Alessio Milivojevic back as Michigan State beats Michigan

Milivojevic was listed as questionable all week. The answer came on the Big Ten's final availability report, about 2 hours before kickoff.

That upgrade mattered a lot for a team that had been stuck in the mud. Milivojevic missed the loss at UCLA with an undisclosed injury, and the Spartans walked into this game without a Big Ten win. He did not come back looking 100 percent, either. During warmups, reporters noticed something on his throwing hand.

Pat Fitzgerald wasn't hiding how much he needed his guy back. On pregame radio before his first Michigan game as the Spartans' coach, he called the quarterback the most important piece on the field and gave the same treatment to safety Devin Vaught, who was also returning.

The bigger problem was the backfield. Michigan State's top 3 running backs were all out, so Fitzgerald turned to Zion Gist, Brandon Tullis and Jace Clarizio. His plan was simple: a healthy quarterback and a healthy offensive line would have to cover for the missing backs.

That's pretty much how it went. Tullis ran for a career-high 86 yards. Milivojevic went 21-for-32 for 188 yards and didn't turn it over, which was all a defense-first game plan asked of him. Liam Boyd made all 5 of his field goals. The defense forced 4 turnovers, including 2 interceptions of Michigan freshman QB Tommy Carr. It was ugly. It was also 15-6 Spartans.

Nobody will put the offense in a highlight package, but that wasn't the point. A thumb-wrapped quarterback, 3 backup running backs and a kicker beat the rival in their own building, and Michigan State finally has its first Big Ten win. Now the question is how healthy Milivojevic and the backfield get for the rest of the season, because a team that was buried a week ago has a reason to play again.