Michigan State Tops Michigan Again

(AP) Keshawn Martin scored twice in the third quarter on similar lunges to the end zone, and No. 23 Michigan State held off Denard Robinson and No. 11 Michigan 28-14 on Saturday for its fourth straight victory over the Wolverines. The Spartans (5-1, 2-0 Big Ten) equaled their longest winning streak over their in-state rivals. Michigan (6-1, 2-1) lost for the first time under coach Brady Hoke. The Wolverines had a chance to tie it, but Robinson was sacked on fourth-and-1 from the Michigan State 9-yard line with 6:16 to play. Robinson later threw an interception, and Isaiah Lewis returned it for a score with 4:31 left to make it 28-14. Read the full AP recap, see the box score and check out our Big Ten scoreboard.

Check out our quarter-by-quarter recap, powered by Narrative Science:

FINAL: No. 22 Michigan State kept No. 10 Michigan’s explosive offense in check on the way to a 28-14 victory on Saturday at Spartan Stadium. Michigan (6-1) came into the game averaging 457.5 yards per game and were held to only 251 yards on the day. Kirk Cousins threw for 120 yards while completing 13 of 24 passes for Michigan State (5-1). Cousins tossed two touchdowns and no interceptions. The Spartans racked up 334 total yards. Along with Cousins’ stats in the passing game, Michigan State also added 214 yards rushing on 39 attempts. The Wolverines’ Denard Robinson passed for 123 yards, completing nine of 24 throws. He threw one touchdown and one interception. Robinson was also a threat on the ground, as he rushed for 41 yards on 18 attempts.

FOURTH QUARTER: Michigan State put on a defensive clinic in the fourth, as Michigan finished with negative rushing yardage (-22 yards), and the Spartans finished off the Wolverines 28-14. Michigan closed the gap to 21-14 when Denard Robinson and Roy Roundtree hooked up for a 34-yard touchdown to put the finishing touches on a 34-yard drive. The Wolverines started in good field position when Jeremy Gallon returned a punt. Michigan State made the score 28-14 when Isaiah Lewis intercepted Robinson’s pass and returned it for a touchdown.

THIRD QUARTER: Michigan State ran for 78 yards in the quarter, and the Spartans now lead 21-7. Michigan State’s defense held tough in the quarter, holding Michigan to 32 total yards of offense. The Wolverines have given up the last 21 points. The Spartans broke the 7-7 standstill when Kirk Cousins and Keshawn Martin hooked up for a 10-yard touchdown to cap off a nine-play, 54-yard scoring drive. Michigan State added to its advantage when Cousins threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Martin, the final play on a 10-play, 61-yard drive to give the Spartans the lead, 21-7. Michigan State’s Edwin Baker rushed for 71 yards in the quarter to put him over 100 yards for the game. Baker has 142 total yards on the ground so far today. Michigan will start the fourth quarter with the ball at its own 46-yard line.

SECOND QUARTER: The two teams combined for more punts than points in a slow second quarter and the game is tied 7-7. There were five punts in the quarter as neither team could find a way to move the ball. Michigan State will get the ball to start the second half.

FIRST QUARTER: No. 22 Michigan State’s Edwin Baker ran for 49 yards and one touchdown in the quarter, but the two teams are tied 7-7 at the end of the first. No. 10 Michigan scored when Denard Robinson kept it himself for a 15-yard touchdown run to polish off a 10-play, 80-yard drive, giving the Wolverines the game’s first lead. Michigan drove across midfield after Vincent Smith’s 26-yard run from the 40-yard line. The Wolverines threw just two times during that march downfield. The Spartans got even after Baker ran one yard to paydirt to end a nine-play, 63-yard drive that tied the score at seven. Michigan State crossed midfield on Baker’s 21-yard run from the 37-yard line. Michigan has possession on its own 35-yard line to start the second quarter.

Michigan stats | Michigan State stats | Big Ten scoreboard

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3 Post Your Comment
DenBlue on 10/15/2011 @ 4:46pm EDT Said:

MSU defense was definitely for real, however, they played one of the dirtiest games I’ve ever seen in college sports. It should not be the goal of a team to purposely try and injure or hurt an opposing player and that is clearly what the MSU gameplan was. Credit to their D for sure, but a decent passer for UM and they would have won that game going away.

Al on 10/15/2011 @ 8:05pm EDT Said:

To respond to DenBlue I am a Spartan and I understand that Gholston hit the O-lineman and it was not called for and never should be tolerated. Gholston went to Hoke after the game to apologize for the hit. I would be surprised to hear what other dirty plays were called outside of the Gholston hits. Marcus Rush’s late hit was hard to control cause the thing with Denard is his fakes are the best in College Football , he fakes out the camera man usually so it’s hard to know unless he is on the ground if the ball is out of his hands. Michigan played a good game today but MSU had the upper hand.

Jim on 10/16/2011 @ 2:15pm EDT Said:

Kudos for the green and a strong performance. Now they just need to learn how to win with class and not play dirty

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