The Spartans threw everything at Rutgers Saturday except the kitchen sink on their way to victory.
Touchdowns coming from a kickoff return and an interception helped MSU gain control of a high-scoring game that saw 52 points in the first half alone.
Rutgers was able to keep up until halftime, but failed to produce anything significant offensively in the second half. MSU won, 44-28, improving its record to 2-0.
The Scarlet Knights scored 21 points and amassed 227 yards offensively in the first half but managed only one touchdown in the second half - a score with 5:09 left in the game.
Head coach John L. Smith wasn't comfortable winning the game after trailing early, citing the need for improvement in practice and not making so many crucial mistakes.
"I wasn't pleased with our practice this week," Smith said. "There were some distractions. We made three crucial mistakes which gave them 21 points. We can't afford to do that. We must become more disciplined."
Not only did the Spartans turn the ball over three times, including an interception Rutgers returned for a touchdown, but they also committed 13 penalties, totaling 113 yards.
Senior defensive end Greg Taplin acknowledged that if the Spartans play the same way against upcoming opponents, the games will become tighter.
"Mistakes happen," Taplin said. "But we have to correct those mistakes early in the season. We can't let those things happen next week because Louisiana Tech is a very good football team. That's something that we can't do."
Senior quarterback Jeff Smoker led the Spartans, or Aggies as they were known in tribute to the 1000th recorded MAC/MSC/MSU game, completing 21 of his 32 passes for 351 yards and three touchdowns. It was the sixth time in his career he eclipsed 300 yards.
Smoker said he was happy with the way the team came back to grab the victory after trailing three times in the first half.
"It's positive to know we fought back," he said. "We have to keep guys headed in the right direction, no matter what the scoreboard says. After they scored, we just said, they got one, now let's get ours. We made some big plays to get back in it."
Sophomore wide receiver Agim Shabaj once again led the receiving corps, finishing as Smoker's favorite target with seven receptions for 145 yards and a touchdown, which came on a 62-yard pass in the first quarter.
But Smoker's most potent target on the day wasn't even a receiver.
Sophomore running back Jaren Hayes tallied his first two career touchdown receptions to go with his 96 receiving yards. Hayes took over for junior running back Tyrell Dortch after he sprained his ankle in the second quarter.
Hayes also had 48 yards rushing on 13 carries.
After the game he said it didn't matter how or where he played, he just wanted to help the team win.
"I think I played pretty good," he said. "In the first touchdown I scored, I was just praying that I was going to catch the ball and try and get some yards. I just want to go out there and help the team win. It doesn't matter if I'm running or catching."
Midway through the second quarter junior cornerback DeAndra Cobb returned a kickoff for a touchdown to tie the game at 21.
The Spartans rolled over Rutgers from that point on, scoring the next 27 points.
Senior bandit Monquiz Wedlow opened up the second half scoring with a touchdown off an interception.
In the second half Hayes said he and sophomore running back Jason Teague, who finished the game as the leading rusher with 87 yards on 16 carries, focused on finishing Rutgers off with a solid running game after not doing so in the first half.
"We wanted to grind it down their throats," Hayes said.
On defense, Taplin and his linemates held their opponent to less than 10 rushing yards for the second straight week. But he said he was surprised by the passing game of Rutgers, which was opposite of what the Spartans expected.
"Last week we played for the pass and (Western) ran and this week we played for the run and (Rutgers) passed," Taplin said.
The Scarlet Knights finished with 266 yards passing but only -2 yards on the ground. Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano said his team played well, but MSU proved to be too overwhelming in the end.
"That was a very talented team that we played against," Schiano said. "There's a lot of talent on that sideline. I thought our kids went toe-to-toe with them and did a great job. We made some mistakes that a young team makes and I think they did a very good job coaching."
The MSU kicking game also played well. Junior placekicker Dave Rayner nailed three field goals in three tries and redshirt freshman Brandon Fields averaged 52.3 yards on his six punts, including one that went 74 yards.
Both backup quarterbacks junior Damon Dowdell and Drew Stanton entered the game in the fourth quarter. Stanton fumbled his first collegiate snap, giving Rutgers the opportunity to grab some late points.
