Ranked 116th defensively out 117 teams in Division 1-A, Purdue shut down the Spartans offense from the first quarter en route to its first Big Ten win, 28-21, at Ross-Ade Stadium.

"We started out great," junior quarterback Drew Stanton said. "Then we had a little bit of a lapse and that falls on the quarterback to get everybody motivated and ready to play."

Just like they did against Northwestern, the Spartans got off to a fast start, scoring on their first drive on a 16-yard screen pass from Stanton to senior running back Jason Teague.

But the Spartans could not maintain the momentum, as MSU went three-and-out on its next drive and the Boilermakers capitalized when running back Jerod Void ripped off a 64-yard touchdown run on the second play of the drive.

MSU was able to respond on its next drive, as Stanton plunged 1 yard into the end zone to give the lead back to the Spartans, 14-7.

After forcing Purdue to punt, MSU had a chance to increase its lead, but freshman kicker Matt Haughey missed a 26-yard field goal.

Having tried junior John Goss, junior Kyle Mayer and now Haughey, where does MSU head coach John L. Smith go with the kicking game from here?

"I don't know," he said meekly.

Purdue tied the game on a 39-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Curtis Painter to wide receiver Dorien Bryant and appeared to be driving to take the lead on its next drive with time running down in the half.

Then, just like in the Ohio State game, late-half chaos struck MSU. But this time, in a good way.

On the 13th play of the drive, MSU sophomore bandit Sir Darean Adams sacked Painter, who fumbled at the 16-yard line. It was picked up by junior linebacker David Herron Jr. who returned it to the 35-yard line, where he fumbled while looking to pitch the ball. His fumble was picked up by senior safety Eric Smith, who took it the remaining 65 yards for a score to give the Spartans a 21-14 edge, and, so it would seem, the momentum going into the second half.

Unlike Ohio State, which was able to capitalize on the momentum of its blocked field goal, MSU came out flat in the second half. They allowed the Boilermakers to piece together a 14 play, 76-yard drive that resulted in a 2-yard touchdown run by Void.

"We have to step up defensively," John L. Smith said. "We can't come out and let them take the ball down 75 yards on us and tie it back up."

MSU had the chance to retake the lead, but with lost confidence in the kicking game, the Spartans were forced to go for it on fourth down deep in Purdue territory.

Stanton dropped back and threw a fade into the end zone for junior wide receiver Jerramy Scott, but the ball was knocked out of Scott's arms and the Boilermakers took over.

"Everybody was telling me to let it go," Scott said. "I just kept thinking about that play and was hoping to get another one."

Void's third touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter gave Purdue a 28-21 lead, but the MSU defense was able to hold from there on out.

MSU got the ball back at its own 18-yard line with 42 seconds left, but had no timeouts left as they were all used on defense.

Stanton completed three passes, two to freshman running back Javon Ringer, to get down to Purdue's 34-yard line, but was intercepted by Bernard Pollard when he overthrew Scott, ending the game.

"Their game plan seemed to be much better than ours," John L. Smith said.

Now the Spartans need to win one of their last two games to become bowl eligible. MSU travels to Minnesota next week and then has Big Ten leader Penn State at home to close out the season.

"I could care less about a bowl," Smith said. "I do care about our seniors. That's what's important, getting them to go out as winners."