The Sports Xchange
Oct 2, 2016
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- It took almost three quarters to get rolling, but when it did, Indiana couldn't be stopped.
The Hoosiers rallied from a 14-0 deficit on Saturday night to beat No. 17 Michigan State 24-21 in overtime on a 20-yard field goal from Griffin Oakes.
It's the second straight loss for the Spartans (2-2, 0-2 Big Ten), who hadn't lost consecutive games since 2012. For the Hoosiers (3-1, 1-0), it was a workmanlike Big Ten opener as junior quarterback Richard Lagow threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns while also catching a 5-yard touchdown pass.
Lagow's final touchdown pass to Mitchell Paige put Indiana ahead 21-14 with less than five minutes to play. However, Michigan State answered with a 13-play drive and tied the score on a 2-yard pass from fifth-year senior quarterback Tyler O'Connor to senior tight end Josiah Price with 11 seconds to play.
In overtime, though, it was all Indiana as O'Connor was sacked twice and senior Michael Geiger missed badly on a 49-yard field goal attempt on the Spartans' possession.
Indiana then lined up for a 33-yard field goal to win the game from Oakes. It went wide left, but Michigan State was called for leaping over the pile, giving the Hoosiers a first down. Three plays later, Oakes was good from 20 yards for the victory.
Ricky Jones finished with five catches for 124 yards for Indiana and Devine Redding ran 19 times for 100 yards for the Hoosiers.
O'Connor threw for 263 yards and three touchdowns and R.J. Shelton caught seven passes for 141 yards for the Spartans.
After taking a 7-0 lead at halftime, Michigan State took advantage of Indiana's second missed field goal attempt of the game, going 77 yards and capping a seven-play drive with a 24-yard touchdown pass from O'Connor to Delton Williams.
The touchdown put the Spartans ahead 14-0 with four minutes left in the third quarter, but it came on a play that looked doomed from the start. O'Connor took the shotgun snap and collided with Shelton, who was going in motion. O'Connor managed to scramble to his right and found Williams uncovered inside the 5-yard line, hitting him with the pass as Williams walked into the end zone.
Indiana bounced right back, however, as Lagow connected with Jones on a 57-yard pass. Six plays later, the Hoosiers found the end zone and Paige took a jet sweep handoff from Lagow and then threw back to Lagow for a 5-yard touchdown to cut the Michigan State advantage to 14-7 with 52 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Spartans had a chance to add to the lead and were deep in Indiana territory on the ensuing drive early in the fourth quarter, but on a fourth-down run from O'Connor that would have picked up a first down, Price was called for holding, forcing the Spartans to punt.
It proved to be a critical penalty as Indiana marched 90 yards in eight plays to tie the score 14-14 with 8:23 left in the fourth quarter on a 22-yard pass from Lagow to Jones. The key play on the drive was a 40-yard strike from Lagow to sophomore receiver Luke Timian that put the ball in Michigan State territory.
Michigan State then went three-and-out and Indiana took over at its 30 with 6:22 to play. The Hoosiers struck quickly, getting 44 yards from Redding on first down then scoring four plays later on a 15-yard strike from Lagow to Paige to take a 21-14 lead with 4:38 to play.
The Spartans answered with one of their best drives of the game, capping an 13-play march with a 2-yard pass from O'Connor to Price with 11 seconds to play. The extra point from Geiger knotted the score 21-21.
The first half was as sloppy as it gets as Michigan State and Indiana were each flagged seven times apiece, both had a turnover, and neither could convert with any consistency on third down as the Spartans were 2 of 8 and the Hoosiers were 3 of 7.
A big play for Michigan State was the lone highlight of the first half. With the Spartans facing a second-and-9 from its 14, O’Connor hit senior Shelton in stride down the middle of the field and Shelton outran the Indiana defense, diving to the pylon for an 86-yard touchdown to put Michigan State ahead 7-0 with 4:39 left in the first quarter.
Michigan State had a chance to add to the lead later in the first quarter, but Geiger had a 40-yard field-goal attempt blocked by Indiana defensive end Patrick Dougherty.
Indiana had a shot in the second quarter, reaching the Michigan State 28 before Lagow was intercepted in the end zone by Michigan State cornerback Vayante Copeland.
NOTES: Fifth-year senior LB Riley Bullough missed his second straight game for Michigan State because of a shoulder injury. Bullough first hurt the shoulder during the week of preparation for Notre Dame two weeks ago and aggravated the injury during the game. It forced the middle linebacker to sit out last week against Wisconsin and coach Mark Dantonio described Bullough as day-to-day. ... Michigan State was also without junior LB Jon Reschke, who hurt his ankle against Wisconsin and is expected to miss significant time. ... Michigan State's players wore black socks and black shoes to honor former defensive back Mylan Hicks, who was shot and killed outside a Calgary nightclub Sunday morning. Hicks, who played from 2010 to 2014, was a member of the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL. ... Indiana RG Dan Feeney was out for the second straight week as the senior continues to recover from a concussion. ... The Hoosiers were also without senior RT Dimitric Camiel, who missed the Wake Forest game with a back injury.
