The Spartans had five field goals, five sacks, and, for the first time in five years, the Paul Bunyan Trophy is back in East Lansing.
Pat Fitzgerald just earned his first marquee victory as head coach of the Michigan State Spartans in Ann Arbor. After a six-game losing streak, where the Spartans were constantly getting beat up, injured, and losing close games that they could have won, they finally have a good win to hang their hats on. This Michigan team has not been any good this year, but to beat them in the Big House with the season the Spartans have been having is huge. This is the first time Michigan State has beaten Michigan since Kenneth Walker III roamed the campus in 2021, as they beat the Wolverines 15-6.
This was a game where neither offense wanted to get into the end zone, so Michigan State decided to put the game in the hands of the running game and Liam Boyd. Boyd obviously was the standout, as he went five-for-five on the night, having all 15 points for the Spartans. After Michigan’s kicker missed a chip shot 16-yarder early in the game, it is easy to value Boyd’s contributions to MSU in this game. College kickers are hit-or-miss in today’s game, and it is good to know the Spartans have a reliable kicker in Boyd to win them some games and get them points on long-distance kicks.
Michigan State took a 6-0 lead at the half, and instead of revving up the offense and hitting the pedal to the medal, they were methodical with their possessions. MSU knew they could rely on their defense and kicking game to do enough, so the offensive game plan was to do what Michigan usually does best. MSU ran the ball down Michigan’s throat on their opening drive of the second half. They ran a 17-play, 79-yard drive that ended in a Boyd field goal and took 10:41 off of the clock. They basically drained the entire third quarter on that one offensive possession. The team only ran for 110 yards on the night, and most of them came on that drive in the second half. That opening possession for the Spartans was a statement and a back breaker for a Michigan team where the offense had not been moving the ball all night.
The other story of the game was how dreadful Michigan’s offense was and how good MSU’s defense played. The secondary for Michigan State left no one open on the Michigan offense. Tommy Carr was running around in the backfield quite a bit on a lot of the passing downs, trying to make a play happen because no one was open. It did not help their offense that they could not run the ball all night. Michigan was held to just 54 rushing yards, averaging 2.1 yards per carry. Anytime Michigan utilized Bryson Kuzdzal, they would get a nice gain, but he only carried the ball nine times. Michigan State forced four turnovers on the night: two interceptions and two fumbles. They were ripping the ball out of Michigan’s hands all night, as the defense was playing with a fire and intensity that they wanted this more. Fitzgerald’s energy and mindset is showing in the toughness of this MSU team, and they finally got a win tonight to prove it.
This was a much-needed win for Michigan State, as it was their first victory over Michigan in five years. It ended a six-game losing streak in which MSU came close twice to wins but could not get any, and now they got a dominant win where they controlled most of the game. Pat Fiztgerald has brought Paul Bunyan back to East Lansing, and it feels glorious for the Spartans. They beat the odds with the injury report and got a great victory. Go right through for MSU, as what Fitzgerald is trying to do in East Lansing is finally showing itself with a key result in a 15-6 victory.