Illinois makes a stop on Michigan State’s 2-point conversion attempt in OT, holds on for 38-37 win

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michael Clayton threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Hudson Clement on the first play of overtime and Illinois made a stop on a 2-point conversion attempt to hold on for a 38-37 win over Michigan State on Saturday.

The Fighting Illini (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten) scored on their first five drives to take a 16-point lead midway through the third quarter, and coach Bret Bielema made a decision late in the game that helped Spartans (2-4, 0-3) come back.

Bielema chose to go for it on a fourth-and-1 at his 33 and Clayton was stuffed on a sneak, giving Michigan State the ball with 3:27 left.

Jaziun Patterson’s 2-yard touchdown run with an extra point made it 31-all with 1:17 left.

Patterson scored a third touchdown in overtime and coach Pat Fitzgerald went for 2 points and the win. The Spartans lined up in a wildcat formation and tossed the ball to quarterback Alessio Milivojevic, whose pass short of the end zone fell incomplete.

“We were just so beat up on defense that to go for 2 in the end was a no-brainer,” Fitzgerald said.

Illinois quarterback Katin Houser, who threw for a touchdown pass and ran for a score against one of his former teams, was injured while making a tackle on an interception return in the third quarter.

Clayton threw passes for the first time at Illinois, including a 14-yard throw to Collin Dixon early in the fourth quarter for his ninth receiving touchdown this season, and a 2-point conversion created a 14-point lead.

Behind the call

The Spartans surprised Illinois with an onside kick in the fourth quarter and a video review determined receiver Samson Gash recovered it. Gash, though, was flagged for being offside.

“I’ve never seen a review go and then come back and review it again and change,” Bielema said.

While TV replays appeared to show he was not offside, Fitzgerald could not challenge the call.

“We were not offside,” Fitzgerald said. “I was told you couldn’t review being onside on the kick.”

The takeaway

Illinois: Houser hurt his left hand and will be out indefinitely.

“I do know he had something broken in his hand, so we’ll try to gather information as best we can there,” Bielema said. “Didn’t say it was out for the year, but he’ll be out for obviously a considerable amount of time.”

Houser was 20 of 29 for 194 yards with a touchdown pass, interception and rushing score. After starting college with the Mel Tucker-led Spartans in 2022, he spent the last two seasons at East Carolina.

Michigan State: After averaging fewer than nine points over the previous three games and being held to seven points in the first half, the offense suddenly showed signs of life with 24 points in the second half in a potentially positive sign.

“We’re going to get this going in the right direction,” Fitzgerald said. “We didn’t get the win, but we’re seeing growth.”

Up next

Illinois: After a bye, host No. 13 Oregon on Oct. 24.

Michigan State: Host Northwestern, Fitzgerald's former team, on Saturday.