The Ohio native never had scored a collegiate touchdown, and after intercepting sophomore
quarterback Braxton Miller earlier in the game, MSU’s sophomore safety had recovered a fumble and, with no one standing in front of him, saw the moment where he would change the game.

Yet the loud screech of a referee’s whistle provided Drummond and the Spartans with a rude awakening, as the MSU football team (3-2 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) fell to No. 12 Ohio State (5-0, 1-0) 17-16 in front of a crowd of 76,705.

“I didn’t really have time to think about it,” Drummond said of a fumble recovery he wasn’t allowed to advance because officials initially ruled Miller was tackled before the ball came loose.

“At the time, I was excited to see the end zone, but it didn’t end like that.”

The play was one of two scoring opportunities — along with senior kicker Dan Conroy’s fifth missed field goal of the season — the Spartans weren’t able to capitalize on in a close Big Ten opener that dropped MSU out of the Associated Press’ top 25 rankings.

For the first time this season, an opposing offense drove the length of the field for touchdowns against MSU’s defense, with Miller torching the Spartans for 145 rushing yards along with 16 completions for 179 yards and a touchdown.

Juniors Le’Veon Bell and Dion Sims were unable to give quarterback Andrew Maxwell much support, with Bell rushing for 45 yards on 17 carries and Sims finishing with two catches for 36 yards.

Sophomore receiver Keith Mumphery had a breakout game for the Spartans, nabbing five catches for a career-high 79 yards and his first career touchdown.

MSU will leave the state for the first time this season Saturday, when they travel to Bloomington, Ind., to face the Hoosiers (12:00 p.m., Big Ten Network).