Jalen Watts-Jackson. You are my favorite person in the world. You grabbed that faltering punt fiasco out of the air and ran it downfield with the presence of mind to avoid going out of bounds as your turned it in and push it through for the winning TD as time expired. When the words “FINAL” flashed on the screen I was jumping up and down, pointing at the TV, scaring the shit out of my dogs, freaking my wife out and basically have the best time a Spartan could possibly be having. It was magic. It was pure football narcotic if there is such a thing. I hadn’t had that exact feeling since beating Notre Dame in OT on a fake FG play called “Little Giants”. With College Gameday on hand and Desmond all smiles about 30 seconds prior, the whole world got to see this masterpiece happen. In a word, that finish was Historic.
ESPN Stats says MSU had a .2% chance of winning on the final play. Apparently, that’s all MSU needed.
Michigan fans had heart attacks. Other Michigan fans lit things on fire. Most just stood there with their mouth agape and their world shattered. It was happening. They were 10 seconds away from beating and certifying Jim Harbaugh as the second coming of Bo Schembechler. They were 10 seconds away from 12 months of Little Brothering social media to death. It was happening but it didn’t happen… this happened. It couldn’t happen to a better school, a better coach, a better team, and really, a better fan base. Hail to the… nope, not today boy.
The last time a first year Michigan coach has beaten Michigan State goes back to 1948. Jim Harbaugh almost broke that streak. Almost.
OFFENSE
Props to Michigan’s defense, those guys are legit, and therefore the Michigan State offense is also legit. The Spartans put up 386 yards and 20 first downs against the Wolverines. The yards and points never came easy though, and the running game really never got up and running. The Spartans were forced to go to the air and they had success in the air.
Our man Connor Cook went 18-39 for 328 yards and a TD. Cook never looked rattled as he dealt with pressure and tight coverage all day. It wasn’t Cook’s best performance as a Spartan, and he didn’t lead the winning drive like he did in the Cotton Bowl or the Rose Bowl, but he did lead. He was calm, cool and collected. He protected the ball and he threw for over 300 yards against one of the nations best defenses. Nicely done Connor.
Spartan receivers had a good day but they had to work hard for what they got. Our man Aaron Burbridge had a great game with nine catches for 132 yards, and almost every one of those catches was under heavy coverage. He wasn’t very “open” but he went and got the ball, hauled it in and took the hit. Nice work Burbs.
There was also R.J. Shelton four catches for 58 yards and Macgarrett Kings Jr. with three catches for 57 yards and a TD. Kings dropped a few passes that looked catchable and would have been huge. Let’s not overlook one of the biggest plays of the day for the Spartan offense: Fullback Trevon Pendleton had one reception for 74 yards and almost a TD. That play put MSU right back in it.
On the ground, it was uphill all the way. When you include Cook’s -23 yards, the Spartans’ net rushing total was only 58 yards. Tough tough tough. Three Spartan backs each had eight carries: Gerald Holmes for 33 yards, LJ Scott for 16 yards and two TDs, and Delton Williams for 15 yards. The Wolverines shut down the run as well as any defense I’ve ever seen, that and the Spartan O-line is battered and held together with ShoeGoo and Duct Tape. Hats off to Damien Terry coming in to pick up two yards and a critical first down.
The Spartans scored 21 points on offense and that wasn’t enough to win the game. A turn-over for a score was required. But 21 points is solid versus a defense coming off back-to-back-to-back shut-outs. If MSU can score 21 on this Michigan defense, they can score 21 on anyone.
DEFENSE
The Michigan State defense didn’t shut Michigan’s offense down, but it did slow it down to a crawl for much of the game. The Wolverines had only 230 yards of total offense, 168 through the air and only 62 on the ground. The Spartans held strong on third down only allowing four of 15 for a first down, and no conversions on fourth down. Michigan was held without a TD pass.
Guys were getting after the Wolverines, and I like that. It wasn’t as dominant as the past few years, and not as barbarian either, but it was solid and effective. Demetrious Cox had eight tackles. Riley Bullough and Lawrence Thomas each had seven tackles while Grayson Miller and Darien Harris each had six tackles. Shilique Calhoun wearing 43 for this game in honor of Ed Davis had five tackles and 2 sacks.
How about that Spartan goal-line stand. First down, the refs say Michigan scores. Nope, take it back. Second down, the refs say Michigan scores. Nope, take it back again. Instant replay is my friend. Third down, the refs wait 12 seconds after forward progress has halted to blow the whistle. The line judges have already ran in, players are getting off the pile, and yet the refs still haven’t blown the whistle. And somehow they determine that a Wolverine crawling on the ground counts as a TD. Fact is the Spartans held and that TD was utter bullshit. I’m not saying the refs were biased, but it did seem like they really wanted Michigan to score. It was so strange to me. Just didn’t seem quite right. In the end, Michigan had two TDs and three FGs and that was enough until it wasn’t.
SPECIAL TEAMS
This facet of the Spartan game continues to be a challenge. It didn’t cost MSU this time, in fact, Special Teams won the game, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a problem.
Punting has gotten weird at MSU. Tyler O’Connor handled most of the punts kicking four and averaging 38.2. O’Connor handled a crafty fake punt on fourth and eight that very nearly worked falling just a yard short. He should have thrown the ball seeing as he’s a QB and he had an open man for an easy first down. He ran it for seven when he needed eight. I applaud the gutsy call and tough running even though it fell short. We did see Jake Hartbarger for one punt of 33 yards. I’m not sure what’s going on with Hartbarger but my guess is he’s injured to some degree.
Kick returns, both punts and kick-offs continue to be scary. Jabrill Peppers averaged 27 yards on kick-off returns including a 49-yarder, and he averaged 16 yards on punt returns including a 34-yarder. Michigan had good field position coming off MSU kicks, and that is a big disadvantage for the Spartans. Especially when Michigan has three punts downed inside the 20.
I can’t comment on Michael Geiger this week as he attempted no FGs. He did make his PATs.
Let’s focus on the best thing that happened in this entire game. After turning the ball over to Michigan on downs, the Spartan defense held the Wolverines for three plays. Coach Harbaugh drained every second off of the clock that he could before calling a timeout and sending the punting team out. A punt was the right call, the odds were way on his side. The ball was snapped and there was a ton of pressure. The spartans didn’t even have anyone back to return the punt, it was all or nothing time. The punter dropped the snap. Wha? Then he picked it up, got spun around, half-ass tried to kick it and it ended up in the hands of Jalen Watts-Jackson who ran it 37 yards for a TD just as time expired. The air left Michigan Stadium. Fans gasped in horror. Coach Harbaugh looked startled and confused. The State fans went nut-balls crazy-ass insane with joy. Michigan fans died a little inside. “FINAL”. Yes!
Thank you Special Teams.
SUMMING UP
I hate Michigan. I love it when Michigan State beats Michigan. It’s even sweeter when Michigan thinks they have it won and then nope, little brother just takes it away and score. Game over. Not the victors, it’s the Spartans. Hail no!
“A mistake was made,” Harbaugh said. “Mistakes were made. It’s very unfortunate circumstances.”
Seven of the last eight, that’s a nice streak right there. This was a very, very good day. Nice work Spartans. Never give up, never say die, never turn the damn TV off early or you might must miss one of the best endings ever. Spartans Will. And did.
Way to keep it classy on national TV Michigan fans. This Wolverine fan / Patriots fan just embarrassed the entire Wolverine Nation with his knotty, scrawny middle finger. You got a face made for punching kid, so I suggest you retract that finger before it gets you into even more trouble. What a dick. Pretty much sums up most Michigan fans.
MSU has beaten two ranked teams now, maybe we won’t drop in the AP poll this week? You never know.
Next up is Indiana at home in East Lansing. The Hoosiers aren’t winning many games but they sure do put up a lot of yards on offense; almost as many as they allow on defense. Should be a good game. Watch the hangover Spartans, don’t get caught relaxing on this one.
Another year of beating the Wolverines. Love it.
Go GREEN!!!
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