"I really have a great deal of respect for the way he works and goes about his process on a weekly basis," MSU offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren said at the Oct. 7 media availability. "He’s been awesome that way."

Michigan marked the fourth straight week Milivojevic led his team to a score in the fourth quarter after replacing junior quarterback Aidan Chiles.

The first instance came against Nebraska, where he found himself on the field twice. His initial appearance was in the second quarter when Chiles left the game with an injury while the offense was in the red zone — a huge situation for a backup who had yet to complete his first career pass. Milivojevic stepped up and finished the drive with a touchdown.

Chiles eventually returned, but the Spartans went down 38-21 in the fourth quarter, leading to Milivojevic taking the field again. He led another touchdown scoring drive, this time 75 yards over seven plays in 2:26, sealing an impressive performance.

Against UCLA, Chiles went down with an injury in MSU’s opening drive of the second half, forcing Milivojevic into the rest of the game. He struggled early but eventually put together a nine-play, 75-yard drive lasting 3:35, ending in a touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Nick Marsh — only the Spartans’ second score of the game.

The following week, Milivojevic took snaps once again, this time with under two minutes left in a 38-13 loss to Indiana. Despite rainy conditions, the redshirt freshman drove 59 yards down the field in eight plays and just 1:23, ending with a 34-yard field goal with 33 seconds left.

Last Saturday against Michigan told a similar story. The Spartans were down big with 2:48 to go when Milivojevic entered the game. Nine plays and 75 yards later, he led the offense to a touchdown in 2:41.

"I really like Alessio," redshirt senior center Matt Gulbin said at Tuesday’s media availability. "He takes control of the huddle, gets the call out, he’s decisive with it. I think he’s grown a lot since I’ve been here and he does a good job."

Though he has yet to play a complete game, Milivojevic has put together a respectable stat line: 281 yards passing, completing 59.5% of his passes with three touchdowns through the air and one rushing. That gives him a 144.6 passer rating, better than Chiles'— though the sample size is much smaller.

"Nobody really expects anything less or anything more from Alessio or Aidan. We just know he has to come in and do his job," senior wide receiver Omari Kelly said. "At the end of the day, the quarterback position has to perform."

Of course, most of Milivojevic’s success has come in "garbage time," but his stat line and consistent production late in games have raised questions among fans about whether he might be the spark MSU needs. That conversation has only grown louder after Chiles’ underwhelming performance against Michigan, where he completed 14 of 28 passes for 130 yards and no touchdowns.

Regardless of fans' opinions, only time will tell, as the coaches remain the ones making the decisions on Saturdays.

"We’re definitely looking at it and searching as coaches," MSU head coach Jonathan Smith said at Monday’s weekly press conference. "We’re evaluating as guys are growing and what gives us the best chance. … We need to find some more consistency and really just points from the offensive side."

MSU (3-5, 0-5 Big Ten) prepares for a pivotal matchup to try to keep its bowl hopes alive against Minnesota (5-3, 3-2) at Huntington Bank Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. Saturday on Big Ten Network.