3 Winners, Losers from Michigan State's Latest Loss at UCLA

Hit the “sim to offseason” button, already.

Michigan State football is now 2-6 overall and 0-5 during Big Ten play following a 28-10 loss at No. 9 UCLA on Saturday afternoon. With injuries aplenty and this game being against a high-caliber opponent, there really isn’t even much to blow up over or truly declare. 

Alas, here are three players or areas whose stock got a nice bump in Pasadena, and then three others that didn’t fare quite as well.

Winners

S Devin Vaught

Boundary-side safety Devin Vaught was already considered one of the best parts of Michigan State’s defense entering Saturday. He was the team’s leading tackler through seven total games and has been one of the few real bright spots for MSU this season.

The first half from Vaught was about as good as it gets. Michigan State entered this game with only three takeaways (one of which was a Vaught interception). Vaught forced a pair of them in this one. His first takeaway was just him taking the ball right out of UCLA’s Anthony Woods’ hands and returning it 56 yards. That set up MSU’s offense for a touchdown.

Vaught’s second stopped a UCLA drive that felt destined for points. He punched it out of Jaivian Thomas’ grip, and the ball bounced right to Nikai Martinez’s arms for a 56-yard return.

Now, the worry is about Vaught’s status. He left the game during the second half with an apparent leg injury. 

S Nikai Martinez

Martinez also seemed to have a much-needed positive performance on Saturday. He hasn’t been as good this year as he was in 2024 or during his limited action in 2025, but this game felt a little more like what Michigan State needed. 

The fumble recovery and return from Martinez is the highlight that stands out — one could nitpick that he should’ve taken it for a touchdown, especially when the Spartans’ offense gave the ball back — but Martinez also looked like an improved tackler during this game, too.

QB Leo Hannan

Backup (and traditional QB4) Leo Hannan also made a really nice statement late during this one. Kayd Coffman flashed a couple of nice things during his first career start, but ultimately struggled — understandably — against UCLA’s defense. 

Hannan got a chance to show something late in the third quarter and during the fourth. He finished up his day in relief as the team’s leading passer, going 9-for-15 through the air for 67 yards and one pick on an underthrown deep ball. Hannan led a scoring drive for a field goal at one point in the final frame. It wasn’t entirely against a soft UCLA defense either; he stood strong against a couple of blitzes that the Bruins dialed up. 

Losers

RB Kenneth Williams

Yes, Kenneth Williams had the offense’s touchdown during the first half, but that was more play design and an issue on UCLA’s end than anything he did. Williams was thrust into a lot of action on Saturday after Marvis Parrish got hurt during the opening moments, meaning Michigan State was down its top three running backs.

The opening moment was a Williams mistake. He took a kickoff 4-5 yards deep in the endzone and quickly got dropped at the 15-yard line. Then, during the second quarter, Williams fumbled inside his own red zone. UCLA’s defense scooped that up, and the Bruins’ offense quickly capitalized with seven points. Williams finished his day as the quasi-starter with X carries for X yards.

OT Rakeem Johnson

This also seemed like a tough day out there for offensive tackle Rakeem Johnson. He’s had to deal with constant switches between left and right tackle, but he’s shown that he can play better than he did on Saturday.

Michigan State’s offensive tackles were going to need to be excellent during this one with Coffman starting. That wasn’t the case, despite the team getting Ben Murawski back from an injury that kept him out last week against Northwestern.

MSU’s Injury Situation (Again)

Very few teams have needed a bye week like MSU has needed a bye week. Michigan State saw Parrish, offensive guard Nick Sharpe, star defensive tackle Ben Roberts, and Vaught all leave this game.

No team, no matter how well-constructed, could realistically survive as many injuries as the Spartans have dealt with this year. It’s tough to know when guys will return with Pat Fitzgerald’s frequent denials of injury-related questions. HD television may not have been a thing the last time Michigan State football had decent injury luck for a season, but this season feels especially bad.