LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska’s pressure continues to bother Michigan State football. And it finally got to quarterback Aidan Chiles. Even if the Spartans appear to have dodged a bullet for now.
The junior got slammed to the turf by the Huskers’ Elijah Jeudy with 14:38 left in the second quarter after running back Brandon Tullis missed a blitz pickup.
Trainers examined Chiles, who had his helmet on his head but tilted off his face. He walked off on his own power with them, and Alessio MIlivojevic replaced the starter for the second-and-goal play at Nebraska’s 16 and immediately completed a 10-yard pass to Nick Marsh, his first college completion.
Without Chiles in the game, Milivojevic, a redshirt freshman, finished the drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Jack Velling, and MSU cut Nebraska’s lead to 14-7 with 12:52 left in the second quarter.
The MSU scoring drive, aided by two key pass interference penalties by Nebraska, was a stunning 17 plays and 9:45 elapsed, covering 75 yards.
After MSU’s defense forced the Huskers to punt from near midfield, Chiles put his helmet back on and returned with the offense with 10:04 to play before halftime.
Chiles was evaluated for an injury in the tent on the sideline for about 5 minutes before apparently getting the OK.
Like many teams around the country, it’s already been a season with quite a few injuries for the Spartans, but Chiles is the one player they can’t lose.
MSU entered the game already down two starting offensive lineman in Luka Vincic and Stanton Ramil and big time playmakers Nick Marsh and Mahki Frazier have been banged up since the Youngstown State game.
In addition, starting linebacker Wayne Matthews III had one of the scarier injuries in recent memory for MSU football when the game vs. USC had to be stopped for him to get carted off the field and taken to the hospital. Thankfully Matthews was mostly OK and was able to fly back with the team and played vs. Nebraska.
The Spartans started the season 3-0 before a loss to USC in Week 4 that led into their bye week. After the Nebraska game, the Spartans will host UCLA for homecoming, a game MSU should be heavily favorited in.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Aidan Chiles injury update: Michigan State QB back in game after gnarly hit vs Nebraska
Reporting by Andrew Birkle and Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
