No. 7 MSU entered the week already eliminated from the Big Ten race, but in the minds of players and coaches there was still a lot on the table to play for.
MSU (10-2 overall, 7-1 Big Ten) was playing for No. 10. Not its ranking entering the ball game, but that 10th win of the season. And it only took 14 seconds into Saturday’s game against Penn State (6-6 overall, 2-6 Big Ten) for the march for No. 10 to begin.
Sophomore wide receiver R.J. Shelton took back the opening kickoff 90 yards to give MSU the early lead, a lead it would never surrender as the Spartans cruised to a 34-10 victory over PSU Saturday from Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. The win over the Nittany Lions will secure MSU’s fourth double digit victory season in the last five years, something senior defensive end Marcus Rush was proud of after the game.
“The way we’ve been playing the past four years we have always known that the sky’s the limit,” Rush said. “Getting to 10 wins is huge for this program and this just puts us up in the elite area. It shows that Michigan State is a great team.”
MSU held a 13-3 lead at halftime, with neither team finding the endzone outside of Shelton’s opening kickoff touchdown. However, from there MSU was able generate three second-half scoring drives, two of which were capped off by senior running back Jeremy Langford touchdown runs.
Entering Saturday, PSU was rated as the No. 1 rushing defense in the country, only surrendering 81.7 yards per game, but Langford was still able to power through for a strong performance. Langford finished Saturday’s contest with 30 carries for 118 rushing yards and two touchdowns, carrying the offense at times when junior quarterback Connor Cook and the passing attack struggled.
Reaching the 100-yard plateau for a ninth straight game was a school record for Langford, and also gave him 15th consecutive conference games with at least 100 yards on the ground. Following the game Langford finally let the achievement sink in and gave credit to his teammates that helped make it possible.
“It means a lot for our team,” Langford said. “Our offensive line, our tight ends and our fullbacks work hard. It means a lot now that the regular season is over and I feel blessed to be in this situation.”
Now that the regular season is over for MSU, the Spartans are starting to look forward to the bowl season. Head coach Mark Dantonio said he has no particular preference in which bowl game MSU will be awarded Dec. 7, but is confident his Spartans will land in one of the selection committee non-playoff major bowl games — Peach, Cotton, Orange or Fiesta Bowl.
“I don’t think there is any question that we will be chosen,” Dantonio said. “With Georgia losing and UCLA losing, I think that we are up there. We are up there in the top 10 for sure and that should get us to one of those bowls which was our goal after we had to bounce back, and I think that will happen.”
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