MSU getting ready for another elite quarterback attack

With the wealth of quarterback talent that comes with being in an 18-team league, it won’t take long for teams to be challenged and pushed to their limits.

Last time out for the Spartans, USC junior quarterback Jayden Maiava peppered the Michigan State defense to the tune of 234 passing yards and three touchdowns in the Trojans’ 45-31 triumph in Los Angeles back on Sept. 20.

After a week off to digest its first loss of the season, the road doesn’t get much easier for Michigan State (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten) on Saturday.

Former five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola and Nebraska represent the next task for a Spartans’ defense that has one singular goal in mind, if redshirt senior defensive lineman Grady Kelly has his way.

“I think we got to keep pushing the envelope,” Kelly said this week. “I think we got to continue to clean things up, continue to push and compete and grow and get better. I think the results that we want will come.”

The 6-foot-2, 295-pound Kelly, who previously played at both Colorado State and Florida State, has played in all four MSU games this season, recording seven tackles (two unassisted) with two tackles for loss (TFLs).

Raiola, the son of former Detroit Lions center Dominic Raiola, has been as good as advertised for the Cornhuskers (3-0, 0-1 Big Ten) during his second full season as Nebraska’s starter.

Through the first four games, he’s completed 75.6 percent of his passes for 1,137 yards to go with 11 touchdown passes and just one interception.

The sophomore quarterback, who was the top quarterback in ESPN’s 2024 rankings, has paced a Nebraska passing offense that is the Big Ten’s best (351.8 YPG) coming into play this week. Overall, Nebraska’s 496.5 total yards per game sits fourth in the conference behind only USC, Indiana, and Oregon.

“I think that they’re a good offense. They run a good system,” Kelly said of the Cornhuskers. “They got a good quarterback. He’s a good player, he can make good plays. They got a solid offensive line. I think the point of emphasis for us is we just have to get after the quarterback. We got to fluster (and) get after him.”