No. 11/9 Spartans Fall at Washington, 39-28

SEATTLE – The No. 11/9 Michigan State football team fell at Washington, 39-28, on Saturday before a crowd of 68,161 at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium.

Spartan quarterback Payton Thorne completed 30-of-42 passes for 323 yards and three touchdowns, while sophomore wide receiver Keon Coleman recorded career highs in receptions (9), receiving yards (116) and touchdown catches (2). Tight end Daniel Barker also had seven catches for 69 yards and Tre Mosley hauled in five passes for 64 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown.

Three Spartans had eight tackles apiece – Kendell Brooks, Simeon Barrow and Cal Haladay – to pace the defense.

Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was 24-of-40 passing for 397 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Huskies.

"We had a lot of support out here today and we really appreciate that," said MSU head coach Mel Tucker. "It's just a shame that we weren't able to come out here and play well today. There are no excuses or no explanations. We give Washington credit. They're very well coached and they outplayed us today in all three phases. We're going to learn a lot from it. We're going to show up tomorrow ready to work and we're going to have a better response next weekend."

Washington (3-0) scored a touchdown on its first series to quickly go up 7-0 as Penix threw an 8-yard TD pass to Ja'Lynn Polk. Later in the first, the Spartans stopped the Huskies on four consecutive runs inside the MSU 1-yard line, but on the ensuing series, Jarek Broussard was stopped for a safety, making it 9-0 in favor of Washington.

The Huskies then took advantage of good field position, driving 50 yards on just six plays, capped by a Cameron Davis 1-yard touchdown run. Washington increased its lead to 22-0 on a 19-yard Penix touchdown pass to Wayne Taulapapa with 8:32 left in the half.

The Spartans got on the board at the 1:30 mark in the second quarter as Thorne found Coleman in the end zone on fourth down for a 7-yard score. Coleman also caught the two-point conversion pass to cut into the Huskies lead, 22-8; however, Penix drove the Huskies down the field just before the half and threw his third TD pass of the first half with a 17-yard strike to Polk in the back corner of the end zone.

MSU received the ball first to start the second half and drove 75 yards on eight plays for a touchdown as Mosley caught a 26-yard pass in the end zone on fourth-and-6 from the UW 26. The Spartans failed to convert the two-point conversion, making it 29-14.

On the ensuing series, Washington answered with another touchdown pass by Penix, this time a 53-yarder to Polk for his third TD reception of the game to put UW on top, 36-14, with 11:02 remaining in the third.

In the fourth quarter, the Huskies tacked on a field goal to go up, 39-14, but the Spartans rallied back with two touchdowns to cut the margin to 39-28. Elijah Collins had a 1-yard TD run for the second straight game to cap an eight-play, 70-yard drive with 6:51 left in the game, and Thorne connected with Coleman on a 33-yard pass for his second TD of the game. On the second touchdown of the fourth quarter, Thorne found Coleman in the end zone for a two-point conversion.

The Spartans failed to recover the ensuing onside kick, but did force a Washington punt to get the ball back; however, MSU turned the ball over on downs with 2:52 left and the Huskies ran out the clock to win the game.

Michigan State returns to action Saturday, Sept. 24 for the Big Ten opener against Minnesota at 3:30 p.m. in Spartan Stadium. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

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Team Stats

Payton Thorne

Players Mentioned

Daniel Barker

Kendell Brooks

Jarek Broussard

Keon Coleman

Elijah Collins

Cal Haladay

Tre Mosley

Payton Thorne

Players Mentioned

Daniel Barker

Kendell Brooks

Jarek Broussard

Keon Coleman

Elijah Collins

Cal Haladay

Tre Mosley

Payton Thorne