Photo: Nick King ~ USA TODAY NETWORK
DETROIT ~ Michigan State closed its season with a long-awaited breakthrough, defeating Maryland 38-28 at Ford Field to snap an eight-game losing streak. For senior wide receiver Alante Brown, the night was personal. After missing nine games, he delivered the play of the game, a 92-yard kickoff return that swung momentum back to the Spartans.
“I just want to start out by giving all glory to God,” Brown said. “From day one, it hasn’t been easy. I just tried to keep faith, keep a relationship with the Lord, and with my brothers. Without them, I probably wouldn’t be here.” Brown’s return wasn’t just instinct; it was preparation. “We were discussing on the sideline, if I got my opportunity, I knew it would be a good one,” he said. “I watched a lot of film. I knew they had some vulnerable areas in the kickoff unit. Once I touched the ball, I just ran as fast as I could.” Fresh legs helped after eight weeks of recovery. “I knew I wasn’t going to get a lot of offensive reps, so I wanted to take advantage of all the special teams reps I could,” Brown added.
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(CONTINUED) Freshman quarterback Alessio Milivojevic delivered his best performance yet, throwing for 292 yards and four touchdowns, including the game-sealing strike to senior wide receiver Omari Kelly on fourth-and-7. “That was huge,” Milivojevic said. “It was great for him to come back in, control his emotions, and respond with a big-time catch.” For Milivojevic, the win was validation. “I’ve said it for weeks now, we were going to fight every single game,” he said. “We fought a lot today, and we got that win.”
The offensive line, often criticized during MSU’s skid, allowed zero sacks, a first since 2017. “Those young dudes stepped up today,” Milivojevic said. “They kept me clean, and that made all the difference.”
Postgame, the locker room was electric. “It’s just amazing,” Milivojevic said. “We went through a tough stretch. It’s not easy losing that many games and coming in every day to work. But that’s what we did. We worked every day, and we got our results.”
