Keon Coleman shining in big moment

On its third drive of the night, Michigan State’s offense was looking as shaky as ever. After a two-yard rush from redshirt junior running back Jalen Berger, Thorne nearly tossed an interception on an attempted screen pass. 

However, on third down, Thorne found Coleman streaking down the field in man coverage. He lobbed up a 50/50 ball and Coleman came down with it, flipping field position and keeping the drive alive. 

Just a couple of plays later, Thorne connected with Coleman again. This time, the sophomore wide receiver came down with the ball with two defenders in the vicinity, falling into the end zone for a 26-yard touchdown. 

On Michigan State’s next scoring drive, Coleman was again the go-to weapon. On third down, Thorne flipped field position yet again with a 27-yard completion to Coleman. One play later, Thorne went back to the well, and Coleman’s 22-yard catch put the Spartans in scoring territory. 

Failed fourth downs are hurting 

Michigan State turned over the ball twice on downs in the first half thanks to failed fourth down conversions. Neither attempt featured a quarterback sneak. 

The first failed conversion came after a massive play from Michigan State’s defense. Fifth-year senior safety Xavier Henderson forced a fumble near midfield and it was recovered by redshirt senior defensive tackle Dashaun Mallory. Michigan State failed to cash in on the turnover, turning the ball over on downs in just four plays. 

Michigan State’s second failed fourth down conversion of the half came in at around the halfway point of the second quarter. After a pair of Coleman catches put the Spartan offense deep in Wolverine territory, MSU found itself facing a tough decision on fourth and one at the Michigan five-yard line. Instead of attempting to tie the game with a field goal, Michigan State elected to go for it. 

However, the play call was a delayed handoff that failed miserably. Berger lost two yards on the play and Michigan took over on downs. 

Bend, don’t brake the defense

While Michigan State’s defense wasn’t particularly stellar in the first half, the unit made two key stops in the red zone. On Michigan’s first drive of the evening, MSU’s defense stood tall inside the ten-yard line and forced the Wolverines to settle for a field goal. 

After a bruising drive near the end of the second quarter, Michigan again found itself in an excellent scoring position. However, after a QB run from J.J. McCarthy picked up just a couple of yards, Michigan State forced two incompletions and Michigan had to bring out the field goal unit.