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Published Nov 19, 2022
Old Vomit Spittoon? Spartans squander big lead, lose to Indiana
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Jim Comparoni  •  Spartans Illustrated
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East Lansing, Mich. - After this, they might want to rename it the Old Vomit Spittoon.

Michigan State squandered leads of 24-7 and 31-14 in losing to Indiana in double overtime, 39-31.

Trailing by eight in double-overtime, Payton Thorne’s fourth-down pass intended for Jayden Reed in the back of the end zone was knocked incomplete as Indiana broke a seven-game losing streak and claimed the Old Brass Spittoon for the first time in eight years.

Michigan State falls to 5-6 on the season, needing a win at Penn State next week in order to secure bowl eligibility, something which seemed like a cinch at halftime of this game at frigid, blustery Spartan Stadium but seems unlikely after this ugly collapse.

“I’ll go back to the film right after this and I’ll want to vomit because one block missed here, one guy not in his kickoff lane here, missed field goal here, missed tackle, I mean that’s what it is," said MSU head coach Mel Tucker. "That’s why we have to come back ready to work tomorrow to try to eliminate all mistakes and have a high level of execution. And I don’t have any doubt that we will do that because that’s what we have always done. We have very high-character guys and our guys have shown that they can respond to adversity pretty much all season.”

HOW IT WENT DOWN

Indiana took a 39-31 lead in the second overtime when Shaun Shivers scored on a 1-yard TD run. One play earlier, QB Dexter Williams completed only his second pass of the game, fooling Michigan State with a play action strike to his tight end AJ Barner to the 1-yard line.

At the end of the first overtime, Michigan State senior defensive end Michael Fletcher blocked a 26-yard field goal attempt by Charles Campbell which could have won it for the Hoosiers at the end of the first overtime. Michigan State celebrated after that play, but it only delayed the eventual agony.

At the end of regulation, Michigan State kicker Ben Patton missed a 22-yard field goal, wide left, as time expired. And then his field goal attempt in the first possession of overtime was blocked after a high snap.

Michigan State drove 70 yards on 14 plays to set up Patton with the opportunity at the end of regulation. It was the second time this season that the Michigan State field goal unit failed to win a game on the last snap of regulation. In that game, Michigan State battled back to beat Wisconsin in overtime. This time, the Spartans weren’t as fortunate.

Indiana tied the game at 31-31 on a 1-yard plunge by running back Josh Henderson with 12:59 left in the fourth quarter.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Thorne was 27 of 42 for 298 yards with 2 TDs and 1 INT as Michigan State out-gained Indiana 540-288.

But Indiana rushed for 257 yards and had a plus-1 edge in turnovers and a big edge in special teams.

Wide receiver Keon Coleman had eight catches for 107 yards and one touchdown.

Jayden Reed, playing his final game at Spartan Stadium, had four catches for 52 yards.

Running back Elijah Collins rushed for 107 yards on 19 carries and had four catches for 43 yards.

Running back Jalen Berger rushed for 119 yards on 21 carries, while missing much of the second half with an apparent lower body injury.

Indiana quarterback Dexter Williams completed only 2 of 7 passes for 31 yards but had a big completion of 24 yards in the second overtime to the 1-yard line, and rushed for 86 yards on 16 carries.

Indiana running back Shaun Shivers rushed for 115 yards on 13 carries.

INDIANA’S COMEBACK

Indiana out-scored Michigan State 17-7, thanks to two huge, explosive plays.

On Indiana’s first snap of the second half, Hoosier RB Shaun Shivers ran 79 yards for a touchdown, out-racing MSU’s single-safety deep defensive play call. That cut the lead to 24-14.

After Michigan State took a 31-14 lead on a 31-yard TD run by Elijah Collins, Indiana freshman Jaylin Lucas returned the ensuing kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown, cutting it to 31-21. Michigan State freshman Dillon Tatum lost leverage at the outset of the coverage.

Then on the first play of MSU’s next drive, Thorne’s pass intended for Germie Bernard was juggled, tipped and intercepted by Indiana’s Jonathan Haynes at the Michigan State 29-yard line.

Michigan State forced a three-and-out, thanks to a Cal Haladay run blitz and heat-seeking tackle from the back side on RB Josh Henderson. Charles Campbell’s 40-yard field goal cut the lead to 31-24 with 4:14 left in the third quarter.

MSU’s next offensive possession ended when Thorne’s back-shoulder pass intended for Carr in man-to-man coverage fell incomplete on third-and-six at the Michigan State 45-yard line.

MSU’s first two drives of the second half ended with errors by tight end Daniel Barker. He dropped a pass on third-and-six at the Michigan State 38 on the first one. On the second, he was beaten inside by Indiana defensive end Alfred Bryant on third-and-one, and Jalen Berger was stopped for a loss.

THE REST OF IT

Michigan State took the lead for good at 10-7 with a stroke of luck. Thorne’s pass to RB Elijah Collins in the flat had too much zip on it. The ball glanced through Collins’ hands and into those of tight end Maliq Carr, completing a 5-yard TD pass.

Earlier on the drive, Berger had gains of 29 and 12.

Michigan State made it 17-7 when Collins made a short jump cut for a 1-yard TD run, after Jayden Reed drew a pass interference flag in the end zone.

Earlier in the drive, Berger had a 36-yard run on an inside zone, thanks to a forceful block from right guard Geno VanDeMark, making his first start as a Spartan.

Michigan State extended its lead to 24-7 at halftime when Thorne completed a 2-yard TD pass to Keon Coleman on a back shoulder fade to the short side.

Earlier in the drive, Thorne found Maliq Carr for a gain of 13 on a square out on third-and-eight.

Indiana took a 7-0 lead on its opening drive after a 43-yard kickoff return to midfield by freshman Jaylin Lucas. Four plays later Indiana QB Dexter Williams sprinted 34 yards for a touchdown, signaling that Indiana came to play and that Michigan State would need to scrap in order to retain the Spittoon. In the end, Michigan State didn’t scrap hard enough, long enough or sharply enough. And now, a season which looked like it had a chance to end on an upbeat, is back to flat-line status.

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