Michigan State finally got a road win on the season, this one coming in its final try of the year. The Spartans were able to improve to 4-7 on the year, and 2-6 in Big Ten play, thanks to a 24-21 victory over Indiana on Saturday in Bloomington.

The win returns the Old Brass Spittoon to East Lansing for the next year with a chance to retain it on the line when Indiana visits Spartan Stadium on Nov. 2, 2024.

Despite having only around 45 scholarship players on hand, MSU was able to overcome a shorthanded roster and multiple injuries during the game to notch the victory. The Spartans finished the game with just 317 total yards to the Hoosiers' 402, but won the time of possession battle by a narrow margin of 31:04-28:56.

Quarterback Katin Houser finished the day 26-for-41 passing for a career-high 245 yards, with three touchdowns (also a career-high) and two interceptions. Nate Carter led MSU on the ground with 42 yards on 11 carries and Jaren Mangham added 23 more on 13 carries.

Tight end Maliq Carr had a huge game with 100 yards on nine catches and two touchdowns, including the team's long of 36 yards. Montorie Foster Jr. was second in receiving with seven catches for 93 yards and a score as well.

On the defensive side, Jordan Hall and Simeon Barrow Jr. added a sack each, while Angelo Grose led the team with 10 tackles, including five solo. Malik Spencer and Chester Kimbrough each had seven solo tackles, with Spencer second on the team with nine total.

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The Spartans started things off with a strong opening drive, receiving the ball to start the game and marching it nine plays and 62 yards for a touchdown.

Carr capped off the drive with a 17-yard touchdown catch from Houser. The point-after-touchdown (PAT) by Jonathan Kim after was good and MSU took the lead early, up 7-0.

Neither team was able to find an advantage from there throughout the rest of the opening quarter, with MSU's defense forcing a three-and-out by IU on its second and third drives of the game and Houser throwing an interception to end MSU's third drive.

The Hoosiers were finally able to break through on their first drive that started in the second quarter. After forcing the Spartans into a three-and-out on their first drive of the quarter, Indiana mounted an 11-play, 88-yard drive to tie it up at 7-7.

Mostly pounding it on the ground except for two pass plays of 13 and nine yards, respectively, Trent Howland finished the drive off with a four-yard run into the end zone to tie the score with 9:29 remaining in the half.

Two MSU drives later — which sandwiched another IU three-and-out following a turnover on downs by the Spartans, who failed to pick up the fresh set of downs on a fourth-and-1 — Michigan State responded with another touchdown. This drive was eight plays for 78-yards and was capped off by a 29-yard, one-handed grab by Foster.

Avoiding multiple tackles and an attempted strip by an IU defender, Foster marched into the end zone to give the Spartans a 14-7 advantage after Kim's PAT and with 1:10 remaining in the half.

Indiana was able to quickly move the ball within field goal range, but the attempt from 45 yards out was wide and MSU kneeled it to send the teams into the locker room at the half.

Indiana treated MSU to the same offensive success on its opening drive for the second half. The Hoosiers were able to open the third quarter with an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to tie it up right out of the locker room. A three-yard catch by James Bomba finished off the drive and it was tied up 14-14 after the PAT.

Neither team could find an advantage for the remainder of the quarter. Houser threw an interception on MSU's second drive, but one small stroke of luck came when Carr forced a fumble by IU defensive back Jamari Sharpe, and Alante Brown recovered it to keep the ball with MSU.

Finally in the fourth quarter, Michigan State was able to break the stalemate and retake the lead thanks to a field goal by Kim. This followed a 14-play, 66-yard drive by IU that eventually ended when the Hoosiers turned it over on downs after failing to get a fresh set on fourth-and-1. MSU took over at its own 33-yard line and managed to get to IU's 26-yard line eight plays later before stalling. Kim was able to connect from 36 yards out to give the Spartans took a narrow 17-14 advantage with 9:26 remaining in the game.

The Hoosiers were able to respond in kind, though, mounting a 75-yard drive over 11 plays and a touchdown. Eating up over five minutes of clock, the Hoosiers seized the lead, 21-17, with 4:06 remaining in the game when quarterback Brendan Sorsby found tight end Trey Walker in the end zone for an eight-yard touchdown strike.

For any fans expecting a repeat of several leads this season, the offense for Michigan State avoided the late collapse and found the yards when it was needed. That included a fourth-and-1 conversion by Houser, who connected with Carr for an 18-yard gain, and later, a 15-yard scamper by Houser on second-and-9.

The final play of the drive was a highlight reel play by Houser to Carr as the MSU quarterback scrambled and found Carr open downfield for a big gain. Carr not only made the catch, avoiding an immediate tackle by IU, but he also proceeded to break a few more tackles as he capped off a 36-yard play for the end zone and a MSU lead.

After the PAT, the Spartans led 24-21 with just 1:19 remaining.

Indiana was able to give Michigan State fans a final scare as the Hoosiers marched the ball 44 yards down the field over 11 plays to get into field goal range. However, after Sorsby had an apparent miscommunication with his receiver that resulted in an intentional grounding call forcing IU to use a timeout to avoid a clock runoff with just eight seconds remaining, the Hoosiers had to resort to their kicker, Chris Freeman.

A 48-yard attempt as time expired went wide right and Michigan State notched its lone road victory of the season on its final try.

The Spartans end the regular season on a short week next week. Penn State will visit Ford Field in Detroit for a chance to retain the Land Grant Trophy until 2025 on the line. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time on NBC on Friday night.

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