EAST LANSING ~ Nebraska scored four touchdowns, and Michigan State’s offensive line struggled to sustain drives, but it was the steady stream of injuries that ultimately shaped MSU’s 31–13 loss in its first Big Ten matchup. Head coach Pat Fitzgerald’s “next man up” mentality was tested in their first Big Ten matchup.
The Spartans’ setbacks began before kickoff, when cornerback Tre Bell was injured during warmups and ruled out. On MSU’s first defensive series, Bell’s replacement, Keshawn Williams, left for the locker room with an injury. With nine minutes left in the first, running back Cam Edwards caught a short pass from quarterback Alessio Milivojevic and ran 23-yards before he was hit and stayed down with a leg injury. Starting left guard Conner Moore was injured on the same play, and neither defensive player returned to the field.
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(CONTINUED) At the half, Nebraska was up 24-10. The Cornhuskers and Spartans matched each other’s field goals for three points each, though those would be last points scored for the Spartans. Captain linebacker Jordan Hall was knocked out of game four in the third quarter when he suffered an apparent left leg injury, independent of the arm injury that benched him for game two. Linebacker Dion Crawford was injured in the fourth quarter to further slow an already depleted defensive line.
Amid MSU injury responses, the Cornhusker offense maintained momentum through the first half, and their defense forced turnovers in the second. Nebraska quarterback Anthony Colandrea completed 15 of 27 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns before halftime. The defense shut down Spartan comeback efforts in the second half with a strip-sack, an interception, and two forced turnovers.
The injuries reached across the depth chart, and shorted the Spartans of key starters. Fitzgerald has promoted competition between players and deep rotation since training camp, setting up the Spartans for ready replacements in case of injuries. However, Saturday’s busy medical tent was detrimental beyond this preparation.
