Spartan Rally Falls Short at Minnesota in Overtime

MINNEAPOLIS – Michigan State took a 17-10 lead with under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but Minnesota came back to defeat the Spartans in overtime, 23-20, Saturday afternoon at Huntington Bank Stadium.

Making his first career start, redshirt freshman quarterback Alessio Milivojevic completed 20-of-28 passes for 311 yards and one touchdown. Redshirt senior Elijah Tau-Tolliver led the Spartans on the ground with a season-high 127 yards on 11 carries, including an 85-yard run in the fourth quarter that set up MSU's then go-ahead touchdown. Senior Omari Kelly had a game-high eight receptions for 94 yards, and graduate senior Rodney Bullard Jr. had a season-high four catches for 102 yards, including 71-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

MSU (3-6, 0-6 Big Ten) outgained Minnesota 467-301 and held a significant advantage in time of possession (34:34-25:26). The Spartans also had more rushing yards (156-104) and passing yards (311-197).

SCORING SUMMARY
After MSU's defense forced a three-and-out on Minnesota's opening possession, redshirt freshman quarterback Alessio Milivojevic took the field for his first career start. He led the Spartans 51 yards down the field on 11 plays on his first series, but Martin Connington missed a 46-yard field-goal attempt as MSU came up empty on the scoreboard.

The Gophers (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) scored the game's first points on their third series to take a 7-0 lead with 2:24 left in the opening quarter. Fame Ijeboi's 49-yard run to the Spartan 14-yard line set up his 1-yard scoring TD four plays later.

The Spartans drove to Minnesota territory once again on their third series, but were stopped on fourth-and-2 from the 37-yard line.

The Gophers increased their lead to 10-0 after Brady Denaburg connected on a 30-yard field goal at the 9:10 mark in the second quarter. Right before halftime, however, Denaburg missed a 33-yard field-goal attempt to keep the score 10-0 at the break.

After a scoreless first half, the Spartans struck first in the second half on their first series as Milivojevic found Rodney Bullard Jr. for a 16-yard pass completion on third-and-6, and then Bullard proceeded to elude a tackle and race 55 yards after the catch to the end zone for a 71-yard touchdown.

The Spartans tied it at 10 on Connington's 34-yard field goal at the 14:16 mark in the fourth quarter.

After a Gopher punt, Michigan State again drove the ball down the field, setting up first-and-goal after a 48-yard pass from Milivojevic to Nick Marsh. The Spartans couldn't convert the scoring opportunity, however, and missed a 23-yard field goal to keep the game knotted at 10.

Pinned deep in their own territory at the Minnesota 12-yard line with 2:59 left in the fourth, the Spartans ripped off a quick three-play, 88-yard touchdown drive, keyed by Tau-Tolliver's 85-yard run on the first play of the series. The 85-yard rush tied for the ninth-longest in MSU history. Tullis capped the drive with a 1-yard score with 1:52 left as the Spartans took a 17-10 lead.

Minnesota responded right back with its first points of the second half, going 65 yards on nine plays to score the game-tying touchdown on a 2-yard run by quarterback Drake Lindsey with just 29 seconds remaining.

In overtime, the Spartans had the ball first and Connington kicked a 36-yard field goal as MSU took a 20-17 advantage. On third-and-goal on Minnesota's possession, Lindsey raced 3 yards toward the corner of the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.

UP NEXT
Michigan State has a bye week before hosting Penn State on Saturday, Nov. 15 in Spartan Stadium. The game time and TV network will be announced at a later date.

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Team Stats

Alessio Milivojevic

Players Mentioned

Rodney Bullard Jr.

Martin Connington

Omari Kelly

Nick Marsh

Alessio Milivojevic

Elijah Tau-Tolliver