Something unusual happened Saturday at Spartan Stadium.
The MSU defense came to play. It forced a turnover and brought pressure on the quarterback. It made plays in the backfield and aggressively pursued the ball.
But the Spartans also made their share of usual mistakes, including secondary breakdowns and dropped passes. And with MSU's offense struggling to put points on the board, the defensive effort just wasn't enough. Purdue's 18-yard field goal with less than five minutes left would be the game's final scoring, and the Boilermakers escaped Spartan Stadium with a 17-15 win.
"We were fighting out there. It's good to see we're fighting out there, but dang! We've got to come up with a victory," junior linebacker Kaleb Thornhill said. "We had a chance to win the game and just couldn't pull it out."
The Spartans (4-6 overall, 1-5 Big Ten) got the ball back with a chance to drive and attempt a game-winning field goal, but the offense couldn't move the ball, picking up just one first down on the drive.
When senior quarterback Drew Stanton's fourth-down pass fell incomplete, any chance of a victory was squashed.
Stanton struggled to find a rhythm, finishing only 16-of-29 for 161 yards and one touchdown. He also threw a costly interception that led to Casey Welch's game-winning field goal.
"It was just one of those throws that kind of got away from me," Stanton said. "It's definitely one of those throws that I'd like to have back for sure."
Early on, it looked like MSU was turning in a performance similar to the prior week's 46-21 loss to Indiana. It took Purdue (6-4, 3-3) only five plays to drive 72 yards and take a 7-0 lead.
But the defense tightened up after that, led by two first-half sacks. Senior defensive tackle Clifton Ryan chased down and sacked Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter, drawing a roar from the crowd and forcing the Boilermakers into a 50-yard field goal that they missed.
It wasn't until the last drive of the half that Purdue was able to score again. Purdue used a no-huddle offense to go 71 yards in just 1:13 to take a 14-6 halftime lead.
"We knew they were going to come out with the two-minute offense, but it was just real quick, they were coming off the ball real quick," sophomore free safety Otis Wiley said. "They were getting us in the wrong positions at the wrong time."
MSU's special teams stole the show to start the second half. True freshman kicker Brett Swenson hit a 40-yard field goal on the half's first drive to pull the Spartans within five. It was his third field goal of the game, including a career-long 46-yarder in the second quarter.
The Spartans followed it up with a well-executed onside kick that caught Purdue by surprise, but MSU was unable to turn it into points. But again, MSU's defense picked up the team, forcing two punts and a turnover on Purdue's next three drives.
Other than Purdue's two touchdown drives, MSU held the Boilermakers to just 220 yards of offense and recorded seven tackles for loss.
"Besides the first drive and the last one before half, we played pretty well," Thornhill said. "But on those two drives, you can't make those mistakes. We had a chance as a defense to not let them score at all."
The offense finally got on track in the fourth quarter giving MSU a 15-14 lead.
But the lead didn't last, as Stanton's interception opened the door for Purdue's game-winning field goal.
After the game, head coach John L. Smith did not speak to reporters. Smith was fired on Wednesday but will coach the team's two remaining games.
MSU's next game is Saturday at Spartan Stadium against Minnesota. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.
