Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Green-White Spring Game
White Defeats Green, 14-11, Before Spring Game Record Crowd
4/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
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EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Before a Michigan State spring game record crowd of 51,000, the White defeated the Green, 14-11, on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Spartan Stadium.
The game capped a successful spring season for Michigan State, as the Spartans will look to defend their Big Ten title in the fall.
"I thought, first of all, great crowd," said MSU head coach Mark Dantonio. "A lot of people came. Tremendous crowd for us. We keep trying to raise the bar a little bit as we move forward, but very appreciative of everyone coming and being a part of things. They turned it up out there a little bit, which is good to see and good for our players to experience. Much like a gameday atmosphere, so that was very positive.
"When you look at any spring game, you're going to see good and bad. You play a lot of different people. We drafted up the teams, so people aren't playing with each other in terms of the ones and the twos and things like that. I thought the hitting was crisp. I was impressed with the way our running backs ran the football, but I was also very impressed in terms of how we closed on the running back and made tackles and space. I think that's what you have to do on the defensive side of the ball."
All five Spartan quarterbacks on the roster saw playing time. Fifth-year senior Tyler O'Connor led all quarterbacks, completing 10-of-16 passes for 138 yards and one touchdown for the Green. Damion Terry led the White with 70 yards passing while completing 6-of-12 throws.
"I thought Tyler [O'Connor] did a nice job, all three guys (O'Connor, Terry, Brian Lewerke), really," Dantonio said. "First three guys made plays with their feet. Big gains at one point in time, so that was positive. Obviously, we have to correct some things with our quarterbacks, but quarterback is about decision making and leading in the huddle, and then also about creating plays. We'll look at the film and sort of evaluate that.
"It comes down to decision-making, creating plays and leadership. Right now Tyler [O'Connor] has done a nice job at that and the other guys have too, but not as consistent. We'll see how they all come out in August."
The tight ends had a big day on offense, as fifth-year senior Jamal Lyles recorded three receptions for 56 yards for the Green, and Josiah Price had three catches for 41 yards for the White. Monty Madaris also had three receptions for 33 yards for the Green.
Defensively, red-shirt freshman safety David Dowell and fifth-year senior linebacker Riley Bullough led the White with six tackles apiece, while junior safety Montae Nicholson had six tackles for the Green.
The Green opened the game's scoring with a 42-yard field goal by Michael Geiger with 3:07 remaining in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Delton Williams capped a nine-play, 58-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to give the White a 7-3 lead.
Both teams scored touchdowns in the last minute of the third quarter. Terry led a 10-play, 52-yard drive with a 3-yard TD run to put the White on top, 14-3. Terry was 3-of-4 passing on the drive, and his 23-yard completion to Price set up the touchdown run on first-and-goal.
The Green responded with a quick 70-yard touchdown drive in just 44 seconds. O'Connor completed an 8-yard pass to Felton Davis III and a 22-yard pass to Matt Macksood before taking off on a rush for 27 yards, making it first-and-10 from the 13-yard line. On the fourth play of the drive, O'Connor connected on a 13-yard scoring strike to Cam Chambers in the corner of the end zone with nine seconds left in the third. On the ensuing two-point conversion, O'Connor found Macksood in the end zone to cut the lead to 14-11 in favor of the White.
After forcing the White to a three-and-out, the Green received the ball with 7:35 left in the fourth quarter at its own 30-yard line. Lewerke led the Green on a drive to the White 27-yard line, which included a 10-yard pass to Madaris and a 25-yard run, but David Dowell intercepted a pass at the 14-yard line with just 1:05 left, sealing the win for the White.
"We ask our guys to go 15 for 15 in April -- all 15 practices," said Dantonio. "We ask them to get a little bit better every day, three percent better. That's what we talk about when we first came in here on the first day of spring ball when we first had a press conference. I thought we got that from our football team. We move forward, we set our goals high, and we're looking forward to the start of the 2016 season."
Before the spring game, an all-time record 1,817 children participated in the annual youth football clinic (previous mark: 1,718 in 2015).
