Top Ten QB Week 6: Is Alessio Milivojevic Finding His Rhythm?
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It has been quite the up-and-down season for Michigan State quarterback Alessio Milivojevic.
At times, he has put together stellar performances where he looks more like a professional than a college player. He makes smart passes that matriculate the football up the field, avoids being too much of a gunslinger, protects the ball and makes the right reads.
Then there are the lackluster games, where Milivojevic seems to feel the pressure of winning games in the Big Ten barreling down on him. He starts pushing the ball into tight windows as he tries to revive his gunslinger mentality, only to find that it becomes the ultimate nail in the coffin.
As a team, the Spartans had been stagnant on offense for three consecutive weeks, scoring just 26 total points during that stretch while bringing up the rear among the 18 Big Ten teams in total points scored.
It was not pretty for Milivojevic and the Spartans.
It seemed as if the offense had no answer for the loss of Cam Edwards, the star running back whose season ended early against Nebraska. The identity of the offense was lost, and Milivojevic was doing his best to uncover anything that could help get the offense going. Unfortunately, it seemed to come across as though he was the problem.
Then came the second half of Week 6, and the Spartans clicked, like Adam Sandler and his remote. Milivojevic drank some special water straight out of The Waterboy and turned into a Mon-Star from Space Jam.
He turned it up a notch and helped lead the Spartans to 24 second-half points, sparking a massive comeback and forcing overtime. Michigan State scored another touchdown in overtime, but ultimately failed on the two-point conversion that would have won the game and lost as a result.
However, the Spartans scored 30 points in the second half alone. That was more than they had scored in the previous three games combined and just three points shy of matching what the offense had produced over the previous 14 quarters — all in just two quarters and one overtime drive.
Running back Jaziun Patterson was the star of the comeback with his four total touchdowns. Yet, it was truly Milivojevic who played like a top draft pick, moving the Spartans offense up and down the field.
Milivojevic finished with as many incompletions as Patterson had touchdowns: four. He went 22-for-26 on the day, throwing for 196 yards and two passing touchdowns.
He also finished in the top 10 among Power Four quarterbacks for Week 6, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). He was the third-highest-graded quarterback in the Big Ten, finishing with an 86.9 grade.
The entire top 10 from Week 6 is as follows:
PFF Top-Graded Week 6 Quarterbacks — Power Four
- Noah Fifita, Arizona — 93.1
- Bear Bachmeier, BYU — 92.1
- Gio Lopez, Wake Forest — 91.4
- Isaiah Marshall, Kansas — 91.0
- Aidan Chiles, Michigan State — 90.5
- Drew Mestemaker, Oklahoma State — 89.7
- Lincoln Kienholz, Louisville — 88.6
- Jeremy Hecklinski, Iowa — 88.1
- Jayden Maiava, USC — 87.3
- Alessio Milivojevic, Michigan State — 86.9
For the first time this season, it looked like Milivojevic wasn't afraid of making a mistake. With the comfort of simply being able to go out and throw the football the way he knows how, he turned in a masterpiece of a game.
The Spartans had been taking Milivojevic out for plays and drives to bring in backup quarterback Cam Fancher, whose legs provided an added bonus. Fancher sat out Week 6, and Milivojevic had his best day of the season.
It may be more than just a coincidence. I had not been a fan of that idea, and now we're seeing why leaving the better quarterback on the team in for the entire game is the smarter move.
Michigan State looks to have found a rhythm, and it couldn't have come soon enough. The Spartans will now host No. 25 Northwestern, and with a slew of injuries, they're going to need Milivojevic to replicate his Week 6 performance — and maybe even a little bit more.
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