Michigan State University Athletics
Saturday, October 10
East Lansing, Mich.
3:30 p.m.
Michigan State University
2-4 , 0-3
37
vs
38
Illinois
3-3 , 1-2
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | OT | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 10 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 38 |
| Michigan St. | 0 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 37 |
Photo by: Matthew Mitchell/MSU Athletic Communications
Michigan State's Comeback Falls Short in Overtime Against Illinois, 38-37
10/10/2026 7:42:00 PM | Football
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State outscored Illinois 24-11 in the second half, but its comeback fell short in a 38-37 overtime loss on Saturday night at Spartan Stadium.
After trailing 20-7 at halftime and 31-17 early in the fourth quarter, the Spartans rallied to tie the game at 31 with 1:17 left in regulation to send the game into overtime. Illinois scored a touchdown on its first play in overtime, but the Spartans bounced right back on Jaziun Patterson's third rushing touchdown of the game to cut the deficit to 38-37. MSU then went for the win on the 2-point conversion attempt, but failed to convert on an incomplete pass.
Patterson led the Spartans (2-4, 0-4 B1G) on the ground for the third consecutive game with 93 yards on 17 carries and three rushing touchdowns. Patterson also caught three passes for 26 yards and a touchdown to finish with four total scores.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Alessio Milivojevic was 22-of-26 passing for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Redshirt freshman tight end Jayden Savoury led MSU with six receptions for a team-high 49 yards and redshirt junior wide receiver Fredrick Moore caught two passes for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Senior Cam Stodghill led Michigan State with 11 total tackles (five solo). Redshirt junior safety Devin Vaught returned a third quarter interception 37 yards to set up a Patterson touchdown.
SCORING SUMMARY
Illinois received the opening kickoff and took a quick 3-0 lead on Ethan Moczulski's 40-yard field goal after driving 54 yards on seven plays, then extended its lead to 10-0 at the 3:21 mark in the first quarter following an 11-play, 80-yard touchdown drive on its second series.
The Fighting Illini went up 17-0 on Katin Houser's 2-yard TD run midway through the second quarter.
MSU got on the board on its third series, as Jaziun Patterson capped an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive with a 6-yard TD reception from Alessio Milivojevic with 3:29 left in the first half.
Illinois took a 20-7 lead into halftime with a 35-yard field goal by Moczulski as time expired in the second quarter.
Following a Spartan fumble on their first series of the second half, Illinois capitalized with Moczulski's third field goal of the game, this time from 38 yards out, to make it 23-7 Illini. Liam Boyd answered with a 42-yard field goal to cut the Illinois advantage to 23-10 at the 2:52 mark in the third quarter.
The Spartans continued their momentum as Devin Vaught intercepted a Houser pass on third down and returned it 37 yards to the Illinois 11-yard line, setting up Patterson's 11-yard TD run on the next play, trimming the deficit to 23-17 with 1:30 left in the third.
Illinois halted MSU's 10-point run on Connor Dixon's 14-yard touchdown grab from freshman quarterback Michael Clayton II at the 13:14 mark in the fourth quarter, and the Illini tacked on a 2-point conversion to go up 14 points, 31-17.
MSU responded by marching right down the field 72 yards on 10 plays and made it a one-score game once again at 31-24 midway through the fourth as Milivojevic found Fredrick Moore in the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown pass.
The Spartans attempted an onside kick after the touchdown, but MSU's Samson Gash was ruled offsides before he made a diving recovery on the sideline, forcing the Spartans to kick the ball deep following the penalty.
On the ensuing Illinois possession, Michigan State forced a turnover on downs on fourth-and-inches, stuffing a sneak attempt.
Taking over on downs at the Illini 33-yard line with 3:27 to play, MSU needed just six plays to tie the game at 31-31 on a 2-yard direct snap to Patterson. The Spartans stopped Illinois on its final drive of regulation forcing a three-and-out.
Illinois scored on the first play of the overtime period, with Hudson Clement hauling in a 25-yard reception. The Illini converted on the PAT to take a 38-31 lead.
On MSU's overtime possession, a 10-yard pass and catch from Milivojevic to McCray put Michigan State on the goal line to set up Patterson's fourth touchdown of the night. The Spartans elected to go for two and the win, trailing 38-37, but Milivojevic's pass intended for Savoury was incomplete.
"I want to congratulate Illinois on a hard-fought win," said MSU head coach Pat Fitzgerald. "We ended up making it a game, and I'm proud of our guys. They were resilient. We had a bunch of guys go down in that game; for the guys to step up and fight the way that they did, I'm really proud of them.
"Now we've just got to clean up a lot of mistakes. Just a lot of mistakes. And not to discredit Illinois, they came out, they had a really good plan, took advantage of some of our things...But at the end of the day, we ended up one play short, and that's my call. I stood up here about six or seven weeks ago and said, 'Scared money don't make money.' So, we felt good about the play, and credit Illinois, they defended it. So good for them."
UP NEXT
Michigan State hosts Northwestern on Saturday, Oct. 17 at noon in Spartan Stadium. The game will be broadcast on Peacock.
After trailing 20-7 at halftime and 31-17 early in the fourth quarter, the Spartans rallied to tie the game at 31 with 1:17 left in regulation to send the game into overtime. Illinois scored a touchdown on its first play in overtime, but the Spartans bounced right back on Jaziun Patterson's third rushing touchdown of the game to cut the deficit to 38-37. MSU then went for the win on the 2-point conversion attempt, but failed to convert on an incomplete pass.
Patterson led the Spartans (2-4, 0-4 B1G) on the ground for the third consecutive game with 93 yards on 17 carries and three rushing touchdowns. Patterson also caught three passes for 26 yards and a touchdown to finish with four total scores.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Alessio Milivojevic was 22-of-26 passing for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Redshirt freshman tight end Jayden Savoury led MSU with six receptions for a team-high 49 yards and redshirt junior wide receiver Fredrick Moore caught two passes for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Senior Cam Stodghill led Michigan State with 11 total tackles (five solo). Redshirt junior safety Devin Vaught returned a third quarter interception 37 yards to set up a Patterson touchdown.
SCORING SUMMARY
Illinois received the opening kickoff and took a quick 3-0 lead on Ethan Moczulski's 40-yard field goal after driving 54 yards on seven plays, then extended its lead to 10-0 at the 3:21 mark in the first quarter following an 11-play, 80-yard touchdown drive on its second series.
The Fighting Illini went up 17-0 on Katin Houser's 2-yard TD run midway through the second quarter.
MSU got on the board on its third series, as Jaziun Patterson capped an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive with a 6-yard TD reception from Alessio Milivojevic with 3:29 left in the first half.
Illinois took a 20-7 lead into halftime with a 35-yard field goal by Moczulski as time expired in the second quarter.
Following a Spartan fumble on their first series of the second half, Illinois capitalized with Moczulski's third field goal of the game, this time from 38 yards out, to make it 23-7 Illini. Liam Boyd answered with a 42-yard field goal to cut the Illinois advantage to 23-10 at the 2:52 mark in the third quarter.
The Spartans continued their momentum as Devin Vaught intercepted a Houser pass on third down and returned it 37 yards to the Illinois 11-yard line, setting up Patterson's 11-yard TD run on the next play, trimming the deficit to 23-17 with 1:30 left in the third.
Illinois halted MSU's 10-point run on Connor Dixon's 14-yard touchdown grab from freshman quarterback Michael Clayton II at the 13:14 mark in the fourth quarter, and the Illini tacked on a 2-point conversion to go up 14 points, 31-17.
MSU responded by marching right down the field 72 yards on 10 plays and made it a one-score game once again at 31-24 midway through the fourth as Milivojevic found Fredrick Moore in the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown pass.
The Spartans attempted an onside kick after the touchdown, but MSU's Samson Gash was ruled offsides before he made a diving recovery on the sideline, forcing the Spartans to kick the ball deep following the penalty.
On the ensuing Illinois possession, Michigan State forced a turnover on downs on fourth-and-inches, stuffing a sneak attempt.
Taking over on downs at the Illini 33-yard line with 3:27 to play, MSU needed just six plays to tie the game at 31-31 on a 2-yard direct snap to Patterson. The Spartans stopped Illinois on its final drive of regulation forcing a three-and-out.
Illinois scored on the first play of the overtime period, with Hudson Clement hauling in a 25-yard reception. The Illini converted on the PAT to take a 38-31 lead.
On MSU's overtime possession, a 10-yard pass and catch from Milivojevic to McCray put Michigan State on the goal line to set up Patterson's fourth touchdown of the night. The Spartans elected to go for two and the win, trailing 38-37, but Milivojevic's pass intended for Savoury was incomplete.
"I want to congratulate Illinois on a hard-fought win," said MSU head coach Pat Fitzgerald. "We ended up making it a game, and I'm proud of our guys. They were resilient. We had a bunch of guys go down in that game; for the guys to step up and fight the way that they did, I'm really proud of them.
"Now we've just got to clean up a lot of mistakes. Just a lot of mistakes. And not to discredit Illinois, they came out, they had a really good plan, took advantage of some of our things...But at the end of the day, we ended up one play short, and that's my call. I stood up here about six or seven weeks ago and said, 'Scared money don't make money.' So, we felt good about the play, and credit Illinois, they defended it. So good for them."
UP NEXT
Michigan State hosts Northwestern on Saturday, Oct. 17 at noon in Spartan Stadium. The game will be broadcast on Peacock.
Players Mentioned
K
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WR
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QB
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WR
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RB
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TE
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LB
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S
/ FootballTeam Stats
ILL
MSU
Total Yards
409
342
Pass Yards
282
215
Rushing Yards
127
127
Penalty Yards
16
69
1st Downs
25
19
3rd Downs
5
6
4th Downs
1
1
TOP
33:52
26:08
1st Quarter
ILL 3, MSU 0
ILL - Moczulski,Ethan 40 yd field goal 7 plays, 54 yards, TOP 03:14
ILL 10, MSU 0
ILL - Laughery,Aidan 5 yd pass from Houser,Katin (Moczulski,Ethan kick) 11 plays, 80 yards, TOP 06:51
2nd Quarter
ILL 17, MSU 0
ILL - Houser,Katin 2 yd run (Moczulski,Ethan kick), 14 plays, 82 yards, TOP 07:18
ILL 17, MSU 7
MSU - Patterson,Jaziun 6 yd pass from Milivojevic,Alessio (Boyd,Liam kick) 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 05:28
ILL 20, MSU 7
ILL - Moczulski,Ethan 35 yd field goal 12 plays, 58 yards, TOP 03:29
3rd Quarter
ILL 23, MSU 7
ILL - Moczulski,Ethan 38 yd field goal 8 plays, 30 yards, TOP 03:16
ILL 23, MSU 10
MSU - Boyd,Liam 42 yd field goal 10 plays, 64 yards, TOP 05:52
ILL 23, MSU 17
MSU - Patterson,Jaziun 11 yd run (Boyd,Liam kick), 1 plays, 11 yards, TOP 00:11
4th Quarter
ILL 31, MSU 17
ILL - Dixon,Collin 14 yd pass from Clayton II,Michael (Laughery,Aidan rush) 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:16
ILL 31, MSU 24
MSU - Moore,Fredrick 24 yd pass from Milivojevic,Alessio (Boyd,Liam kick) 10 plays, 72 yards, TOP 05:20
ILL 31, MSU 31
MSU - Patterson,Jaziun 2 yd run (Boyd,Liam kick), 6 plays, 33 yards, TOP 02:10
OT Quarter
ILL 38, MSU 31
ILL - Clement,Hudson 25 yd pass from Clayton II,Michael (Moczulski,Ethan kick) 1 plays, 25 yards, TOP 00:00
ILL 38, MSU 37
MSU - Patterson,Jaziun 1 yd run (), 5 plays, 25 yards, TOP 00:00
Game Leaders
CMP
22
TD
2
YDS
196
INT
0
CMP
1
TD
0
YDS
19
INT
0
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