Terry McAulay rips officials for offsides call that wipes out Michigan State forced fumble vs. Michigan

NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay thought Michigan State caught a bad break from officials Saturday against Michigan. Just a couple of minutes into the third quarter, it appeared the Spartans got a big momentum play when Malcolm Bell blitzed past the blockers and got to quarterback Bryce Underwood, forcing a fumble.

However, the referees ruled that Bell was offsides before the play, which allowed him a head start in getting to Underwood. McAulay chimed in on the NBC broadcast, saying he didn’t see the same.

“I thought he timed it perfectly just like Todd (Blackledge) did,” he said. “If we look down the line, he does jump early but he’s a little bit off the line and the ball moves right when he gets to the neutral zone. I don’t think he was offside.”

This was called offsides on Michigan State negating a turnover 😬 pic.twitter.com/ZjWWGCzy17

— College Football Report (@CFBRep) October 26, 2025

The call ended up being costly for the Spartans on the scoreboard. Just three plays later, the Wolverines would score a touchdown to increase their lead to 17-7 on the very same drive.

Michigan scored again right before the end of the third quarter to take a 24-7 lead into the fourth. It all seemed to start going downhill for Michigan State with that offsides call that wiped out the fumble, and it’s safe to say the Spartans likely aren’t too happy with officials because of it.

As it stands now, it looks like the Wolverines will hang on to win their fourth straight game against the Spartans unless something changes drastically in the final quarter. If the score holds, MSU would fall to 3-5 (0-5 Big Ten) on the season.

Taylor Lewan predicted Michigan to ‘dominate’ Michigan State in East Lansing

Taylor Lewan of Bussin’ With The Boys appeared on Get Up on Thursday morning to offer his opinion on the Battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy. There, he declared that the Wolverines are going to dominate the Spartans, regardless of who’s at home for the game.

“Listen, Michigan is going to walk into East Lansing and they’re going to dominate this week,” Lewan said. “They’re going to be up by 21 points, they’re gonna score again, and they’re gonna go for two. I’ve already texted the correct people that I need to make sure that gets done.”

Lewan was an offensive lineman at Michigan from 2009 to 2013. That would have been for the end of the Rich Rodriguez era and into the Brady Hoke era, eventually becoming a first round pick. Admittedly, in his own day, the Wolverines didn’t exactly dominate the rivalry, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t confident in them now.

“I did go 1-3 vs. Michigan State,” Lewan admitted. “My senior year, we rushed for -48 rushing yards. So, haters, already beat you to the punch. Eminimed myself. I will say, different football team. Different cultures. East Lansing might no longer be a part of the country after this game.”

On3’s Dan Morrison contributed to this report.