Spartans steal 23-20 win in overtime

East Lansing, Mich. - Michigan State continued its sweet September by stealing victory against Nebraska in overtime, 23-20, Saturday night at Spartan Stadium.

No. 20-ranked Michigan State didn’t get a first down during the second half of play, but a 23-yard run by Kenneth Walker III in overtime set up Matt Coghlin for the game-winning 21-yard field goal.

"Cogs came through for us big," said Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker. "That field goal to win it, he looked at me and was like, 'I got you coach. Man, I've got it.'"

Michigan State improved to 4-0 and will play Western Kentucky next week at Spartan Stadium.

Nebraska (2-3) dominated the second half but let a 20-13 lead slip away when Jayden Reed returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown to tie the score with 3:47 to play.

On that punt return, Reed’s teammate, Jalen Nailor, signaled for a decoy fair catch on the left side of the field, drawing the Nebraska punt coverage to him. But the punt went to Reed on the right side. He ran untouched for the game-tying score, sending Spartan Stadium loony.

“We had a little decoy by Nailor, and it took the whole defense that way,” Reed said. “I saw a line of guys in red go that way. I give credit to Coach Els and the whole special teams unit for opening that thing up for me.”

Michigan State needed a miracle lift from its special teams in order to complement a strong defensive effort and make up for a vanishing offense.

"It was a good call by Coach Ross Els," Tucker said. "Based upon our punt return scheme and what was called and how Nebraska reacted to our formation, it was obvious when the ball was in the air that we had a shot. With a guy like Jay Reed, he doesn’t need a lot of room. But there was a lot of room out there and he was out the gate.

“It’s something that we practiced and we were able to execute it. They kind of reacted the way that we thought they would. It was a good call, good execution and then you have to have good players to execute the plan and make a difference. Jay Reed is a difference-maker.”

Nebraska had two more possessions in regulation, but Michigan State stopped them both times.

MSU’s final drive of regulation went nowhere, as did the Spartan offense for the entire second half.

Nebraska’s overtime possession ended when cornerback Chester Kimbrough stepped in front of an Adrian Martinez pass and nearly returned it for a game-ending touchdown.

MSU’s momentum continued with Walker’s 23-yard run on a counter sweep on the first play of Michigan State's overtime possession.

Nebraska had bottled up Walker most of the night, but the junior transfer from Wake Forest came through on that play and nearly scored.

“I’ve been on some really, really good teams and often times when you see good teams, they have to win games like this,” Tucker said. “These type of wins, these are gut-checks. They can be transformational moments. We’ll just see what’s next for us but I know one thing: This team is very grounded, so we will go back to work and get ready for the next one.”

Nebraska out-gained Michigan State 440-254, and out-rushed the Spartans 188-71.

Martinez was 24 of 34 for 248 yards for the Huskers. He didn’t throw a TD pass, but rushed for two. He threw one interception.

Michigan State quarterback Payton Thorne struggled against a tight, physical Husker defense. He was 14 of 23 for 183 yards with one TD and one interception.

Walker, who came into the game as the nation’s leading rusher, was held to 61 yards on 19 carries, averaging 3.2 per attempt.

“I want to thank our fans,” Tucker said. “They showed up big for us today. They were a huge factor for us in this game. They brought the energy and it was sustained energy. Our student section was loud and we could feel the energy from our fans from start to finish. They were here early and they really helped sustain us and push this team. That was an advantage for us in the game. You could see false starts and things like that, that’s what you call home field advantage and it was a factor.”

Nebraska took a 20-13 lead on an untouched 3-yard run by Martinez, with 7:29 to play.

Nebraska tied the game at 13-13 by driving 60 yards on 14 play to set up Connor Culp with a 28-yard field goal. Nebraska caught a break on that drive when an apparent pass break-up by a hard hit from Michigan State cornerback Ronald Williams was ruled a catch and fumble, recovered by the Huskers for a gain of 8 when it should have been an incompleetion and third-and-10 from the Nebraska 41-yard line. Instead, the Huskers easily converted a third-and-two and continued to drive for the game-tying field goal.

Michigan State took a 7-0 lead with a 35-yard Thorne TD pass to Reed off a flea flicker. It marked the second time this year the Spartans have scored on the trick play. Michigan State began the Youngstown State game with a flea flicker to Reed for 75 yards. On that day, the flea flicker was one of many strong offensive plays for the Spartans, but this week's flea flicker marked one of the last positive moments for the offense.

Nebraska cut the lead to 7-3 with 11:22 left in the first half on a 28-yard field goal by Culp.

Martinez had a 45-yard scramble on that drive to give the Huskers first-and-goal at the 9-yard line, when a late hit personal foul by Angelo Grose was tacked on.

Michigan State stiffened with good coverage on a jailbreak screen on first down and zone coverage in the end zone on third down to force the field goal.

Michigan State went up 10-3 on a 26-yard field goal by Coghlin with 8:20 left in the first half. Michigan State opened that drive with a 35-yard pass from Thorne to Tre Mosley. Reed’s 41-yard kickoff return to the Michigan State 43-yard line gave Michigan State a shorter field to work with.

Thorne was sacked on third-and-four at the 5-yard line to stall the drive. Credit the Husker short-area pass defense with a coverage sack.

Nebraska tied the game at 10-10 with 4:14 left in the first half on a 12-yard Martinez keeper. One play earlier, Nebraska sliced Michigan State for 18 yards on a fourth-and-one speed option pitch to Rahmir Johnson.

Michigan State took a 13-10 lead on a Coghlin 26-yard field goal with 1:03 left in the first half.

Connor Heyward spearheaded that drive, or maybe iron-headed it, with a revved 34-yard catch and run, crashing through two broken tackles down the sideline to the Husker 10.

Michigan State stalled inside the 10-yard line due in part to a false start by right tackle Kevin Jarvis on second-and-goal at the 4. A pair of incompletions led to the field goal attempt and would be Michigan State's final points, prior to the punt return and the overtime field goal.

(More to come at SpartanMag.com, including the V-Cast).