Michigan State RBs respond, defense holds on in 30-27 win at Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS – A rain delay, a sloppy start and a late fade could not slow Michigan State’s building momentum.
Not with a return to form by LJ Scott.
The junior running back returned with a career-high 194 yards along with two touchdowns to pace the 22nd-ranked Spartans’ 30-27 victory over Minnesota on Saturday night at TCF Bank Stadium.
“It was great being back out there with the guys,” said Scott, who sat out last week’s win at Michigan. “I gotta give credit to the (offensive) line for creating holes, and everything happened up front. … We were able to come out there and get the job done.”
After a 34-minute lightning delay, Scott became MSU’s first 100-yard rusher since he ran for a previous career-best 160 yards on Nov. 19, 2016, against Ohio State, helping the Spartans run for 245 yards. Fellow junior Madre London put together a 16-carry, 74-yard game with a touchdown.
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It was a concerted effort, coach Mark Dantonio said, to get his running backs and offensive line in sync after three straight games in which MSU ran for 151, 88 and 158 yards as a team. Quarterback Brian Lewerke, who led the Spartans in rushing in the two previous games, ran just four times for 9 yards Saturday. And MSU was without Gerald Holmes, who injured his ankle against Michigan.
“We had to get it out of the way,” London said. “Coach D called us (running backs) out, us and the O-line. … That’s what we need. We need one of those coaches to push us and keep us to the edge and challenge us to do what we need to do. And that’s what we did today.”
The Spartans improved to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten. Dantonio improved to 9-2 following a game against Michigan, but it wasn’t without a late struggle.
“I’d say it was a 10-out-of-10 in terms to our approach to this football game, knowing that we’d have some adversity and have to play through it…,” Dantonio said. “There were a lot of positives to just answering the bell, I would say.”
Gophers backup quarterback Demry Croft, who entered the game late in the first half, threw three TD passes to Tyler Johnson in the fourth quarter as the rain picked up again. The third TD catch came with 1:06 to play, but MSU’s Cody White recovered the onside kick to allow MSU to run out the clock.
“It’s unacceptable by the defense. We gotta learn how to finish,” sophomore linebacker Joe Bachie said. “We’re a young team. It’s a learning experience for us. We came out 1-0, though, this week, and that’s something to be happy about.”
A driving rainstorm affected MSU for the second straight week. The two teams combined for four fumbles in the first 8 minutes, with MSU losing a Jake Hartbarger punt snap at its own 3. But the defense held Minnesota to a field goal on that ensuing drive.
MSU, which answered with the first of three Matt Coghlin field goals on its next possession, took advantage of the Gophers’ giveaway on the ensuing drive. London took back-to-back toss sweeps for the 8 yards, finishing it with a 3-yard TD run.
After Minnesota got another field goal following a Lewerke interception, Scott got going. He dashed off a 24-yard touchdown run on the second play of the second quarter to give MSU a 17-6 it would carry into halftime.
The Spartans’ offense owned the third quarter, gaining 131 yards and holding the ball for all but 1 minute and 32 seconds of the period. But Minnesota (3-3, 0-3) held them to just a pair of Coghlin field goals.
Croft, who finished 11 of 20 for 163 yards passing and 31 rushing yards, drove the Gophers down the field three times. His 17-yard touchdown toss to Johnson helped make it 30-20 with 5:20 to play.
After MSU’s Khari Willis recovered the onside kick and Scott had a third apparent TD run negated by a holding penalty, Coghlin missed his 45-yard field goal try. Croft again quickly marched Minnesota back down the field as the Spartans’ defense missed tackles and slipped and fell on the wet turf. A 9-yard scoring pass to Johnson with 1:06 left had P.J. Fleck’s team believing it could complete the comeback.
“I am proud of their fight,” said Fleck, the former Western Michigan coach.
But true freshman Cody White recovered the ensuing onside kick, allowing MSU to escape and go into next week’s homecoming game against Indiana (3:30 p.m., ABC) tied with Penn State at 3-0 in the Big Ten East Division, with Ohio State ahead of them at 4-0.
The Spartans also one win away from becoming bowl eligible, seemingly a world away from last year’s disastrous finish and off-season of strife.
“We’ve got some guys that are doing good things,” Dantonio said. “We just gotta be able to clean up some of those things that come up and bite you.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari