Saturday, September 25
East Lansing, MI
7 P.M.
Michigan State University
4-0 , 2-0
23
vs
20
Nebraska
2-3 , 0-2
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
OT
F
Nebraska
0
10
3
7
0
20
Michigan St.
0
13
0
7
3
23
Photo by: Rey Del Rio/MSU Athletic Communications
No. 20 Michigan State Stages Late Comeback to Top Nebraska in Overtime, 23-20
9/25/2021 11:09:00 PM | Football
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State kicker Matt Coghlin capped off a wild comeback with a 21-yard field goal on the second possession of overtime as the Spartans beat Nebraska, 23-20, at Spartan Stadium on Saturday night.
Payton Thorne completed 14-of-23 passes for 183 yards and one touchdown, while Kenneth Walker III carried the ball 19 times for 61 yards, including a 23-yard gain on his first overtime run. Tre Mosley added six receptions for 70 yards, and Jayden Reed caught four passes for 59 yards and had a 62-yard punt return for a touchdown to tie the game late in the fourth quarter.
Xavier Henderson led Michigan State with 17 total tackles, including one for loss, while Cal Haladay had eight tackles and Jacob Slade had eight tackles, one sack and two tackles-for-loss.
"I'm proud of our football team because we found a way to get the job done and stay in the left-hand column," said MSU head coach Mel Tucker, as the undefeated Spartans moved to 4-0 for the first time since 2015. "I've been on some really, really good teams, and often times when you see the good teams, they are able to win games like this. They find a way."
After a scoreless first quarter, the Spartans took advantage of good field position to start the second, and quickly scored the game's first touchdown on a three-play, 55-yard drive in just 52 seconds, capped by a Thorne 38-yard pass to Reed on a flea flicker. It marked the second time MSU has scored a TD on a flea flicker this season (first play of the game against Youngstown State in Week 2 on a 75-yard pass from Thorne to Reed).
Nebraska got on the board on its next series with a 28-yard field goal by Connor Culp with 11:22 left in the half. Adrian Martinez scrambled 45 yards and a Spartan late hit set up a first-and-goal for the Huskers, but they were forced to kick a field goal.
Reed returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards, sparking a six-play, 49-yard drive that culminated with a 26-yard field by Matt Coghlin to put MSU on top, 10-3, at the 8:20 mark.
Nebraska tied the game at 10 on Martinez's 12-yard touchdown run with 4:20 left in the half.
MSU regained the lead as Coghlin connected on his second field goal, this time from 26 yards out, to make it 13-10 with just over a minute remaining until halftime.
The Spartans forced a quick punt and took over on the Nebraska 46, but a bad snap led to Coghlin's 44-yard field goal getting blocked to end the half.
Culp's 28-yard field goal on Nebraska's first series of the second half tied it at 13 with 9:10 left in the third.
The Spartans forced a fumble on Martinez early in the fourth quarter took over at the Nebraska 45-yard line, but were unable to convert on the turnover.
Nebraska took the next series 80 yards on 11 plays for a touchdown drive, as Martinez ran from 3 yards out for his second rushing TD of the game to give the Huskers a 20-13 lead with 7:29 left in the game.
Michigan State took over with 7:22 to play in regulation, but was forced to punt after three plays. Nebraska took over with 6:22 left, and the Spartan defense responded with its own three-and-out. Reed received the punt at the MSU 38-yard-line, found a seam and broke up the right sideline 62 yards untouched as the Spartans tied the game at 20. It marked MSU's first punt return for a touchdown since 2011.
"All week we were showing our players examples of how special teams were impacting games across the country, whether its punt, punt return, kickoff or kickoff return," said Tucker. "We knew that our return game was on the verge of explosion. We popped a couple kickoff returns. Coach (Ross) Els made a really good call on that last punt return, and then obviously Jayden Reed and those guys got the blocks we needed and got it in there."
Both teams had chances in the final minutes of the fourth quarter before going to overtime.
On the first possession of overtime with Nebraska facing a third-and-3, Michigan State cornerback Chester Kimbrough intercepted a pass from Martinez at the 16-yard line and returned it 62 yards before being tackled.
Michigan State took possession on the 25-yard line and Walker nearly ended it on the first play, taking a direct snap for a 23-yard gain before he was tackled at the 2-yard line. The Spartans ran two plays before Coghlin came on to kick the 21-yard field goal to win the game.
The Spartans return to action Saturday, Oct. 2 for Homecoming against Western Kentucky at 7:30 p.m. in Spartan Stadium.
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Payton Thorne completed 14-of-23 passes for 183 yards and one touchdown, while Kenneth Walker III carried the ball 19 times for 61 yards, including a 23-yard gain on his first overtime run. Tre Mosley added six receptions for 70 yards, and Jayden Reed caught four passes for 59 yards and had a 62-yard punt return for a touchdown to tie the game late in the fourth quarter.
Xavier Henderson led Michigan State with 17 total tackles, including one for loss, while Cal Haladay had eight tackles and Jacob Slade had eight tackles, one sack and two tackles-for-loss.
"I'm proud of our football team because we found a way to get the job done and stay in the left-hand column," said MSU head coach Mel Tucker, as the undefeated Spartans moved to 4-0 for the first time since 2015. "I've been on some really, really good teams, and often times when you see the good teams, they are able to win games like this. They find a way."
After a scoreless first quarter, the Spartans took advantage of good field position to start the second, and quickly scored the game's first touchdown on a three-play, 55-yard drive in just 52 seconds, capped by a Thorne 38-yard pass to Reed on a flea flicker. It marked the second time MSU has scored a TD on a flea flicker this season (first play of the game against Youngstown State in Week 2 on a 75-yard pass from Thorne to Reed).
Nebraska got on the board on its next series with a 28-yard field goal by Connor Culp with 11:22 left in the half. Adrian Martinez scrambled 45 yards and a Spartan late hit set up a first-and-goal for the Huskers, but they were forced to kick a field goal.
Reed returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards, sparking a six-play, 49-yard drive that culminated with a 26-yard field by Matt Coghlin to put MSU on top, 10-3, at the 8:20 mark.
Nebraska tied the game at 10 on Martinez's 12-yard touchdown run with 4:20 left in the half.
MSU regained the lead as Coghlin connected on his second field goal, this time from 26 yards out, to make it 13-10 with just over a minute remaining until halftime.
The Spartans forced a quick punt and took over on the Nebraska 46, but a bad snap led to Coghlin's 44-yard field goal getting blocked to end the half.
Culp's 28-yard field goal on Nebraska's first series of the second half tied it at 13 with 9:10 left in the third.
The Spartans forced a fumble on Martinez early in the fourth quarter took over at the Nebraska 45-yard line, but were unable to convert on the turnover.
Nebraska took the next series 80 yards on 11 plays for a touchdown drive, as Martinez ran from 3 yards out for his second rushing TD of the game to give the Huskers a 20-13 lead with 7:29 left in the game.
Michigan State took over with 7:22 to play in regulation, but was forced to punt after three plays. Nebraska took over with 6:22 left, and the Spartan defense responded with its own three-and-out. Reed received the punt at the MSU 38-yard-line, found a seam and broke up the right sideline 62 yards untouched as the Spartans tied the game at 20. It marked MSU's first punt return for a touchdown since 2011.
"All week we were showing our players examples of how special teams were impacting games across the country, whether its punt, punt return, kickoff or kickoff return," said Tucker. "We knew that our return game was on the verge of explosion. We popped a couple kickoff returns. Coach (Ross) Els made a really good call on that last punt return, and then obviously Jayden Reed and those guys got the blocks we needed and got it in there."
Both teams had chances in the final minutes of the fourth quarter before going to overtime.
On the first possession of overtime with Nebraska facing a third-and-3, Michigan State cornerback Chester Kimbrough intercepted a pass from Martinez at the 16-yard line and returned it 62 yards before being tackled.
Michigan State took possession on the 25-yard line and Walker nearly ended it on the first play, taking a direct snap for a 23-yard gain before he was tackled at the 2-yard line. The Spartans ran two plays before Coghlin came on to kick the 21-yard field goal to win the game.
The Spartans return to action Saturday, Oct. 2 for Homecoming against Western Kentucky at 7:30 p.m. in Spartan Stadium.
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Team Stats
NEB
MSU
Total Yards
442
254
Pass Yards
248
183
Rushing Yards
194
71
Penalty Yards
40
44
1st Downs
26
12
3rd Downs
7
1
4th Downs
2
0
TOP
37:28
22:32
2nd Quarter
NEB 0, MSU 7
MSU - Reed,Jayden 35 yd pass from Thorne,Payton (Coghlin,Matt kick) 3 plays, 55 yards, TOP 00:52
NEB 3, MSU 7
NEB - Culp,Connor 28 yd field goal 7 plays, 65 yards, TOP 02:46
NEB 3, MSU 10
MSU - Coghlin,Matt 26 yd field goal 6 plays, 49 yards, TOP 02:54
NEB 10, MSU 10
NEB - Martinez,Adrian 12 yd run (Culp,Connor kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:00
NEB 10, MSU 13
MSU - Coghlin,Matt 27 yd field goal 9 plays, 61 yards, TOP 03:11
3rd Quarter
NEB 13, MSU 13
NEB - Culp,Connor 28 yd field goal 14 plays, 60 yards, TOP 05:50
4th Quarter
NEB 20, MSU 13
NEB - Martinez,Adrian 3 yd run (Culp,Connor kick), 11 plays, 80 yards, TOP 05:05
NEB 20, MSU 20
MSU - Reed,Jayden 62 yd punt return (Coghlin,Matt kick)
OT Quarter
NEB 20, MSU 23
MSU - Coghlin,Matt 21 yd field goal 4 plays, 22 yards, TOP 00:00
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
14
TD
1
YDS
183
INT
1
Players Mentioned
K
/ Football
LB
/ Football
S
/ Football
CB
/ Football
WR
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WR
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DT
/ FootballQB
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RB
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