On a blustery afternoon in East Lansing, Mich., fans at Spartan Stadium saw MSU return home for a non-conference tussle against the BYU Cougars. The Spartans couldn’t overcome the injuries on defense and dropped their third straight game by a score of 31-14.
Senior quarterback Tyler O’Connor was replaced early in the fourth quarter by junior Damion Terry. Terry went 2-for-3 on pass attempts and threw an interception on his first drive, but picked up on his second drive, which resulted in a Terry one-yard touchdown on a quarterback sneak. Terry finished the game 6-for-11 for 63 yards and 29 yards rushing with that score.
O’Connor’s final stat line was 7-of-11 for 58 yards before his replacement. He threw eight passes in his first series which resulted in a touchdown and just three more attempts all game. MSU’s offense only had 206 yards of total offense (85 rushing, 121 passing).
The Spartans held the NCAA’s second leading rusher Jamaal Williams to 163 yards on 30 attempts in the game after rushing for 286 and five touchdowns last game, but the 26-year old BYU quarterback Taysom Hill went 18-for-27 for 138 yards and one touchdown as well as rushing for 47 yards and a score. Both helped lead their team back from a 7-3 halftime deficit to victory.
The Spartans opening offensive drive was executed to perfection, going 15 plays and taking 7:03 off the clock, the longest drive numbers of the season for MSU in those categories. The 8-yard run from Holmes, who got the start over sophomore LJ Scott, was all MSU’s offense could muster up on the scoreboard.
Holmes finished the game with 15 carries and 57 yards with one touchdown. Scott ended up with just nine yards on three attempts. Sophomore Madre London only had one carry for four yards.
At halftime, MSU led 7-3 following a BYU field-goal as the second quarter clock expired. O’Connor threw the ball nine times in the first half, eight on the first drive. The second half saw little change, with O’Connor’s final stat line being 7-of-11 passing for 58 yards before being replaced by Terry
BYU took the lead with 4:52 left in the third quarter with Hill completing a four-yard touchdown to Colby Pearson. MSU’s defense in Malik McDowell’s first series back following his first-half suspension couldn’t get off the field, allowing the Cougars to convert all three of their third-down attempts on that drive.
BYU added on following another strong drive, resulting in a 10-yard TD scamper from Hill following another fourth down conversion for MSU, and after Terry’s interception was returned deep into MSU territory, Williams scored his ninth rushing touchdown of the year for the Cougars. He added another with just 1:59 left in the game to extend the Cougars lead.
MSU’s defense was without linebackers Riley Bullough and Jon Reschke again, as well as defensive tackle Raequan Williams. Different lineman like freshman Josh King, sophomore Robert Bowers and offensive lineman Brandon Clemons got a lot more action up front, with Clemons even starting in place of the suspended McDowell.
For the second straight game, the MSU defense failed to get a sack. They gave up 398 yards of total offense (260 rushing and 138 throwing) and struggled again on getting off the field, letting BYU convert 10 of 16 on third and convert two fourth-downs deep in its territory that both resulted in points for BYU later in the drive.
Statistically, MSU was led defensively by junior Montae Nicholson (17 tackles) and junior linebackers Chris Frey and Shane Jones (13 tackles a piece).
MSU takes on Northwestern next weekend at Spartan Stadium for homecoming.
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