Michigan State beat Toledo 30-20 in its Sept. 4 opener, but the win was not clean. Spartans quarterback Alessio Milivojevic told reporters Tuesday that the offense did its job most of the time, and that a handful of small mistakes kept the game close.

“Maybe it was 10 guys doing the right thing, one guy not, or maybe it was just a little bit of an errant throw or a little bit of a timing issue,” Milivojevic said.

Alessio Milivojevic Blames Himself for the Red Zone Stalls

Michigan State moved the ball all night and then stopped moving it once the field got short. The Spartans reached the end zone twice and sent Liam Boyd out for five field goals, including a 51-yarder that finally put the game away. Milivojevic put the drives that died on himself.

“I think just overall there’s a few in the red zone that I want back, because obviously like I said, a few of those drives stalled and I think most of the time it was on me, and I need to finish those drives,” Milivojevic said.

Why the Explosive Plays Never Came

Milivojevic said Toledo kept its safeties high, which took the deep shots off the table. He still put that on himself, saying he could have taken the short throw underneath and let his receivers work against the softer coverage.

The Spartans never broke one. Their longest play of the night went 26 yards, a Rodney Bullard Jr. catch. Toledo’s look handed Michigan State easy completions and runs underneath, but it also kept the Spartans from the kind of play that flips a quarter. Depending on how Eastern Michigan lines up, those chances could open back up. Michigan State plays the Eagles Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on BTN.

How the Coaches Are Drilling Out the Mistakes

“One thing Coach Sheridan preaches is takes no talent, TNT. So, anytime, like a pre-snap error, that takes no talent. It’s all something you can control,” Milivojevic said. “I think that just throughout the fall camp, throughout summer, throughout spring, winter. We’ve preached that very highly; I think it’s something that we took to heart, and something that we went on and executed.”

It showed up on the stat sheet. Michigan State’s offense was flagged twice against Toledo, both for holding, with no false starts or other pre-snap fouls. The costly one came at the goal line, a hold that pushed the Spartans from the Toledo 3 back to the 13. That is the kind of self-inflicted yardage Milivojevic is talking about when he says the drives were on him.

“Coach Sheridan and Coach McNulty, since I’ve been here, and Morgan [Bequeaith] as well, they’ve helped me just continue to go through my process in every single play,” Milivojevic said. “Making sure that, okay, what did I see? Were my eyes right? Were they in the right spot? And I think that’s just them hounding on me to make sure that I’m getting it every single play and not taking a play off, is something that helped me.”

The Tape Doesn’t Lie

Offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan, quarterbacks coach John McNulty and assistant quarterbacks coach Morgan Bequeaith run Milivojevic through the same questions after every rep, whether the play worked or not. Milivojevic echoed what head coach Pat Fitzgerald has been saying: anyone can get into a game if they show it in practice. Starters are not locked in, and the players behind them have a path to snaps.

“The tape doesn’t lie. Every single day you go to practice, you have to show that you’re still that guy who’s the starter. Because if, like, a backup’s playing better that week, they’re going to get some snaps,” Milivojevic said.