Michigan State holds off Western Michigan in 37-24 road win
Michigan State traveled west to Kalamazoo on Friday night and survived its first test of the season against a pesky Western Michigan squad.
With a revitalized program under P.J. Fleck, the Broncos were no pushovers, but using a balanced offensive attack, the fifth-ranked Spartans were able to storm out to a sizeable first half lead en route to a 37-24 road win.
Senior quarterback Connor Cook, a preseason Heisman candidate, manned the steady Spartans attack, throwing for 256 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, a slew of young backs racked up nearly 200 yards on the ground, including redshirt freshman Madre London, who helped the Spartans jump out to an early lead with two first quarter touchdowns.
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A 24-yard scamper from London opened the scoring, but Darius Phillips returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to tie things up at 7-7.
Michigan State responded on its next drive with London’s second score of the night and then opened up a 27-10 lead by the time halftime rolled around.
The Spartans kept their foot on the gas pedal to open the second half, extending the lead to 34-10 with a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that culminated with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Cook to DeAnthony Arnett.
When it looked like a blowout was imminent, WMU clawed its way back.
WMU’s Zach Terrell, who threw for 365 yards, hit Corey Davis for a highlight reel 17-yard TD on a fourth down play late in the third and connected on a 29-yard strike to Jeremiah Mullinax to cut the MSU lead to 34-24 with 11:09 to go.
That ended up being as close as the Broncos would get. MSU’s Michael Geiger hit a short field goal on the ensuing drive, and WMU’s last-ditch effort at a comeback ended when Terrell was intercepted in the end zone, sealing an MSU victory.
With this one in the books, Michigan State sets its sights on the Oregon Ducks, who will travel to East Lansing next Saturday. The Ducks ran past the Spartans 46-27 in Eugene last year, and after allowing nearly 400 yards of offense to WMU, the Spartans have an extra day to prepare for Oregon’s up-tempo attack.
For more Michigan State news, visit SpartanMag.com.
For more Western Michigan news, visit BroncoBlitz.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
