Michigan State 37, Wisconsin 31
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, October 22, 2011
Where: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan
Temperature:
50°
Head Official:
Dennis Lipski
Attendance:
76405
By SportsDirect Inc.
Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol connected on a 44-yard Hail Mary pass with no time left to give No. 15 Michigan State a 37-31 home victory over No. 4 Wisconsin on Saturday night.
Down to the last play and facing overtime, the Spartans called a time out and dialed up a play called “rocket.” Cousins dropped back and heaved the ball into traffic, where it was tipped up out of the end zone and caught just short of the goal line by Nichol.
Nichol battled for the extra yard, and the play was called a touchdown after an official review.
Cousins finished with three touchdown passes as Michigan State (6-1, 3-0 Big Ten) dropped an undefeated Wisconsin (6-1, 2-1) squad for the second year in a row.
The Spartans fell into a hole in the first quarter but jumped right back into the game in the second. They got on the board with a safety and totaled 23 unanswered points in the quarter.
Cousins gave Michigan State the lead with a 35-yard touchdown pass to B.J. Cunningham with 1:20 left in the half but the turning point came less than a minute later. The Spartans forced a three-and-out on the ensuing possession and blocked the punt, collecting it in the end zone for a touchdown and a 23-14 lead at the break.
Wisconsin battled back from 31-17 down to tie it in the fourth quarter, knotting it with 1:26 left.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
| Wisconsin |
|
Michigan State |
|
Montee Ball
|
Player |
Le'Veon Bell
|
|
18 |
Attempts |
16 |
|
115 |
Yards |
87 |
|
6.4 |
Avg Yards |
5.4 |
|
1 |
Touchdowns |
0 |
|
0 |
Long |
0 |
Team Stats Summary
| |
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
| Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sck |
FF |
| Wisconsin
|
443 |
220 |
223 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
4.0 |
2 |
| Michigan State
|
399 |
109 |
290 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
4.0 |
0 |