The junior safety set the tone for a standout defensive performance for the Spartans in a 26-13 victory over Western Michigan, catching a lateral pass off an interception by senior safety Jarius Jones and later reeling in an acrobatic one-handed interception of his own in the first half.

The Spartans also picked up a touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 16-yard fumble recovery by sophomore defensive end Shilique Calhoun to give the team a 26-7 lead, MSU’s largest of the night.

With a pair of defensive touchdowns, the Spartans’ defense outscored the team’s offense, 14-12, after the unit did not have a single touchdown during the 2012 season.

“Sacks and turnovers were two things we emphasized,” MSU football head coach Mark Dantonio said. “I thought we came up with them. I thought we tackled pretty well. Like I said, we blew the one coverage, other than that I thought we played very, very solid, honestly. We played very, very well defensively.”

Drummond said the scoring was part of a major defensive effort during the offseason, emphasizing getting greater returns out of turnovers — an effort that carried MSU to victory in an otherwise sloppy affair.

“We’ve harped on scoring touchdowns and getting turnovers all offseason,” Drummond said. “For us to actually see that and for it to actually happen, it feels great. It feels like we’re taking a step towards things we needed to correct last season but we obviously have things we need to work on.”

Shuffling between senior quarterback Andrew Maxwell and sophomore Connor Cook, MSU’s offense struggled to find a rhythm during the game, which was most evident in the six drops by the wide receiver corps.

However, Drummond kept the Spartans in the game and electrified the crowd with his one-handed interception grab, reminiscent of former Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson’s “Superman” interception against MSU in 1997.

The play drew the praise of MSU defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi, who said the one-handed interception deserved to be ESPN SportsCenter’s No. 1 play of the weekend. That opinion became reality during Friday night’s episode of ESPN’s flagship.

“Kurtis Drummond has, and if that isn’t in the top 10 all weekend, I don’t know what is,” Narduzzi said. “It probably should be the number one play in the country. That was an unbelievable catch and then we get a hit on the quarterback and we talk about getting sacks on the quarterback and getting turnovers on the quarterback.”

The Spartans now have a week to prepare for South Florida, who is set to visit Spartan Stadium on Sept. 7 (noon, ESPN2 or ESPNU).