A stagnant offense and critical injuries to key starters have the Spartans reeling, leaving a struggling young quarterback to salvage a season spiraling toward the conference basement.
A tornado has hit the Michigan State football team, taking what looked like a promising 2-0 start and flipping it upside down into a 2-2 record with the roof seemingly about to cave in.
After scoring 65 points in its first two games, Michigan State has managed just two touchdowns over its past two games.
Those offensive struggles have dropped the Spartans to the bottom of the Big Ten in scoring. Michigan State is now the only Big Ten team that has failed to reach 100 points through the first four games of the season.
The Spartans have scored just 88 points through four games, which is 13 fewer than the second-lowest scoring team in the conference, Michigan.
Michigan State has also scored just nine touchdowns, a conference low. That's four fewer than Michigan and Washington, who are tied for the second-lowest total with 13 touchdowns apiece.
Interestingly enough, both Michigan and Washington remain on Michigan State's schedule, meaning there are still opportunities for the Spartans to win games despite an offense that has struggled to find any consistency.
Ultimately, though, Michigan State isn't going to win many games if the offense doesn't start figuring things out quickly.
Injuries Have Made Things Even More Difficult
The offensive struggles can't be placed entirely on the players or the coaching staff. It's a combination of both, along with key injuries and a roster that still lacks proven talent at several positions.
In Saturday's loss to Nebraska, Michigan State lost starting running back Cam Edwards to an injury that could loom large for the remainder of the season.
The plan for Pat Fitzgerald's Spartans this year was to establish a physical running game and lean heavily on Edwards' talent. If Edwards is forced to miss significant time, Michigan State will turn to Jaziun Patterson or Marvis Parrish to lead the backfield.
Those are significant downgrades from a player like Edwards, who entered the season with legitimate top-10 running back talent.
On the exact same play that Edwards was injured, the Spartans also lost starting offensive lineman Connor Moore.
That leaves Michigan State in a difficult position up front and puts even more pressure on a young quarterback.
Milivojevic Must Find a Way Forward
Michigan State will now lean heavily on the talents of quarterback Alessio Milivojevic, who has struggled himself over the past two games.
Milivojevic has been sacked 10 times over those two games while throwing three interceptions without a touchdown.
Some of that falls on the quarterback, but not all of it.
Michigan State's receivers have struggled to consistently create separation, forcing Milivojevic to attempt difficult throws into tight coverage. Those difficult situations have contributed to turnovers and made life even harder for the young quarterback.
At the same time, this isn't exactly an unexpected problem for an offense relying on a group of receivers that hasn't established itself as a consistently dangerous unit.
Expecting all of them to suddenly find a rhythm at the same time was always going to be a risk.
So far, that risk hasn't paid off.
Michigan State Needs Answers Quickly
Scoring 88 points and nine touchdowns through four games is about as bad as an offense can get in the Big Ten.
If Michigan State continues averaging just 22 points per game, the defense will need to play at an elite level for the Spartans to consistently win games.
That becomes increasingly difficult with injuries also piling up on the defensive side of the ball.
The biggest priority now is getting the offensive line stabilized and giving Milivojevic enough time to operate.
If Michigan State can protect its quarterback, establish some semblance of a running game and create more opportunities for its receivers, there is still time for this offense to improve.
But at the current rate, the Spartans' season could get ugly in a hurry.
