Apparent blown call on onside kick costly for Michigan State football

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Just when Michigan State football looked to be gaining momentum, a painful – and arguably wrong – call sapped the strength of the Spartans.

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After scoring with just under eight minutes left to make it a 31-24 game, MSU coach Pat Fitzgerald opted for some trickery, calling for an onside kick. Freshman Samson Gash sprinted roughly 15 yards down the sideline and dove to catch the ball to get posession for the Spartans during the fouth quarter of the MSU football game vs. Illinois at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026.

But instead of MSU possessing the ball, officials threw a flag: offsides on Gash, wiping out the recovery. But was Gash offsides?

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He appeared to have been half a yard behind the kicker when the ball was booted, as the television booth and replay expert Mike Pereira noted during the telecast.

It nearly got worse for the Spartans; a replay review initially suggested Gash was out of bounds when he caught the ball, which would have been a 5-yard penalty and given Illinois the ball without a rekick.

But further review showed Gash was inbounds on the recovery, allowing MSU to rekick.

The Spartans are in Year 1 under Pat Fitzgerald after a tumultuous six-season stretch under Mel Tucker and Jonathan Smith's leadership, which included a brief interim stint under Harlon Barnett.

It hasn't been smooth sailing for Fitzgerald, either, as he tries to turnaround a program where winning has become a challenge.

After the game against Illinois on Saturday, the Spartans will host Northwestern on Saturday, Oct. 17, before traveling to Pasadena to play UCLA at the Rose Bowl.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Apparent blown call on onside kick costly for Michigan State football

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