The Michigan State Spartans seem to begin their season the same way every season, and it's always a bit scary. It was another scare to open their season on their home field, but once again, Mark Dantonio's team came away victorious on Friday night. Connor Heyward's 13-yard touchdown run with two minutes left helped the 11th-ranked Spartans edge unranked Utah State, 38-31, at Spartan Stadium. Heyward's game-winning score was his second of the game, as he also added a 17-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Felton Davis had a diving, 31-yard catch to set up Heyward's winning score, as it was just four plays later that the running back came through. The Aggies did put a drive together into Michigan State territory in the final two minutes, but a tipped-interception sealed the win for the Spartans. They were very close to their highest-ranked victory of their program's history, which would've surpassed their win over No. 18 BYU in 2014.
Joe Bachi had the tip interception with 1:15 left, which was the second interception of the night for MSU's defense. Michigan State trailed in the second and fourth quarters, despite building a 13-point lead in the third quarter. Brian Lewerke finished 23-of-33 for 287 yards and two touchdowns, but did have one interception that was returned for a touchdown by the defense in the second quarter. He did find Cody White and Davis in the end zone in the first half.
For a majority of the night, the Spartans had a hard time keeping up with the Aggies' pace, led by quarterback Jordan Love. The quarterback did not find the end zone through the air, but completed 29-of-44 passes for 319 yards, overcoming the two picks to keep his team in the game. Despite the loss, Love was optimistic after the game saying "it shows we've got a good team."
The sophomore Heyward had his first-career touchdown early on, as he had just 436 kickoff yards and 23 receiving and rushing yards combined, with one touchdown reception last season. L.J. Scott also got going on Friday night, running for 84 yards, and catching the ball three times for 57 yards. Michigan State will hit the road next weekend against Arizona State. The Aggies move on to their home opener against New Mexico State.
Felton Davis had a diving, 31-yard catch to set up Heyward's winning score, as it was just four plays later that the running back came through. The Aggies did put a drive together into Michigan State territory in the final two minutes, but a tipped-interception sealed the win for the Spartans. They were very close to their highest-ranked victory of their program's history, which would've surpassed their win over No. 18 BYU in 2014.
Joe Bachi had the tip interception with 1:15 left, which was the second interception of the night for MSU's defense. Michigan State trailed in the second and fourth quarters, despite building a 13-point lead in the third quarter. Brian Lewerke finished 23-of-33 for 287 yards and two touchdowns, but did have one interception that was returned for a touchdown by the defense in the second quarter. He did find Cody White and Davis in the end zone in the first half.
For a majority of the night, the Spartans had a hard time keeping up with the Aggies' pace, led by quarterback Jordan Love. The quarterback did not find the end zone through the air, but completed 29-of-44 passes for 319 yards, overcoming the two picks to keep his team in the game. Despite the loss, Love was optimistic after the game saying "it shows we've got a good team."
The sophomore Heyward had his first-career touchdown early on, as he had just 436 kickoff yards and 23 receiving and rushing yards combined, with one touchdown reception last season. L.J. Scott also got going on Friday night, running for 84 yards, and catching the ball three times for 57 yards. Michigan State will hit the road next weekend against Arizona State. The Aggies move on to their home opener against New Mexico State.
