Michigan State falls to Illinois 38-16, marking 3rd straight loss
The Michigan State Spartans have now lost six of seven games following Saturday's 38-16 loss to Illinois.
Illinois running back Josh McCray ran for three touchdowns and Luke Altmyer threw two TD passes, leading their team to victory.
McCray had nine carries for 61 yards, Altmyer completed 19 of 32 passes for 231 yards and Pat Bryant caught four passes for a career-high 135 yards and a TD in his final home game as the Illini (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten) ended a two-game losing streak.
Aidan Chiles was 23-of-40 passing for 256 yards and two TDs and Aziah Johnson and Nate Carter caught TD passes for the Spartans (4-6, 2-5), who have lost six of seven.
Michigan State didn't have a sack for the fifth straight game. Illinois sacked Chiles five times.
The Illini finished 6-1 at home. It's the first time they've won six home games in a season since 2001, when they captured the Big Ten title and played in the 2002 Sugar Bowl.
After falling behind 21-9 at halftime, the Spartans closed within 21-16 on a 5-yard TD pass from Chiles to Carter.
Illinois' David Alano responded with a 37-yard field goal in the third quarter, and McCray scored on a pair of 1-yard dives in the fourth quarter.
Altmyer threw a 57-yard TD pass to Bryant and a 4-yard TD pass to Zakhari Franklin, and McCray ran 11 yards for a TD for the Illini in the first half.
It was Bryant's eighth TD reception of the season, and his career-long catch. It also was Altmyer's career-long pass completion.
Michigan State scored on a 52-yard TD pass from Chiles to Johnson in the first quarter and a 38-yard field goal by Jonathan Kim with 1:02 left in the half.
Kim missed the PAT after the Chiles-to-Johnson TD pass. It was the first time he'd missed a PAT in his college career. He was 3 of 3 at North Carolina and is 34 of 35 at Michigan State.
The Spartans have no margin for error if they want to play in a bowl game in Jonathan Smith's first season as coach. They need to win their final two regular-season games, home games vs. Purdue and Rutgers, to be bowl-eligible.
Michigan State hosts Purdue on Friday.
