Michigan State University Athletics
Photo by: Matthew Mitchell/MSU Athletic Communications
Post-Game Notes: Illinois
10/10/2026 11:58:00 PM | Football
GAME NOTES
• Saturday's overtime game was Michigan State's first overtime game of the season as well as the first OT game in the series between the Spartans and the Illini . . . it was MSU's first OT game since Nov. 1, 2025, in a loss at Minnesota, while it was Michigan State's first OT at home since Sept. 6, 2025, in a 42-40 2OT win over Boston College, with the last three OT games being decided by three points or less and a combined six points . . . MSU is now 9-10 all-time in overtime games and 6-5 in home OT contests.
• Dating back to 1915, Saturday marked the 110th Homecoming game for Michigan State . . . the only years Homecoming games were not held since 1915 were 1943 and 2020 . . . MSU is now 71-36-3 (.659) in Homecoming games.
• While first-year MSU head coach Pat Fitzgerald is now 0-1 vs. Illinois at the helm of the Spartans, Fitzgerald is now 11-7 all-time against Illinois, having facing the Illini 17 times during his tenure at Northwestern, including a six-game winning streak from 2015-20.
• Saturday's game marked the 50th all-time meeting between Michigan State and Illinois . . . the Spartans still lead the all-time series, 27-21-2, including a 13-10-1 record in East Lansing . . . while Illinois has won the last two meetings, the Spartans have won 13 of the last 18 meetings overall . . . Saturday was the first match-up between MSU and Illinois in Spartan Stadium since 2019.
OFFENSE
• Michigan State scored a season-high 37 points Saturday, topping the previous high score on the season of 35 points vs. Eastern Michigan (9/12/26) . . . Saturday marked the third time this season that the Spartans have scored 30+ points in a game, along with 30 points in the season-opener vs. Toledo (9/4/26).
• MSU's 342 yards of total offense on Saturday was the Spartans' highest output in a Big Ten game this season, and the third-highest outing of the season.
• Graduate running back Jaziun Patterson scored an 11-yard TD run for a 1-play, 11-yard scoring drive, after MSU got the ball following redshirt-junior safety Devin Vaught's interception and return to the ILL 11-yard line, and Patterson scored on the next play . . . it was MSU's first 1-play scoring drive of the season and first since a 1-play, 57-yard scoring drive in the Penn State game last year on Nov. 15, 2025, scoring on a 57-yard TD run by Elijah Tau-Tolliver on MSU's first offensive play from scrimmage . . . that was the second of two 1-play scoring drives last year, also with one in the Youngstown State game (9/13/25).
• Graduate running back Jaziun Patterson made his second-straight start and scored a career-high three TDs, his first multiple TD outing of his collegiate career.Â
• With three rushing scores, Patterson became the first Spartan with three rushing TDs since Nathan Carter had three vs. Richmond on runs of 2, 44 and 6 yards, all coming in the third quarter, on Sept. 9, 2023, in the Spartans' 45-14 stomping of the Spiders.
• The three rushing TDs by Patterson also ties him for the most in a Big Ten game this season, becoming the seventh B1G player to have three rushing TDs in a single-game, but Patterson is the only one to do so in a conference game this season, as the previous six occasions were all in non-conference contests.
• Patterson also logged a career-high 93 yards on 17 carries . . . the 93 yards betters his previous career-high outing of 86 yards vs. Iowa State (9/9/23) . . . the 17 carries are the second most by Patterson this season.
• Patterson also caught a 6-yard TD pass from Milivojevic for not only his first collegiate TD catch, but also became the first Spartan with at least one rushing and one receiving TD in the same game since Nathan Carter had a 2-yard rush and a 20-yard reception for scores vs. Purdue on Nov. 22, 2024, in a 24-17 Victory for MSU.
• The TD catch was Patterson's first of his collegiate career, coming on his second reception of the day, his third catch of the season and the 12th reception of his career, finishing the day with career highs of three catches for 26 yards, which not only matches his season-total for catches, but also tops his previous top marks of two catches for 26 yards vs. Utah State (9/2/23) during his Iowa tenure . . . while at Iowa, Patterson had just one catch in both 2022 and 2024 seasons, along with three catches in 2025 and four in 2023.
• Patterson's four total touchdowns (three rushing, one receiving) ties for fourth most in a single game in school history and is the most by a Spartan in one game since Kenneth Walker III had five against Michigan in 2021.
• Redshirt sophomore quarterback Alessio Milivojevic was 22-of-26 passing for a career-high 84.6 percent, for 196 yards, with two TDs and no INTs . . . the 84.6 percent tops his previous high of 76.5 percent (26-of-34) from the season-opener vs. Toledo (9/4/26) . . . the two TD tosses were his second multi-TD outing of the season, matching his outing vs. Eastern Michigan (9/12/26), as part of his fourth career game with multiple TDs . . . the 22 completions was his second-highest of the season behind the top mark of 26 completions in the season-opener vs. Toledo (9/4/26).Â
• A native of Naperville, Illinois, Milivojevic was facing a team from his home state of Illinois for the first time in his career.
• Redshirt freshman tight end Jayden Savoury snared a career-high six catches for 49 yards, marking the six time this season that he has set or tied a career-high for receptions or yards . . . the six snares tops his previous best high-water mark of four catches, done three times previously this season, first in the season-opener vs. Toledo (9/4/26), then the following game vs. Eastern Michigan (9/12/26), then again last time out at Wisconsin (10/3/26) . . . Savoury's 49 yards was his second-highest outing of the season and career behind his top mark of 63 yards vs. Eastern Michigan.
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• Redshirt junior wide receiver Fredrick Moore had his second TD catch of the season and third of his career, joining his first scoring reception in game two vs. Eastern Michigan (9/12/26), along with one in 2024 while he was at Michigan . . . Moore had two catches for 42 yards Saturday, 1 yard shy of his career-high, and has now had multiple receptions in five of the six games this season, only being limited to a single catch once this season, coming in the EMU game with his one catch for one TD . . . Moore did have a new career-long with the 24-yard TD catch, which was the second half of back-to-back receptions, first on a fourth-and-7 at the ILL 42, going for 18 yards and a first down at the ILL 24, and then the next play caught the TD pass from Alessio Milivojevic for a career-long 24-yard TD in the back of the endzone, pulling MSU within 31-24.
• Redshirt senior wide receiver Chrishon McCray had five catches for 33 yards, his second-highest receptions output behind his season-high eight catches in the season-opener vs. Toledo, as part of having multiple catches in five of the six games and with three or more catches in four of the six contests . . . McCray also added two carries for 15 yards.
DEFENSE
• The Spartan defense posted a takeaway for the third game this season.
• Redshirt-junior safety Devin Vaught snared an interception near midfield in the third quarter and returned it 37 yards, setting up MSU's TD that got them within 23-17 with 1:30 left in the quarter.
• It was Vaught's first interception as a Spartan, and the seventh of his collegiate career, with six oskies during his time at Maine, with three each in the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
• Vaught added five tackles Saturday, as he's posted five or more stops in all six games . . . Saturday was just the second time that Vaught was not in the top two on defense for tackle totals.
• Senior linebacker Cam Stodghill notched a season-high 11 tackles, nearly doubling his previous season-total of six stops coming into Saturday . . . the 11 tackles marked his seventh career game with double-digit tackles, posting 10+ stops six times during his career at Albany (2023-25), with five outings in 2025 and one in 2024.
• Graduate safety Nikai Martinez posted a season-high nine tackles, one shy of his career-high of 10 tackles (vs. Minnesota, 11/1/25) . . . Martinez had four or more stops in four of the six games.
• Martinez also registered his first forced fumble of not only the season but his career.Â
• Graduate cornerback Charles Brantley notched a season-high seven stops.
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• Redshirt-senior defensive lineman Ben Roberts registered a career-high seven tackles, topping his previous top mark of four tackles, done twice, last vs. Nebraska (9/26/26) . . . Roberts' seven stops topped the combined total of six stops in his previous two games with four vs. Nebraska and two last week at Wisconsin.
• Roberts added 0.5 tackle for loss, marking his third game with at least 0.5 TFL in a game this season.
SPECIAL TEAMS
• Junior punter Rhys Dakin boomed a career-long 74-yard punt on his first punt in the first quarter, topping his previous career-long of 65-yards vs. Iowa State (9/6/25), while he was at Iowa . . . Dakin has now boomed his season long in back-to-back games after a 62-yarder last week at Wisconsin (10/3/26).
• Dakin's 74-yard punt was tied for the ninth-longest punt in program history, marking the fourth time a Spartan punter had a 74-yarder, last by Bryce Baringer (Ohio State, 2021), joining Jake Hartbarger (Arizona State, 2018) and Brandon Fields (Rutgers, 2003).
• Dakin added a 55-yard punt later in the first quarter and didn't punt the rest of the night, to finish with two punts for a 64.5 ypp average, which was the highest single-game average of his career, but ineligible for a career-high marking from not reaching the minimum requirement of four punts.
• Dakin now has two punts of 60+ yards this season and has five for his career . . . he also had nine punts of 50+ yards third season and 35 for his career.
• Dakin's 74-yard punt is the second longest in the Big Ten this season, behind a 78-yarder by Purdue's Dylan Drennan vs. Notre Dame (9/26/26) . . . Dakin's punt is the longest in a conference game this season, since Drennan's vs. ND was a non-conference contest.
 • Graduate placekicker Liam Boyd was 4-of-4 on PATs and made his lone field goal attempt, splitting the uprights from 42-yards out in the third quarter . . . Boyd now has at least one field goal made in five of the six games this season . . . Boyd is now 10-of-12 on field goals for the season, with both misses coming on attempts of 50+ yards that were both blocked . . . he is also 12-of-12 on PATs for the season.
• Boyd is now 19-of-24 on FGs and 34-of-34 on PATs for his career.
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• Saturday's overtime game was Michigan State's first overtime game of the season as well as the first OT game in the series between the Spartans and the Illini . . . it was MSU's first OT game since Nov. 1, 2025, in a loss at Minnesota, while it was Michigan State's first OT at home since Sept. 6, 2025, in a 42-40 2OT win over Boston College, with the last three OT games being decided by three points or less and a combined six points . . . MSU is now 9-10 all-time in overtime games and 6-5 in home OT contests.
• Dating back to 1915, Saturday marked the 110th Homecoming game for Michigan State . . . the only years Homecoming games were not held since 1915 were 1943 and 2020 . . . MSU is now 71-36-3 (.659) in Homecoming games.
• While first-year MSU head coach Pat Fitzgerald is now 0-1 vs. Illinois at the helm of the Spartans, Fitzgerald is now 11-7 all-time against Illinois, having facing the Illini 17 times during his tenure at Northwestern, including a six-game winning streak from 2015-20.
• Saturday's game marked the 50th all-time meeting between Michigan State and Illinois . . . the Spartans still lead the all-time series, 27-21-2, including a 13-10-1 record in East Lansing . . . while Illinois has won the last two meetings, the Spartans have won 13 of the last 18 meetings overall . . . Saturday was the first match-up between MSU and Illinois in Spartan Stadium since 2019.
OFFENSE
• Michigan State scored a season-high 37 points Saturday, topping the previous high score on the season of 35 points vs. Eastern Michigan (9/12/26) . . . Saturday marked the third time this season that the Spartans have scored 30+ points in a game, along with 30 points in the season-opener vs. Toledo (9/4/26).
• MSU's 342 yards of total offense on Saturday was the Spartans' highest output in a Big Ten game this season, and the third-highest outing of the season.
• Graduate running back Jaziun Patterson scored an 11-yard TD run for a 1-play, 11-yard scoring drive, after MSU got the ball following redshirt-junior safety Devin Vaught's interception and return to the ILL 11-yard line, and Patterson scored on the next play . . . it was MSU's first 1-play scoring drive of the season and first since a 1-play, 57-yard scoring drive in the Penn State game last year on Nov. 15, 2025, scoring on a 57-yard TD run by Elijah Tau-Tolliver on MSU's first offensive play from scrimmage . . . that was the second of two 1-play scoring drives last year, also with one in the Youngstown State game (9/13/25).
• Graduate running back Jaziun Patterson made his second-straight start and scored a career-high three TDs, his first multiple TD outing of his collegiate career.Â
• With three rushing scores, Patterson became the first Spartan with three rushing TDs since Nathan Carter had three vs. Richmond on runs of 2, 44 and 6 yards, all coming in the third quarter, on Sept. 9, 2023, in the Spartans' 45-14 stomping of the Spiders.
• The three rushing TDs by Patterson also ties him for the most in a Big Ten game this season, becoming the seventh B1G player to have three rushing TDs in a single-game, but Patterson is the only one to do so in a conference game this season, as the previous six occasions were all in non-conference contests.
• Patterson also logged a career-high 93 yards on 17 carries . . . the 93 yards betters his previous career-high outing of 86 yards vs. Iowa State (9/9/23) . . . the 17 carries are the second most by Patterson this season.
• Patterson also caught a 6-yard TD pass from Milivojevic for not only his first collegiate TD catch, but also became the first Spartan with at least one rushing and one receiving TD in the same game since Nathan Carter had a 2-yard rush and a 20-yard reception for scores vs. Purdue on Nov. 22, 2024, in a 24-17 Victory for MSU.
• The TD catch was Patterson's first of his collegiate career, coming on his second reception of the day, his third catch of the season and the 12th reception of his career, finishing the day with career highs of three catches for 26 yards, which not only matches his season-total for catches, but also tops his previous top marks of two catches for 26 yards vs. Utah State (9/2/23) during his Iowa tenure . . . while at Iowa, Patterson had just one catch in both 2022 and 2024 seasons, along with three catches in 2025 and four in 2023.
• Patterson's four total touchdowns (three rushing, one receiving) ties for fourth most in a single game in school history and is the most by a Spartan in one game since Kenneth Walker III had five against Michigan in 2021.
• Redshirt sophomore quarterback Alessio Milivojevic was 22-of-26 passing for a career-high 84.6 percent, for 196 yards, with two TDs and no INTs . . . the 84.6 percent tops his previous high of 76.5 percent (26-of-34) from the season-opener vs. Toledo (9/4/26) . . . the two TD tosses were his second multi-TD outing of the season, matching his outing vs. Eastern Michigan (9/12/26), as part of his fourth career game with multiple TDs . . . the 22 completions was his second-highest of the season behind the top mark of 26 completions in the season-opener vs. Toledo (9/4/26).Â
• A native of Naperville, Illinois, Milivojevic was facing a team from his home state of Illinois for the first time in his career.
• Redshirt freshman tight end Jayden Savoury snared a career-high six catches for 49 yards, marking the six time this season that he has set or tied a career-high for receptions or yards . . . the six snares tops his previous best high-water mark of four catches, done three times previously this season, first in the season-opener vs. Toledo (9/4/26), then the following game vs. Eastern Michigan (9/12/26), then again last time out at Wisconsin (10/3/26) . . . Savoury's 49 yards was his second-highest outing of the season and career behind his top mark of 63 yards vs. Eastern Michigan.
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• Redshirt junior wide receiver Fredrick Moore had his second TD catch of the season and third of his career, joining his first scoring reception in game two vs. Eastern Michigan (9/12/26), along with one in 2024 while he was at Michigan . . . Moore had two catches for 42 yards Saturday, 1 yard shy of his career-high, and has now had multiple receptions in five of the six games this season, only being limited to a single catch once this season, coming in the EMU game with his one catch for one TD . . . Moore did have a new career-long with the 24-yard TD catch, which was the second half of back-to-back receptions, first on a fourth-and-7 at the ILL 42, going for 18 yards and a first down at the ILL 24, and then the next play caught the TD pass from Alessio Milivojevic for a career-long 24-yard TD in the back of the endzone, pulling MSU within 31-24.
• Redshirt senior wide receiver Chrishon McCray had five catches for 33 yards, his second-highest receptions output behind his season-high eight catches in the season-opener vs. Toledo, as part of having multiple catches in five of the six games and with three or more catches in four of the six contests . . . McCray also added two carries for 15 yards.
DEFENSE
• The Spartan defense posted a takeaway for the third game this season.
• Redshirt-junior safety Devin Vaught snared an interception near midfield in the third quarter and returned it 37 yards, setting up MSU's TD that got them within 23-17 with 1:30 left in the quarter.
• It was Vaught's first interception as a Spartan, and the seventh of his collegiate career, with six oskies during his time at Maine, with three each in the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
• Vaught added five tackles Saturday, as he's posted five or more stops in all six games . . . Saturday was just the second time that Vaught was not in the top two on defense for tackle totals.
• Senior linebacker Cam Stodghill notched a season-high 11 tackles, nearly doubling his previous season-total of six stops coming into Saturday . . . the 11 tackles marked his seventh career game with double-digit tackles, posting 10+ stops six times during his career at Albany (2023-25), with five outings in 2025 and one in 2024.
• Graduate safety Nikai Martinez posted a season-high nine tackles, one shy of his career-high of 10 tackles (vs. Minnesota, 11/1/25) . . . Martinez had four or more stops in four of the six games.
• Martinez also registered his first forced fumble of not only the season but his career.Â
• Graduate cornerback Charles Brantley notched a season-high seven stops.
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• Redshirt-senior defensive lineman Ben Roberts registered a career-high seven tackles, topping his previous top mark of four tackles, done twice, last vs. Nebraska (9/26/26) . . . Roberts' seven stops topped the combined total of six stops in his previous two games with four vs. Nebraska and two last week at Wisconsin.
• Roberts added 0.5 tackle for loss, marking his third game with at least 0.5 TFL in a game this season.
SPECIAL TEAMS
• Junior punter Rhys Dakin boomed a career-long 74-yard punt on his first punt in the first quarter, topping his previous career-long of 65-yards vs. Iowa State (9/6/25), while he was at Iowa . . . Dakin has now boomed his season long in back-to-back games after a 62-yarder last week at Wisconsin (10/3/26).
• Dakin's 74-yard punt was tied for the ninth-longest punt in program history, marking the fourth time a Spartan punter had a 74-yarder, last by Bryce Baringer (Ohio State, 2021), joining Jake Hartbarger (Arizona State, 2018) and Brandon Fields (Rutgers, 2003).
• Dakin added a 55-yard punt later in the first quarter and didn't punt the rest of the night, to finish with two punts for a 64.5 ypp average, which was the highest single-game average of his career, but ineligible for a career-high marking from not reaching the minimum requirement of four punts.
• Dakin now has two punts of 60+ yards this season and has five for his career . . . he also had nine punts of 50+ yards third season and 35 for his career.
• Dakin's 74-yard punt is the second longest in the Big Ten this season, behind a 78-yarder by Purdue's Dylan Drennan vs. Notre Dame (9/26/26) . . . Dakin's punt is the longest in a conference game this season, since Drennan's vs. ND was a non-conference contest.
 • Graduate placekicker Liam Boyd was 4-of-4 on PATs and made his lone field goal attempt, splitting the uprights from 42-yards out in the third quarter . . . Boyd now has at least one field goal made in five of the six games this season . . . Boyd is now 10-of-12 on field goals for the season, with both misses coming on attempts of 50+ yards that were both blocked . . . he is also 12-of-12 on PATs for the season.
• Boyd is now 19-of-24 on FGs and 34-of-34 on PATs for his career.
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