An early afternoon kickoff awaited for the MSU Spartans (2-5 overall record, 0-4 Big Ten) and the University of Michigan Wolverines (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) in the battle for the Paul Bunyan trophy. The rivalry statue has resided in East Lansing seven of the last eight years and though the Spartans look to maintain that streak, they trail U-M at halftime 27-10.
MSU got the ball first and went 75 yards, 63 of those on the ground against U-M’s top rushing defense, in rout to a five-yard score from sophomore running back LJ Scott. Scott finished the half with 93 yards on 14 carries and that touchdown.
The Spartans went back to their senior quarterback and captain Tyler O’Connor to start the game under center. He finished the first half only going 4-of-9 for 34 yards and an interception late in the half. Senior safety and captain Demetrious Cox was not dressed for the game, and sophomore safeties Khari Willis and Grayson Miller got the start, just as they did last season as freshman in Ann Arbor.
U-M responded quickly with an 80-yard touchdown drive, 57 of those yards on the ground which was capped off by a three-yard touchdown run by the dynamic Jabrill Peppers. U-M conducted their drive in half the time, taking only 3:23 to get back even.
The Spartans leading receiver in the first half was tight end Josiah Price with just two catches for 19 yards. The Wolverines were led in the passing game by quarterback Wilton Speight (9-for-15, 158 yards) and wide receiver Amara Darboh (six catches, 111 yards).
Following a failed fourth-down conversion attempt by the Spartans, the Wolverines went 62 yards in under two minutes to quickly score again, making it 14-7 early in the second quarter following a one-yard touchdown run from U-M running back De’Veon Smith.
MSU answered with points on a drive instigated by bruising Scott runs, but he U-M defense made plays at the end of the drive to prevent a touchdown. Instead, senior kicker Michael Geiger wound up knocking through a career-long 52-yard field goal to trim the Wolverine’s lead to four.
U-M responded with a short field goal of their own following a long pass from Speight to Darboh to retake a seven-point lead. Speight did a nice job of avoiding rush and keeping eyes downfield, as he had four completions of 15 yards or more and faced some heavy pressure from MSU in the first half.
Right before the half, Smith got into the end zone for the second time of the day to extend the Wolverine lead to 24-10. Smith finished with just 35 yards in the first half but had two scores. After an O'Connor interception, U-M converted a field goal to make it 27-10 at halftime.
Senior linebackers Ed Davis (five tackles, 1.5 for loss) and Chris Frey (six tackles, three solo) led the way for the Spartans on the defensive side. U-M’s safety Delano Hill (eight tackles, seven solo) and defensive lineman Mike McCray (four tackles, two for loss, one sack) carried the way on the top-ranked Wolverine defense.
Overall, the Wolverines are out gaining the Spartans 287-148, including 158-34 in passing yards. U-M is averaging over eight yards per play to just 4.7 for the Spartans.
Stay with the State News for more coverage during and after the game.
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