“I love this team, I love everything about it,” Milivojevic said. “We’re going to get back to work as a team and do better.”

Milivojevic was given the opportunity to revive the Spartans’ season — and he didn’t blink. He led the offense down the field on its opening drive, going 51 yards in 4:27 to set up a 46-yard field goal attempt. The kick was missed, but the possession still showcased an impressive start.

The redshirt freshman finished with 301 passing yards, completing 18 of 24 passes and adding a touchdown — an encouraging performance after showing flashes late in recent games.

“We started on Sunday and verbalized to both of them that we’re going to give fifty-fifty reps, let them work,” MSU head coach Jonathan Smith said regarding the decision to start Milivojevic. “We felt like we needed a spark.”

The decision to start Milivojevic was seen as controversial early, as MSU entered halftime down 10-0. Some wondered if junior quarterback Aidan Chiles would return in the second half.

But Milivojevic wasn’t the problem — the Spartans’ offensive line was.

The unit allowed six sacks in the first half, leaving the offense without rhythm as its quarterback was constantly under pressure or on the turf.

That changed after halftime. The line allowed just one more sack the rest of the way, helping the offense find a rhythm built on explosive plays.

Milivojevic opened the second half with a 71-yard touchdown pass to graduate wide receiver Rodney Bullard Jr. He later connected with sophomore WR Nick Marsh for a 48-yard completion that set up another field goal attempt — a 23-yarder that missed.

Redshirt senior running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver also broke free for an 85-yard run that set up MSU’s go-ahead touchdown with 1:52 left in regulation. Those kinds of chunk plays had been missing from the Spartans’ offense all season.

On the other side of the ball, the MSU defense held strong, limiting the Golden Gophers to fewer than 300 total yards and allowing the Spartans to outgain them by 169.

Milivojevic’s breakout effort kept Michigan State competitive and pushed the game to overtime — but it wasn’t enough to end the skid.

“This group continues to battle, they want to rally and work together,” Smith said. “They love this game, they haven’t found results … but these are fighting and going and playing.”

The Spartans will now enter their second bye week of the season before hosting a struggling Penn State team on Nov. 15 for Senior Day at Spartan Stadium. At 3-6, MSU now finds itself in a must-win-out situation to remain bowl eligible.