Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Michigan State stuns No. 13 Michigan
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Outside of Michigan State, few expected the Spartans to beat No. 13 Michigan.
The people who mattered, though, had all the confidence.
Rocky Lombardi passed for 323 yards and three touchdowns — including eight receptions for 196 yards to Ricky White — as Michigan State stunned the Wolverines 27-24 on Saturday.
“I know we were three-touchdown underdogs, but everybody on this team knew going into the game that we had a chance and we had a good chance,” said Lombardi, who was 17-for-32 with two scoring passes to Connor Heyward.
The Spartans (1-1, 1-1 Big Ten) appeared to the better team throughout in Mel Tucker’s debut as coach in the rivalry.
Tucker became just the second coach to beat Michigan in his first attempt with the Spartans, joining Alabama’s Nick Saban, who did it in 1995. The ex-Colorado coach started as a graduate assistant for Saban at Michigan State in 1997.
The Wolverines (1-1, 1-1) were favored by 20-plus points and ended up needing a late score to avoid losing by double digits.
Jim Harbaugh’s team never led and
didn’t appear to have much energy.
Running back Hassan Haskins scored on a 2-yard run with 37 seconds left to help Michigan pull within three points. The onside kick was recovered by Michigan State running back Connor Heyward. Lombardi converted a fourth-and-2 from the Michigan 36 with a sneak to seal the victory.
Michigan QB Joe Milton (32-for-51 for 300 yards, 12 rushes for 59 yards) blamed himself for an uneven performance. “I was thinking too much,” Milton said. “Was too busy with my feet. … I’ve got to fix it. Gotta play better.”