Here is my game recap:
The Michigan State Spartans (2-5) dropped their fifth straight game after Saturday’s loss to the Maryland Terrapins (5-2), 28-17.
For the second straight game redshirt freshman Brian Lewerke got the start for the Spartans with Tyler O’Connor (toe) and Damien Terry (hand) both battling injuries.
Early in the game the Spartan offense made it clear what their plan was. With high winds being a factor Lewerke turned and handed the ball off to whoever was in the backfield and let him run his way in between the tackles. In the first quarter the workhorse was sophomore LJ Scott who carried the ball for 36 yards on nine carries. Very rarely did Lewerke throw the ball down field and when he took his shot…..a mistake ensued. Midway through the first quarter Lewerke under threw Donnie Corley down field and his pass was intercepted by Terrapins cornerback Alvin Hill.Coming into the game there was speculation on who would start for Maryland as well. When the Terrapins offense trotted out for their first drive it was senior, Perry Hills behind center.
Throughout the first quarter the Spartan defense held strong against the Terrapin offense, if it were not for penalties. Senior linebacker Riley Bullough got ejected on a targeting call with just under five minutes left in the quarter. While Bullough was in the game he had a rough night. He finished with three personal fouls and an ejection. Add that with a offsides and Maryland’s offense had life again.
After the game Michigan State Coach Mark Dantonio said that Bullough’s play during the game as well as his ejection was, ” Disappointing……Tough to say on the helmet to helmet play, some people said it was the shoulder but they make the call.”
On the same drive as the Bullough ejection the Terrapin’s offense struck first. Terrapin’s running back Lorenzo Harrison finished off a nine play 96 yard drive with an eight yard touchdown run. Maryland Head Coach DJ Durkin opened up the playbook early. Instead of going for the “gimme” point after touchdown, Kenneth Goins Jr. ran in a two-point conversion to bring the score to 8-0 in favor of the home team.
Michigan State had a great chance to answer the touchdown thanks to RJ Shelton who returned the ensuing kickoff past midfield to set the Spartan offense up with great field position. After a couple first downs…..and a couple penalties, the drive stalled. The first quarter finished at an 8-0 advantage for the Terrapins.
Michigan State finally cracked the scoreboard with under 10 minutes to go in the first half. LJ Scott scored on a 48 yard touchdown run that almost went untouched. This is the first time Scott has found the end zone since week three, at Notre Dame. The Spartans still trailed by one 8-7.
Maryland increased their lead with just under 6 minutes to go in the first half when Hills found wide receiver D.J. Moore all alone running down the middle of the field for a 36 yard touchdown pass. Moore beat Spartan safety Demetrius Cox who was well beyond 10 yards behind when he strolled into the end zone. Maryland kicker Adam Greene missed the PAT negating the earlier two point conversion and the Terrapin lead stood at a touchdown 14-7.
Regardless of being down for the majority of the first half, the Spartans would not throw away their game plan just yet. On the ensuing drive running back Gerald Holmes led the offense down the field with 50 rushing yards before finding pay dirt with 38 seconds left in the half to tie the score at 14 a piece. That score held going into half time.
Michigan State came out of the second half on fire. After a quick three and out by the defense, the offense got rolling. With the running combination of Scott and Lewerke the offense moved inside the Terrapin five yard line. MSU looked like they were ready to take their first lead of the game until……..wide receiver Monty Madaris was hit, the ball fell to the turf, and in a matter of seconds the scoring threat was over.
The Spartan offense had trouble converting red zone opportunities into points with two turnovers inside of the Terrapin 20 yard line.
Both defenses remained tough. Offenses were moving the ball but could not find any points to break the tie. That was until Michael Geiger hit a 34 yard field goal with just under two minutes to go in the third quarter to give the Spartans their first lead of the game at 17-14. That score held going into the fourth quarter.
Geiger has now hit 46 career field goals tying him at 6th all time in school history.
It would not take long for Maryland to answer. After a couple long runs by running back Ty Johnson, running back Kenneth Goins Jr capped off an eight play 75 yard drive with a two yard touchdown run. With a made PAT the Terrapins led 21-17.
Just as long as it took for Maryland to answer MSU’s last score, it took them just as long to end the game. With just over three minutes remaining in the game Hills found wide receiver Levern Jacobs crossing across the back of the end zone for a nine yard touchdown to complete a 10 play 82 yard drive. The Spartans trailed 28-17.
The 28-17 score would hold as the clock read three zeros and the Spartans’s losing skid increased to five games.
This is the first five game losing streak for MSU football since the 1991 season.
Michigan State also lost to Maryland for the first time since the 1950 season.
Coming up for the Spartans is a cross-state showdown against the Michigan Wolverines next Saturday.
by Justin Frommer
No comments:
Post a Comment