“I thought it was a great win for our football team,” MSU head coach Mark Dantonio said. “I think when you win games like this, when I was down in Columbus, you start to build a sense of confidence that you can do it in these close games.”

MSU nearly lost control of the game when a 4th and 1 run was stopped at the Pittsburgh 24-yard line with just over four minutes remaining. Senior defensive end Jonal Saint-Dic, though, stripped Panthers wide receiver T.J. Porter on the ensuing play and senior defensive end Ervin Baldwin pounced on the ball.

“I was just grabbing at everything, pulling arms, just grabbing everything,” Baldwin said.

The Spartans defense dictated the game’s pace, forcing two interceptions, two fumbles, registering five sacks and preventing Pittsburgh from converting on third down on all 12 of their opportunities.

Senior strong safety Travis Key gave MSU momentum and a 14-7 lead when he picked off Pittsburgh quarterback Kevan Smith’s pass at the Pittsburgh 31-yard line and returned it for a touchdown with 11 minutes left in the second quarter.

“My teammates made it easy for me,” Key said. “The corner came in, made a good break on the ball, just left it up there to hang, I grabbed it and ran it in. I really didn’t have to do too much work.”

Junior free safety Otis Wiley’s interception at the end of the first quarter set up senior running back Jehuu Caulcrick’s 2-yard touchdown run to open the scoring at 7-0.

The Panthers tied the game on the next play from scrimmage when Pittsburgh running back LeSean McCoy picked up 64 of his 172 yards for a touchdown.
Sophomore kicker Brett Swenson added a field goal with 2:54 remaining to give MSU a 17-13 cushion.

With the Spartans’ five sacks Saturday, the team has now recorded 17 sacks this season. That total is one more than MSU earned all of last year.

Pittsburgh linebacker Scott McKillop gathered 17 tackles.

The Spartans resume play next Saturday against Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.