Wow they pulled it off. Sparty really came to party during this game, and I am just as shocked as you are. This was a huge win for Michigan State football. Whatever was done in that week of practice before Michigan, keep doing it Mel Tucker. The Spartans looked like a completely different team than the week before. This was a great game and a huge W in the win column.
I will once again start off with the offense. Rocky Lombardi went from playing rocky to playing like he wants to win a Lombardi trophy. He completed 17 of 32 passes for 323 yards, three touchdowns and zero turnovers. Lombardi looked as if he was playing for his spot on the team this game, and he definitely earned it. This was a complete turnaround for the QB compared to the week before. I am still unsure if the No. 12 from Week 1 is even the same person as the one from this week. Whatever Lombardi did to get into this sort of rhythm, keep doing it each week. This was a phenomenal game for Lombardi.
Another offensive Spartan to focus from this game was true freshman receiver Ricky White or “Mr. White” like Jesse from the hit show “Breaking Bad” would say, as I kept calling him during this game. White set a record for most single-game receiving yards by a freshman with eight receptions for 196 yards and a touchdown. This was the most yards a receiver had against Michigan since Plaxico Burress had 255 in 1999. White average 24.5 yards a catch, another great stat to add to his already amazing game. Michigan State football fans cannot wait to see what else this kid has in him for the upcoming years.
The Spartan defense did a absolutely stellar job. Michigan State would have not won this game if it wasn’t for how rugged and aggressive the Sparty defense played. Linebackers Antjuan Simmons and Noah Harvey led the game in total tackles, both with 11. We can’t focus on a single defensive player, however, as this was a full team effort. Every single player looked great. They only allowed Michigan a total of 152 rushing yards. In the week before, Michigan had a total of 256 against Minnesota. This defense looked like a well-oiled machine in this game where as the week before it looked like an old rusty machine. This was a great game for the defense, and Michigan State football fans should hope it keeps it going.
I will not forget about my personal player of the game, kicker Matt Coghlin. He made 2 of 3 field goals and should’ve been just 2 of 2, but the coaches decided to kick when they should’ve gone for it on fourth-and-short. He hit a huge 51-yarder to essentially give the Spartans the W. Without that kick, the Spartans would have gone into overtime and who knows what the outcome would have been at that point? I give Matt Coghlin my personal MVP award for this game, great kicking kid!
I hope the Spartans keep up this type of play next week against Iowa because that will be another hard-fought away game. They may be 0-2, but the Hawkeyes are still the favorites to win this game. Sparty needs to go out and get this W so the critics will put some respect on their name. I hope the team and coaches keep up this type of play.
