Michigan State QB Alessio Milivojevic shows poise and leadership in win over Toledo

Perhaps it wasn't the most impressive of wins, but Michigan State defeated Toledo 30-20 on Friday night to open the 2026 season with a victory and give Pat Fitzgerald his first win as head coach of the Spartans.

The Spartans raced out to a 13-0 lead in the early second quarter and led 19-7 at halftime. MSU scored on all five possessions in the first half (one touchdown and four field goals).

However, adversity hit MSU in the second half. The Rockets scored a touchdown in the third quarter when quarterback John Alan Richter connected with wide receiver Adjatay Dabbs in the end zone for the second time on the night (the first touchdown went for 60 yards and the second score was from six yards out). Toledo then put a scare into the Spartans early in the fourth quarter when the Rockets took a 20-19 lead after a 71-yard rushing touchdown by running back Connor Walendzak (the two-point conversion attempt failed).

MSU also dealt with various injuries throughout the game.

Michigan State responded by scoring the final 11 points of the game to put Toledo away. This included a touchdown pass from quarterback

Alessio Milivojevic to wide receiver Rodney Bullard, a two-point conversion by the same duo, and a field goal by kicker Liam Boyd, who was the star of the night with five field goal makes. MSU's first touchdown of the night was scored by running back Cam Edwards.

It was far from a perfect performance for the Spartans. Milivojevic knows that. But, much like Fitzgerald, Milivojevic was proud of the way his team responded when the game was on the line. However, he was candid when discussing what the offense has to do to get better moving forward.

The red zone was one area where the Spartans struggled to finish drives, settling for field goals instead of touchdowns on multiple occasions. While MSU finished the game by scoring on all four of its red-zone possessions, only two of those trips ended in the end zone.

"One thing is, we for sure responded," Milivojevic said when asked what he thought about the offense's performance on Friday night. "There were ups and downs in the game ... We ended it great in the fourth quarter, but one thing I want to challenge us is just to finish those drives. We made it down in the red zone (often). I want to say we settled for field goals three times in the red zone in the first half alone. So, I think just overall, finishing those drives is gonna be huge for us. But I thought we moved the ball well, and I was just really proud of the guys up front. They played extremely hard, and they worked for us. I wasn't really surprised by it."

Fitzgerald complimented Milivojevic's play following the game, calling his signal-caller a "mature young quarterback."

Overcoming the setbacks

Michigan State had multiple players exit the game on Friday night, such as Edwards, running back Marvis Parrish, offensive tackle Ben Murawski, linebacker Jordan Hall and defensive tackle Ben Roberts. Some of the players were able to return, but other players stepped in for them and performed admirably.

Milivojevic praised the team's depth and mentality, and its ability to overcome challenges.

"I think it's just knowing that our preparation and 'next man up' mentality is gonna have to hold true because there's gonna be guys who cramp — especially in a humid game like this — there's gonna be guys who have little injuries here and there," Milivojevic noted. "But, it's just knowing that the next guy behind him is gonna do the same job as him just as good, or if not better. So knowing that we have that type of depth is gonna be huge for us going along because it's a long season at the end of the day."

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