Ducks fall 1 play short of victory in epic game
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Fittingly, Michigan State needed to hold one more time on fourth down against Oregon’s always-dynamic offense.
When the pass by Vernon Adams fell incomplete, the Spartans had secured a victory that could be awfully crucial by the time this season ends.
Connor Cook threw for two touchdowns, and No. 5 Michigan State held on to beat No. 7 Oregon 31-28 on Saturday night in college football’s marquee game of the week. The Spartans stopped the Ducks four times on fourth down, including one key stand in the second quarter near the Michigan State goal line.
The Spartans (2-0) led for most of the second half, and it was 31-21 before Adams threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Byron Marshall with 3:25 remaining. After a Michigan State punt, the Ducks (1-1) drove to the Spartans’ 33 before Adams overthrew Marshall, who had beaten his defender.
The Spartans then sacked Adams for a loss of 10, and his fourth-down pass was incomplete.
LJ Scott ran for two touchdowns for Michigan State, and Aaron Burbridge caught eight passes for 101 yards and a touchdown.
It was the first time two teams in the AP top 10 had met at Spartan Stadium since 1966, when No. 2 Michigan State and No. 1 Notre Dame played to a 10-10 tie.
Cook threw for 192 yards and Scott ran for 76. Madre London added 103 yards rushing for the Spartans.
Adams nearly rallied the Ducks. His scoring pass to Marshall marked the 70th consecutive game Oregon had thrown a TD pass, breaking a record the Ducks had been sharing. Texas Tech had a streak of 69 games from 20062011.
But Michigan State held on at the end, and now the Spartans have a big win on their resume as they try for a spot in college football’s four-team playoff.