2011 GAME RECAPS GAME 7 • NO. 15/13 MICHIGAN STATE 37, NO. 4/4 WISCONSIN 31 Game 7 vs. Wisconsin Oct. 22, 2011 • East Lansing, Mich. Spartan Stadium • Att: 76,405
SCORE BY QUARTERS Wisconsin (6-1, 2-1) Michigan State (6-1, 3-0)
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - A heave. A carom. A desperate struggle for the last few inches. And after further review, a miraculous win by Michigan State. Keith Nichol caught a 44-yard pass from Kirk Cousins on the game’s final play for a tiebreaking touchdown, giving the 15th-ranked Spartans a 37-31 victory against No. 4 Wisconsin. With 4 seconds left, Cousins rolled out to his right and threw it about as far as he could. The ball went into the end zone but caromed off Michigan State receiver B.J. Cunningham’s facemask back to Nichol, who caught it just outside the end zone and struggled for the goal line, fighting two Wisconsin defenders and just barely breaking the plane. The former back-up quarterback was initially ruled short of the end zone, but officials overturned the call after a review, giving the Spartans (6-1, 3-0 Big Ten) the win and knocking the Badgers (6-1, 2-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten. “We knew we had a chance,” Cousins said. “There’s always a chance.” Russell Wilson had led the Badgers from 14 points down in the fourth quarter to tie the game with 1:26 left on a to 2-yard touchdown pass to Montee Ball. The wild game - in which both teams blew two-touchdown leads - featured an even more memorable finish. Wisconsin trailed 31-17 in the fourth quarter before Wilson ran 22 yards for a touchdown and made several spectacular throws on the move to set up the TD pass to Ball to tie it at 31. Michigan State then survived a harrowing moment when Cousins fumbled deep in Spartan territory. Offensive lineman Dan France fell on the ball with 42 seconds left. At that point, Wisconsin was eager to use timeouts, trying to get the ball back, but on second-and-20 from his own 24, Cousins found Cunningham for a 12-yard gain. The Spartans then picked up a first down on an 11-yard shovel pass to Keshawn Martin. “If we get the ball back with less than 30 seconds, we were going to go for a block,” Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said. “We were going for the win.” Michigan State’s last drive appeared to stall at the Wisconsin 44, but the Spartans had time for one more play - one that will go down in Michigan State history along with last year’s fake field that beat Notre Dame in another extraordinary night game at Spartan Stadium. Cousins was able to buy enough time for receivers to get down the field. Cunningham was in the end zone, and the ball bounced off his helmet and into Nichol’s arms. After Nichol caught the pass, Michigan State players immediately started spilling onto the field, even though officials ruled that Wisconsin’s Mike Taylor had stopped him short. When the call was reversed and a touchdown was awarded, the celebration began again. “It’s a play that everybody practices,” Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. “You never know when it’s going to come to fruition.”
SCORING SUMMARY
1 14 0
2 0 23
3 3 0
4 14 14
-
F 31 37
FIRST QUARTER WIS (7-0) Pedersen 9-yard pass from Wilson (Welch kick), 8:48 left Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 6:18 WIS (14-0) Ball 9-yard run (Welch kick), 7:42 left Drive: 3 plays, 30 yards, 0:56 SECOND QUARTER MSU (2-14) Team safety, 13:10 left MSU (9-14) Martin 34-yard run (Conroy kick), 11:22 left Drive: 4 plays, 72 yards, 1:47 MSU (16-14) Cunningham 35-yard pass from Cousins (Conroy kick), 1:20 left Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 4:35 MSU (23-14) Fowler 0-yard blocked punt return (Conroy kick), 0:37 left THIRD QUARTER WIS (17-23) Welch 33-yard field goal, 8:29 left Drive: 8 plays, 58 yards, 3:24 FOURTH QUARTER MSU (31-17) Martin 15-yard pass from Cousins (Cunningham pass from Cousins), 10:58 left Drive: 13 plays, 80 yards, 7:40 WIS (24-31) Wilson 22-yard run (Welch kick), 8:10 left Drive: 3 plays, 43 yards, 0:36 WIS (31-31) Ball 2-yard pass from Wilson (Welch kick), 1:26 left Drive: 8 plays, 87 yards, 3:09 MSU (37-31) Nichol 44-yard pass from Cousins, 0:00 left Drive: 9 plays, 78 yards, 1:19
TEAM STATISTICS
WIS
MSU
First Downs Rushes-Yards Passing Yards Passes Total Offense Punts-Avg. Fumbles-Lost Penalties-Yards Possession Time
23 41-220 223 14-21-2 443 3-27.7 1-0 6-40 28:29
18 32-109 290 22-31-0 399 7-38.0 2-1 0-0 31:31
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING (CARRIES-YARDS) MSU: Bell 16-87, Martin 1-34, Baker 11-15, Cousins 4-(-27); WIS: Ball 18-115, White 11-42, Abbrederis 4-33, Wilson 8-30. PASSING (C-A-I-YARDS-TD) MSU: Cousins 22-31-0-290-3; WIS: Wilson 14-21-2-223-2. RECEIVING (RECEPTIONS-YARDS) MSU: Cunningham 6-102, Martin 5-41, Bell 4-27, Linthicum 3-58, Sims 2-12, Nichol 1-44, Caper 1-6; WIS: Abbrederis 6-91, Toon 2-58, Ball 2-24, Pedersen 2-23, Ewing 1-15, White 1-12.
36
Keith Nichol made the game-winning, 44-yard catch off a Hail Mary pass from Kirk Cousins on the final play of the game as the Spartans defeated No. 4 Wisconsin, 37-31.
TACKLES-TOP FIVE (TOTAL-SOLO-ASSISTS) MSU: Norman 9 (6-3), Robinson 8 (4-4), Adams 7 (5-2), Dennard 6 (4-2), Lewis 6 (3-3); WIS: Borland 13 (6-7), Taylor 7 (4-3), Henry 7 (4-3), Fenelus 6 (4-2), three with four.
2012 MICHIGAN STATE SPRING FOOTBALL