Safeties Play Key Role In Victory Over U-M
10/25/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Steve Grinczel, MSUSpartans.com Online Columnist | @GrinzOnGreen
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Mark Dantonio snagged RJ Williamson by the arm in a hallway of new North End Zone Complex at Spartan Stadium. The eighth-year Michigan State head coach and the junior strong safety traded smiles, and then Dantonio patted Williamson on the heart.
On a personal level, the gesture recognized Williamson's midseason comeback from a series of setbacks that cost him his starting job in the previous three games. On a grander scale, it was an acknowledgement of the way Williamson and his defensive teammates mauled Michigan during a momentous 35-11 victory.
Williamson and senior free safety Kurtis Drummond, who also battled his way out of a bit of a slump, were the emotional superchargers for a defensive effort that held the Wolverines to 65 rushing yards on 28 attempts for a paltry 2.3 average. Through the air, Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner missed more than half of his passes, completing just 13 of 28 for 121 yards and two interceptions.
And it was Williamson's interception return for a touchdown that broke open what had been an 11-point game in the third quarter.
Williamson was in perfect position to pick off Gardner's pass coming out of the left side of the U-M backfield until wideout Dennis Norfleet banged into him. Nevertheless, the sturdy, 6-foot, 214-pound Williamson shrugged off the contact and remained focused on the ball until he got an initial bobble under control. Then, he raced 29 yards up the left sideline for his first career score and a 21-3 lead.
Redemption, at the hands of the Wolverines, couldn't have been sweeter.
"As Kurtis was saying, people make bad plays and have bad games, but it's the ones who can overcome those bad games who make the difference," Williamson said. "I was offered a scholarship for a reason. Coaches believed in me since high school and I took it upon myself to do what needed to be done today.
"We take pride in this game no matter what they say on their side of the ball. We take this game seriously and I was motivated and amped up to do what I needed to, to help this team win. I think I played pretty well and that all goes to coaches putting me in the right position to make plays and giving me a chance to make plays on the ball, and great teammates that do the right thing to make my job easier.
"I'm thankful for that."
The Spartans extended their streak of preventing Michigan from scoring a touchdown to 11-plus quarters dating back to the final period of the 2011 game.
After MSU increased its lead to 28-3 in the third quarter, the Wolverines drove to the Spartan 10-yard line. On third-and-five, Drummond broke up a pass U-M wideout Devin Funchess appeared to momentarily have in the end zone.
On fourth down, the Spartans flushed Gardner out of the pocket and he scrambled toward the first-down marker. However, Williamson held him up just enough until defensive tackle Lawrence Thomas arrived to plant the Wolverine quarterback in the ground, a half-yard short of the necessary yardage.
Williamson's solid performance a week earlier in the win at Indiana helped him win the job back from up-and-coming true freshman Montae Nicholson and allowed him to team with Drummond for the tandem's best game of the season.
"We were just both back there comfortable, having fun and just playing," Drummond said. "When you do that, you're not thinking. You're just able to fly around and feed off each other. It's definitely a great starting point for our chemistry back there."
The synergy and energy displayed by Williamson and Drummond rubbed off on the entire defense.
"RJ played a great game and him having that pick-six really started the momentum for us," said cornerback Trae Waynes. "I feel like his whole play today was more like a statement game for him. He was really enthusiastic and played very passionately, and we all fed off it.
"And Kurtis, he's always been one of the main leaders on the defense. He lines guys up and puts people in the right place and is always flying around trying to make plays. The whole game, him and RJ were keeping all of us up by saying something wasn't good enough. Holding them to three points wasn't good enough."
Early in the fourth quarter, middle linebacker Taiwan Jones thwarted another Michigan threat when he plucked Gardner's ill-advised shovel pass an inch or so off ground at the Michigan State 25-yard line.
The 186-minute touchdown-less streak finally did come to an end when the Wolverines converted a fumble by running back Jeremy Langford at the MSU 33 into a 1-yard touchdown run. Michigan State co-offensive coordinator Dave Warner apologized for putting the defense in that position, but Williamson didn't sweat it.
"Everybody was upset we let them score there because they haven't scored on us for like three years and we really tried to keep that rolling," he said. "But, events happen throughout the game. They ended up getting in there, but it's not like the end of the world or a moral defeat at all.
"All that matters is we got the win. We've won six of the last seven against them and dominated. I'm pretty sure everybody in the Spartan Nation is happy about that."
Defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi certainly was. The Spartans held an opponent to under 100 rushing yards for the fifth time and allowed less than 200 total yards for the second time - they kept Eastern Michigan to 115 - this season.
Williamson and Drummond were that the heart of the matter. "RJ with the pick-six and a big game, I'm happy for him," Narduzzi said. "That's Spartan football right there. I don't really care about the stats. Our kids played tough all day. We gave up less than 200 yards and any time you do that against any offense, I don't care who you're playing, that's just great defense.
"Montae Nicholoson is still a baby, and he's going to be a great player. RJ is a veteran guy and sometimes you get in a little slump and we never say, you're the starter we're just going to stay with you. There's competition every week. But the beautiful thing about RJ Williamson is, we're on the sideline making some adjustments in the fourth quarter, and RJ turns around to Montae and is coaching him up. That's the type of kids we have in this program. He wasn't bitter."
Williamson, a Dayton native, would like nothing better than to have the defense reprise what it did against Michigan, after next week's bye, against Ohio State in a showdown for first place in the Big Ten East Division on Nov. 8.
"I'm excited for the next game," Williamson said. "Being an Ohio guy with them right in my backyard that game is going to mean as much to me as this one meant to us today. I'll take the same approach."
