A 17-play drive that consumed 10 minutes of the third quarter helped Michigan State wear down Michigan’s defense, with the Spartans’ offensive line clearing the way for running backs Brandon Tullis and Kenneth Williams.
Starting at their own 1-yard line, the Spartans put together the kind of sustained possession their offense had struggled to produce in recent weeks. In a low-scoring game, they came out of halftime knowing they needed to establish the run.
“As an offensive line, we want to set the tone coming out of half, especially getting a drive like that going is really huge momentum, not just for us but for the defense,” senior offensive lineman Trent Fraley said. “They can go out there, rely on us, and know that we’re all going to do our job.”
“Also, we came out and knew we were going to have to run the ball,” senior offensive lineman Nick Sharpe added. “Honestly, we came out at halftime and felt nobody practices harder than us. We do combo drills every day. So, we were kind of just like, ‘Hey, we’re at practice and we got to go hard just like we do at practice.’”
