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    • Michigan State football sputters in loss at Illinois, dropping third in a row
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    Michigan State football sputters in loss at Illinois, dropping third in a row

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    Champagne, sick. — Needing two wins in its next three games to make a bowl game, Michigan State had a chance to move ahead with Saturday’s visit to Illinois, its toughest opponent left on the schedule.

    Instead, it put itself under even more pressure as the season nears its end.

    Although Michigan State (4-6, 2-5 Big Ten) made things interesting in the second half, Illinois (7-3, 4-3) proved too much to handle in a 38-16 loss. Illinois’ aerial attack posed a major problem for a depleted MSU secondary, and the bend-don’t-break defense kept the Spartans running in place. The loss marked Michigan State’s sixth in the past seven games.

    BOX SCORE: Illinois 38, Michigan State 16

    Even when Michigan State’s defense got going with an opening three-and-out, the rest of the game was a little rougher. Illinois opened the scoring first when quarterback Luke Altmyer hit his leading receiver with a 57-yard touchdown to receiver Pat Bryant, who nearly had another long bomb in the second quarter after a missed overthrow.

    Altmyer finished the day throwing 19-for-32 for 231 yards, throwing another touchdown to Zakhari Franklin in the second quarter. The Spartans’ injuries in the secondary made for a tough day defending the pass, and Altmyer took advantage.

    The Spartans could play that game too – at least they could early on. Receiver Aziah Johnson beat Illinois star cornerback Xavier Scott for a 52-yard touchdown. Johnson finished with three catches for 70 yards that day, a career high.

    On the ensuing extra point, a rare miss by kicker Jonathan Kim kept Illinois ahead by a point, although the lead was extended on the next drive with a 13-play, 75-yard drive capped by stiff-armed running back Josh McCray on the next drive. the end zone on an 11-yard run. Illinois scored another touchdown in the first half with Franklin’s toe-tap touchdown. A Kim field goal from 38 yards out put Michigan State down 21-9 at the half.

    It wasn’t really a bad first half for the Spartans per se. It’s just that Michigan State has been running on the spot a lot.

    There was also a lot of driving around. Chiles, with little protection under his belt, had to improvise on some broken plays due to poor line play in front of him. He made some decent pickups with his legs and threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns on 23-for-40 passing. But in such a crucial match, Chiles found himself in a chaos that made his job difficult.

    Michigan State needed to change the momentum to start the second half – to start converting – and it did so in a big way. Driving to the 5-yard line, the Spartans stared down fourth-and-down on their first drive of the second half. On his way to the touchdown, Chiles got it by hitting running back Nate Carter for the score.

    The score changed momentum. But if a win was ever within reach, Michigan State didn’t take it. After an Illinois field goal pushed the lead to eight, both teams traded three-and-outs in the fourth quarter. And when McCray jumped into the end zone for a touchdown midway through the final frame, making it 31-16, he all but sealed MSU’s fate.

    Looking for a response, Michigan State tried to put together a drive with seven minutes on the clock, but Chiles didn’t have enough time in his pocket to make any big plays. He had two big sacks on third and fourth down on his team’s final drive. McCray scored another 1-yard touchdown on the next drive, making a comeback all but impossible.

    Beating Illinois at home – especially on the Fighting Illini’s final day – was always going to be tough for the Spartans. But now the pressure is on. If Michigan State wants to achieve its goal of a bowl game, it must win both of its next two games against Purdue and Rutgers. While these teams shouldn’t be confused with majors, losing in Champaign means the Spartans can’t afford to make any mistakes.

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    @ConnorEaregood

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