No. 10 Michigan State staves off No. 17 Nebraska
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Breaking down No. 10 Michigan State's 27-22 win against No. 17 Nebraska:
THE BIG PICTURE: There's something to be said for simply outscoring the competition, particularly on a college football week of such landscape-altering results: Oregon fell first, then Texas A&M, then Alabama and then Oklahoma, drastically changing the makeup and outlook of the College Football Playoff race near the midpoint of the regular season. Michigan State wasn't perfect against Nebraska, no; if anything, the Spartans were uncharacteristically sloppy and unforeseeably prone to mental lapses. Yet wins are wins, and wins — despite some hand-wringing to the contrary — will determine the playoff: Michigan State topped Nebraska after surviving a 19-point Cornhuskers rally in the fourth quarter.
While keeping the Spartans in the playoff mix, the win came with questions. Can Connor Cook and this passing game be accurate enough with its back to the wall in must-have games? While able to exploit Nebraska's defense downfield, Cook was inaccurate on shorter, more intermediate throws. Can this defense effectively corral offenses of Nebraska's caliber — spread-based, sideline to sideline, up-tempo? The win counts, and it'll linger beyond Saturday night. But the coaching staff has issues to address.
WHAT WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT: The following teams joined Michigan State in the one-loss club: Oregon, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Brigham Young. Stanford dropped out of the picture with its second loss of the young season. Each loss brought the Spartans steps closer to the upper crust of the College Football Playoff hunt. It's an ever-changing group, it seems, but Michigan State remains in the club for one reason above the rest: the Spartans' one loss came on the road to Oregon, and that fact alone puts them on equal footing with other one-loss contenders across college football.
THE DECIDING PLAY: The Spartans' special teams had two notable miscues. The second was a coverage-team meltdown that allowed Nebraska true freshman Demornay Pierson-El to burst into the end zone on a punt return to draw Nebraska within five points with minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Earlier, when ahead 14-0 six minutes into the second quarter, wide receiver Macgarrett Kings mishandled a Nebraska punt and gave the Cornhuskers possession just on the outskirts of the Michigan State red zone. Four plays later, however, running back Ameer Abdullah had the ball stripped while driving for yardage at the 7-yard line. Michigan State end Shilique Calhoun scooped up the loose ball and rumbled to the 45, and kicker Michael Geiger would later convert a 28-yard field goal to push the lead to 17-0.
BREAKOUT PLAYER: He doesn't land the acclaim of Calhoun, his All-American teammate, and has spent much of his career playing second fiddle to Michigan State's parade of standout linebackers. But Taiwan Jones is the glue that holds the Spartans' defense together, from getting teammates aligned before the snap to quickly identifying Nebraska's schemes and tricks — seemingly calling out Nebraska's audibles only seconds after Armstrong himself. Jones and this defense would keep the Cornhuskers out of the end zone until two minutes into the fourth quarter.
KEY STAT: Nebraska's offense entered the weekend ranked eighth nationally in yards per game, at 572.6, and sixth in yards per play. At halftime, the Spartans' stifling defense had held the Cornhuskers to 85 yards on 37 plays – an average of just 2.3 yards per snap.