Michigan State football injuries spread to LBs in OT loss to Illinois

EAST LANSING – Even a date with one of the Big Ten's worst defenses wasn't enough to solve Michigan State football 's malaise on offense for three quarters.

And then, in the fourth, boom: The Spartans rallied from a 14-point fourth quarter deficit. But it was for naught, as MSU failed to get a 2-point conversion in OT, resulting in a 38-37 overtime loss at Spartan Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 10.

Making matters worse, injuries continued to decimate the MSU defense, with three key linebackers – Jordan Hall, Brady Pretzlaff and Dion Crawford – knocked out of the game with various injuries. MSU (2-4, 0-3 Big Ten) won't have much time to get healthy, either, with two games yet to play before it gets its bye week on Oct. 31.

MSU QB Alessio Milivojevic was efficient in passing for two touchdowns, but couldn't get the Spartans into the end zone one final time in OT. Katin Houser, his counterpart in orange making his first return to Spartan Stadium after two seasons at MSU and two others at East Carolina , led several long drives and completed nearly 75% of his passes, accounting for a touchdown through the air and on the ground.

Houser didn't finish the game, however, suffering what appeared to be an injury on his throwing hand while making a tackle on an interception return. The pick, followed one play later by Jaziun Patterson's 11-yard TD rush, got the Spartans within six points of the Illini, but that was as close as they would get.

Michigan State surprised the Illini with an onside kick after scoring a TD with 7:47 left, with freshman Samson Gash (of Novi Detroit Catholic Central) recovering the kick in Illinois territory. But the referees called Gash offsides on the play despite video evidence showing he was not .

The FS1 broadcast said the penalty was not reviewable, but the referees later announced an official review on whether Gash recovered the ball in bounds or not. That replay didn't determine whether the Spartans got the ball, but where the offsides penalty would apply.

Since Gash was ruled to have recovered the ball in-bounds, Michigan State got to re-kick, even though the referees initially reviewed the opposite.

It was a confusing few minutes for Michigan State, whose fans celebrated upon review despite not knowing that Gash's recovery would not count.

Just about everything that could go wrong for MSU did go wrong in the first quarter against Illinois (3-3, 1-2).

On offense, the Spartans suffered a pair of three-and-outs, gaining just 8 yards total. That started with a daring call on the opening play – a flea-flicker that had a pair of receivers open deep … crushed by a sack of Milivojevic as the Illini sliced through the Spartans' line.

Things didn't get much better for the defense, which surrendered 10 points, eight first downs, and 115 yards passing to Houser as Illinois marched 54 yards in seven plays for a field goal on its first drive and then 80 yards on 12 plays for a touchdown.

Making matters worse: MSU lost its two best linebackers, as Hall – returned Saturday after missing last week's game – departed with an apparent shoulder injury, and Pretzlaff exited after going down hard on his neck and shoulder.

After that dismal first quarter, the Spartans finally found some answers on offense in the second. First up: Their first first down, which game with 8:14 left before the half. That came on the second play of the drive, on a 9-yard run by Jaziun Patterson. Nine plays after that, MSU was finally back in the endzone, for the first time in eight quarters – two against Nebraska two weeks ago, all four vs. Wisconsin last week, and the first quarter on Saturday – ending a TD drought of 122 minutes, 38 seconds of game time.

Petterson was the hero on the TD, too, hauling in a pass in the flat from Milivojevic and racing to the right pylon for a 6-yard score to make it a 17-7 game.

It won't be homecoming week, but it will be a coming home for quarterback Aidan Chiles, who spent his previous two seasons in East Lansing under center with former MSU coach Jonathan Smith. Now with Northwestern (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten), Chiles has thrived in the exotic schemes of new NU offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, completing 70.8% of his passes for 900 yards, six TDs and no interceptions while rushing for five TDs. Saturday brought more of the same in the Wildcats' rout of Ball State, as Chiles passed for 272 yards and three TDs and added another on the ground. The Wildcats and Spartans will have an early start on Saturday, Oct. 17, with kickoff set for noon on Peacock (streaming only).

Sept. 12: Michigan State 35, Eastern Michigan 7.

Sept. 19: Notre Dame 27, Michigan State 10.

Sept. 26: Nebraska 31, Michigan State 13.

Dec. 5: Big Ten championship, Indianapolis.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.