Instant Recap: Michigan State Spartans Takes Down Michigan, 15-6
· Yahoo Sports
From early on in this game, and as many people already knew, it was clear that this was a game between two not good teams. Unfortunately for us Spartan fans, we have had a couple unlucky breaks while tonight’s opponent has had some good fortune in their season. Watching the two teams in the first half, one would imagine their records were closer than the reality.
Michigan State got the ball first and moved the chains one time before punting.
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On their first defensive stand, Michigan State got a turnover when safety Devin Vaught came down with a pick after a pass went off an um receiver’s finger tips.
Starting a yard inside um territory, the Spartans reached 4th & 2 on the first series. Coach Fitzgerald decided to be aggressive, and the play call was for a deep shot. Personally, I would have rather punted here to try pinning an unimpressive offense deep. Predictably, the deep shot did not pay off. Receiver Bryson Williams had a chance at it but dropped the pass.
The two teams traded punts on their next possessions, totaling 17 yards of offense between them. On um’s ensuing drive, they had their best drive of the half, moving 71 yards in 13 plays over six and a half minutes. They reached the MSU 7, but a 3rd & 1 run lost a yard and brought out the field goal unit. The kick went off the near side upright and bounced out, keeping the game with no points on the board.
Again, the two teams traded punts. Getting the ball right at the 50, the Spartans marched all the way to the 3-yard line before having to settle for a field goal, which Liam Boyd made. Just like that, the Spartans were ahead.
MSU then forced a 3-and-out. Chrishon McCray muffed the punt reception but retrieved the fumble, and MSU took over at their own 44. MSU picked up a couple first downs, the second on a 35-yard pass to McCray that got the Spartans down to the 13. A bogus offensive pass interference penalty in the endzone pushed MSU back near the 20 and eventually led to another FG try, which Boyd comfortably made.
There was only time for a kneel-down after the kickoff, and MSU took a 6-0 lead to the break. Our defense only gave up 78 total yards through two quarters.
MSU started the second half on defense, and after giving up a first down on the first play, forced a punt. Unfortunately for us, that punt was allowed to land and it flatlined at the 1-yard line, pinning Alessio Milivojevic and the MSU offense against the goalline.
Starting from the 1-yard line, Michigan State had, perhaps, their most impressive drive since week 2. The Spartans held the ball for 10:41 of game clock, ran 17 plays, and picked up 6 first downs. There were passes, runs, wildcats, and overall dominance from MSU. After reaching the um 12, the offense finally came to a halt with a run for a loss and then a sack. Liam Boyd came on and hit his 3rd field goal, this one from 38 yards, to put MSU up 9-0.
On um’s ensuing drive, the referees started trying to help the home team. After it looked like MSU was going to force a 3-and-out, a penalty was called for “illegal substitution” because an MSU defender had the heel of his shoe still on the field when the ball was snapped. So um got another crack at a 3rd down play, on which MSU was called for pass interference (after a called reception was overturned). On the next play, um ran the ball through the middle of the Spartan defense, but Lafaele punched the ball out late and Nikai Martinez recovered the loose ball. Of course, after the play, MSU was penalized 15 yards for celebrating.
After a 28-yard catch-and-run by Chrishon McCray, MSU went backwards for a few plays and ended up punting, but Rhys Dakin pinned um at their own 7 with 12:01 to play.
After giving up a first down to start the drive, the Spartan defense then tackled um for a loss of a yard on a running play, followed that up with a sack by Derrick Simmons, and then got an interception from NiJhay Burt on a deep shot at the MSU 38.
Back on offense, the highlight of the drive was a 36-yard play to Bryson Williams. The drive lasted 10 plays and over 5 minutes of game clock, and ended in Boyd’s fourth field goal to put MSU up 12-0.
With just over 5 minutes left, um needed to do something quick. Instead, they held the ball for two plays, fumbling at their 37-yard line after a catch. NiJhay Burt forced and recovered the fumble.
The Spartans ran the ball three times, then brought Boyd on to hit a 49-yard kick for a 15-0 lead.
The MSU defense then forced a turnover on downs on the first series of um’s possession… but a pass interference gave um an extra life. After two incompletions and an 11-yard sack, MSU surrendered a 22-yard pass on 4th down. An 11-yard run moved the chains again for um. Two plays later, they hit a 31-yard pass to the 1, and then scored a play later to ruin the Spartan shutout. Now trailing 15-6, um elected to go for two, but Kenny Soares shut that down with an amazing spin move to get home for the sack.
The kickoff was an obvious onside attempt, but the ball only went 6 yards before hitting an um player, giving MSU the ball. Three kneeldowns later, it was game over and VICTORY FOR MSU!!!!
Sure, it would have been even sweeter to get the shutout, but this was still a dominant win against our rival in a game no one, including myself and many here among TOC Nation, was really giving us much of a chance to win. For the game, MSU outgained um 298-192 and controlled the clock with over 38 minutes of possession. The defense created four turnovers. As Pat Fitzgerald said after the game, “Paul Bunyan is coming home to East Lansing!”
While it can still be said that this was a game between two not good teams, it is clear that um is much more not good than MSU.
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