“Defense was dominant,” head coach Mark Dantonio said. “Anytime your defense is dominant, it’s going to be very tough to lose that football game.”

On the Spartans’ first drive — seven plays and 80 yards — they quickly moved up the field with the help of a 54-yard pass from senior quarterback Kirk Cousins to senior wide receiver B.J. Cunningham — who finished three-for-67 yards.

Sophomore running back Le’Veon Bell — who was eight-for-81 yards with three touchdowns — finished up with his first touchdown of the day at 11:44 in the first.

Entering the second quarter with a 7-0 lead, Cousins — who was 13-for-22 for 213 yards
— threw an interception, but MSU quickly got the ball back. On the Chippewas’ second down, senior safety Trenton Robinson grabbed MSU’s first interception and returned it for 34 yards.

“We need something to light a fire,” Robinson said. “We’ve just got to light a fire, and once we do, we’ll get going and (have) enthusiasm.”

The interception did spark the team as the change of possession gave the Spartans their second touchdown. On the 63-yard five-play drive, Bell accounted for 59 yards, finishing with a five-yard carry for the touchdown at 10:05 in the second.

Central Michigan’s next possession resulted in another interception, this time by sophomore safety Isaiah Lewis with pressure from redshirt freshman defensive end Marcus Rush. Lewis returned it for a 37-yard touchdown to give MSU a 21-0 lead with 7:47 left in the half.

MSU continued its solid defense when sophomore linebacker Max Bullough gave his team a scoring opportunity with an interception at Central Michigan’s 33-yard line. The Spartans couldn’t convert to a touchdown on the drive but came away with a 23-yard field goal from junior kicker Dan Conroy with five minutes left in the half.

“(Robinson’s) interception … might have been the biggest one to keep them from scoring,” Bullough said. “When you make plays like that, that’s how you’re going to win ball games. That’s how you’re going to win them big in situations like today.”

The Spartans went into halftime with a 31-0 lead — closing out with Bell’s third touchdown. They led Central Michigan 264-56 in total yards — 142-43 in passing yards and 122-13 in rushing yards.

The Chippewas finally had their first red zone scoring opportunity when they blocked redshirt freshman Mike Sadler’s punt, which was recovered at MSU’s 13-yard line. Quarterback Ryan Radcliff completed a five-yard touchdown pass to tight end David Blackburn at 10:11 to make the score 31-7.

“Obviously we had a blocking problem,” Dantonio said. “It’s frustrating because it takes a game that’s a clean game and possibly could be a shutout, and all of a sudden, that possibility diminished.”

The Spartans immediately responded with a six-play 71-yard touchdown drive. From Cousins, junior running back Larry Caper had a 15-yard touchdown at 6:45 in the third as MSU took a 38-7 lead.

After going in for Cousins during the third, sophomore quarterback Andrew Maxwell threw his first career touchdown with a three-yard pass to sophomore Dion Sims at 11:02 in the fourth, extending MSU’s lead to 45-7.

“Dion ran a great route in the back of the end zone,” Maxwell said. “He kept going and didn’t stop. With a body like that, just get him the ball, and good things happen.”