I gave Michigan State a zero percent chance of winning this game, and I would like to congratulate everyone who is about to remind me of that for the foreseeable future.
You earned it. Enjoy yourselves.
I looked at the injuries, the offense, the six consecutive losses, and the trip to Ann Arbor, and decided there was no reasonable way the Spartans were coming home with Paul Bunyan. I even offered to eat an actual crow if they won, which has become an unfortunate logistical problem for my Sunday.
Michigan State beat Michigan 15–6, and the part I still cannot get over is how little it felt like an upset once the game started.
The Spartans looked like the better team. They looked more prepared, more physical, and more capable of playing the kind of game the circumstances demanded. Michigan spent the night trying to find a way back into a game that Michigan State kept controlling.
The numbers back that up. Michigan State outgained Michigan 298–192, possessed the ball for 38:07, and ran 75 offensive plays to the Wolverines’ 52. The Spartans forced four turnovers and committed none.
With that injury list, in that stadium, after everything this season has looked like, Michigan State went out and earned this.
I have never been happier to be this wrong.
