Michigan State entered Saturday’s trip to Los Angeles to face UCLA with a 2-5 record overall and 0-4 in Big Ten play. The Spartans badly needed a victory, but taking on the No. 9 team in the country was going to be a tall task.
To make matters worse, starting quarterback Alessio Milivojevic was ruled out before kickoff with an undisclosed injury. So was running back Jaziun “Jaz” Patterson, who had taken over the starting role from Cam Edwards, who is also injured.
The Spartans hoped to harness the magic of the 100th Rose Bowl game and come away with a statement win against an undefeated, highly ranked opponent. With Milivojevic out, true freshman Kayd Coffman got the start at quarterback.
That magic was nowhere to be found. UCLA beat MSU 28-10 in a game where the Spartans could not sustain drives on offense or get enough stops on defense to compete on the road against a top-10 opponent.
Coffman had an encouraging first quarter, completing all four of his passes for 42 yards and a touchdown, but he did not complete another pass after that. Without their top two running backs, the Spartans managed just 47 rushing yards.
It was a promising start for the Spartans. Safety Devin Vaught ripped the ball out of the hands of UCLA running back Anthony Wood and returned it to the UCLA 15-yard line. Two plays later, Coffman connected with running back Kenneth Williams for a 14-yard touchdown that gave the Spartans a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.
The MSU defense stopped UCLA on its first three drives. Then the Spartan offense put the defense in a difficult spot when Williams fumbled at the MSU 19-yard line, giving the Bruins the ball inside the red zone.
Running back Javion Thomas found the end zone a few plays later, tying the game 7-7 with 11:00 left in the first half.
Late in the second quarter, momentum seemed to swing back to MSU when Vaught again knocked the ball free, this time from Thomas. Nikai Martinez scooped it up and returned it 56 yards to the UCLA 19-yard line.
However, on the second play of the MSU drive, Coffman found UCLA’s Donavyn Pellot instead of the end zone. Pellot intercepted the telegraphed throw and returned it 68 yards to the MSU 21-yard line.
The Bruins scored on a 1-yard run by Wayne Knight on second-and-goal, giving UCLA a 14-7 lead with 2:32 left in the half.
UCLA took that lead into halftime after holding the Spartans to just 4 yards in the second quarter. After his perfect start, Coffman went 0-for-4 with an interception the rest of the half.
The Spartans trailed by only one score, but the injuries kept piling up. Running back Marvis Parrish and defensive lineman Ben Roberts both left the game early in the first half and did not return. Roberts was later seen on crutches in street clothes.
MSU needed a stop from its defense to open the second half to stay in the game. Instead, Ty Dieffenbach connected with Brian Rowe Jr. for a 63-yard touchdown, putting UCLA ahead 21-7 just 2 minutes into the third quarter.
The Spartans never got back into it from there. UCLA found the end zone again after an MSU three-and-out, stretching its lead to 28-7.
Playing with its third-string quarterback and running back, MSU found no success after the first quarter and gained a total of 5 yards in the second and third quarters.
To start the fourth quarter, the Spartans turned to redshirt freshman Leo Hannan, a Long Beach, California, native. The change still wasn’t enough to spark the MSU offense, which was forced to punt again.
The Spartans got a 46-yard field goal from Liam Boyd, but they could never find enough success on the ground or through the air to stay alive late.
MSU was held to 156 yards of offense and turned the ball over three times. On the other side of the ball, the Spartans allowed more than 400 yards to the Bruins and were gashed on the ground for nearly 250 rushing yards.
The Pat Fitzgerald era’s rocky start continues. The Spartans have now lost six games in a row, and injuries are mounting at an unsustainable pace.
The bye week could not come at a better time for MSU, which badly needs the extra week of rest to get healthier before traveling to Ann Arbor to face Michigan on Nov. 7.
