Milivojevic's confidence back up. That was one of his impressive traits when he started at the tail end of 2025, especially for a redshirt freshman. Something has felt off this year, though.
Milivojevic's average depth of target (ADOT) is up from last year, as is his average time to throw and his pressure-to-sack ratio. One bad game can be brushed off. Two bad games in a row could be a coincidence or a little slump. Three games would be when it becomes a trend.
RB Jaziun Patterson
Jaziun Patterson will be the player with the most eyes on him after Milivojevic. He's the Spartans' new starting running back now, after all. Patterson filled in for Edwards as RB1 for most of the game against Nebraska and ran it pretty well. The stat line of 16 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown doesn't look super impressive on the surface, but Patterson definitely appeared to hand in a better performance, watching it live, and Pat Fitzgerald agreed.
"Jazz Patterson stepped up and graded out very high," Fitzgerald said during his weekly Monday press conference. "There were a couple of runs that were very close to popping for explosives. But it's great to see him performing."
C Trent Fraley
Michigan State is also leaning on center Trent Fraley more and more. He's emerged as the team's best offensive lineman by a fair bit now, and it seems like more and more run plays are just going straight up the A-gap, behind Fraley. Fitzgerald said Monday that he thinks the run game is very close to popping off some big plays, and Fraley could be the key to turning small-to-modest gains into big ones.
Fraley also has an interesting challenge this week. Not too many college teams utilize a nose tackle right on top of the center, but Wisconsin does on occasion. Hammond Russell IV for Wisconsin is usually the one to line up there, and he made a difference last week at Penn State by causing an interception on a tipped pass just outside PSU's own red zone.
Whoever MSU's Second Corner Is
Injuries ravaged MSU's defense against Nebraska. Four of the Spartans' top five corners weren't available at one point during the game. Tyran Chappell was ruled out on gameday, Tre Bell got hurt during warmups, and then Keshawn Williams and NiJhay Burt both got hurt midgame. Michigan State played most of the game with Charles Brantley and Andrew Brinson IV out there. Brantley has been the CB3 this year, and Brinson hadn't seen any action on defense prior to the Nebraska game.
That first availability report of the week will clarify the chances of MSU getting any of those players back. Edwards being done for the year was the only update Fitzgerald shared on Monday. He deferred to the availability report for all the other players who got hurt. Michigan State should have Brantley on Saturday, but getting Bell and/or Chappell back would be a much-needed boost.
MSU's Linebacker Depth
Which linebackers are and are not on this week's availability reports will also be huge. This spot was hit just as hard by injuries against Nebraska. Starter Brady Pretzlaff was already out with an injury he suffered against Notre Dame, and then Jordan Hall, Dion Crawford, and Caleb Wheatland all left the game at different points (Wheatland returned pretty quickly, though). Reserves DiMari Malone and Adam Shaw got some run as a result.
Hall being available on Saturday after being carted off would be a very pleasant surprise, but no news from Fitzgerald on Monday may be good news. Pretzlaff's and Crawford's status are probably the main ones in question.
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