From QB2 to QB1: Alessio Milivojevic provides spark for Michigan State, but Spartans fall short

The term “next man up” has become a defining theme for the 2025 Michigan State football team. Whether due to injuries, performance changes or routine personnel shifts, the Spartans’ depth chart has been heavily tested in each game thus far. Michigan State has also suffered six season-ending injuries—mostly to starters. Going into a Week 10 matchup at Minnesota on a five-game losing streak (all losses in Big Ten play), the team needed a spark — immediately.  

MSU head coach Jonathan Smith decided to make a change at the quarterback position for last weekend's matchup against the Golden Gophers. He opted to start redshirt freshman quarterback Alessio Milivojevic instead of junior signal-caller Aidan Chiles. Prior to this, Chiles had started all 20 games for the Spartans since Smith took over as head coach.

In his first career start, Milivojevic impressed, completing 20 out of 28 passes (71%) for 311 yards, one touchdown and zero turnovers. He was sacked seven times, but showed his toughness as the hits did not deter him. Despite Milivojevic's strong performance, however, the Spartans fell short in overtime, losing to Minnesota by a final score of 23-20.

Michigan State is currently riding a six-game losing streak and is in its second bye week of the 2025 campaign. The Spartans are 0-6 in Big Ten play.

The change at quarterback has been something that Spartan fans had been wondering about going into the game versus Minnesota. Going back to a mid-season loss to Nebraska (currently 6-3 overall, 3-3 Big Ten) in early October, Michigan State’s offense has struggled to find rhythm or establish consistent tempo. But a key moment arrived against the Cornhuskers after Chiles took a hit resulting in medical attention, leaving him unable to finish a series in the red zone.

In a must-score drive that seemed to stall, Milivojevic — Michigan State’s next man up at quarterback —took the snap, and threw his first NCAA touchdown pass. Although Chiles would return and made plays of his own, MSU would lose to Nebraska by a score of 38-27. However, a bright spot was that Milivojevic was able to flash his poise and potential, and showed that he is a player who could step up and perform at a moment’s notice.

Milivojevic also played sparingly at different points throughout the season and was able to move the offense on multiple occasions. Meanwhile, after a strong start to the campaign, Chiles had his struggles against Big Ten competition and his play was inconsistent. This lead to the coaching staff reassessing the quarterback position after Michigan State's 31-20 loss to rival Michigan on Oct. 25.

After splitting reps with Chiles during the practice week ahead of the game versus Minnesota, Smith made the decision the night before kickoff to name Milivojevic as the starting quarterback, giving the redshirt freshman an opportunity to lead the team in a Big Ten battle in Minneapolis.

“I’ve been playing football since I was 3 years old, so I just look at it like another game — going out there and giving my best effort with my teammates,” Milivojevic said.