Michigan State football dropped the fourth consecutive game of the 2026 season, losing a heartbreaker to Illinois, 38-37 in overtime. The margin between winning and losing fell on a two-point conversion, which the Spartans unfortunately did not convert.
A big reason the Spartans were able to overcome a 17-point deficit was due to the strong performance of the offense. Led by quarterback Alessio Milivojevic, and a strong rushing attack with Jaziun Patterson, Michigan State's offense scored a season high in points, while getting 342 yards of offense.
After looking at the film, and evaluating the game, Pro Football Focus (Subscription Required) gave out their grades for the Spartans in the game.
Check out the top five offensive players for the Spartans, according to PFF:
- QB Alessio Milivojevic - 86.9
- RB Jaziun Patterson - 78.9
- WR Bryson Williams - 73.8
- TE Jayden Savoury - 70.9
- WR Chrishon McCray - 68.0
Evidently, this is a first for the Spartans, with all five members of the top five being from skill players on the roster. A good sign of development unfolding as the Spartans aim to continue their offensive success against Northwestern in week seven.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: PFF ranks Michigan State's top five offensive players vs. Illinois