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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- T.J. Duckett carried the load for Michigan
State again.
|  | | Missouri tight end Dwayne Blakley and Michigan State safety Richard Newsome fought for a ball Saturday during the Spartans' victory. |
Duckett ran for 131 yards and a touchdown as the Spartans (No. 20 ESPN/USA Today, NO. 22 AP) overcame a 10-point deficit to beat Missouri 13-10 on Saturday
night. Michigan State was held to 125 yards and three points in the
first half, but kept plugging.
"We're still trying to figure out what we're doing," Duckett
said. "We just have to start out quicker. The defense came up big
for us."
Duckett, who had a career-best 219 yards rushing last week
against Marshall, tied it at 10 on a 7-yard run with 5:21 to go in
the third quarter. Zack Abron scored on a 7-yard run for Missouri,
but his fumble at the Tigers' 26 set up Duckett's score.
One of Duckett's biggest runs came at the end of the game when
he reversed field and gained 7 yards on third-and-6 from the
Michigan State to enable the Spartans to run out the clock. Duckett
carried the last four plays for Michigan State, totaling 23 yards.
"I was running and I didn't see anything and I saw basically
the whole defense on that one side," Duckett said. "I took a
gamble and cut it back and luckily I made that extra yard."
David Schaefer's 27-yard field goal with 10:48 to go was the
difference for Michigan State (2-0), which ended Marshall's 18-game
winning streak last week.
The Spartans, with freshman Jeff Smoker at quarterback in place
of injured Ryan Van Dyke, struggled against Missouri (1-2), which
was coming off a 62-9 loss at Clemson. Van Dyke, who has a bruised
right thumb, will return to the lineup next week against Notre
Dame.
"We were just trying to hang in there and deliver our
punches," Duckett said. "They kept throwing things at us,
different blitzes and defensive fronts, and we just couldn't make
anything happen."
Missouri had been outscored 199-73 in its previous four games,
but controlled play much of the game. Still, the Tigers fell to
1-24 against ranked opponents under coach Larry Smith.
"Our team played a heck of a game," Smith said. "We showed we
were a team to be reckoned with."
Some players didn't seem happy with coming close, though.
"I think that's what a bad team would say," defensive end
Justin Smith said. "I want to win."
One of Duckett's biggest runs came at the end of the game when
he reversed field and gained 7 yards on third-and-6 from the
Michigan State to enable the Spartans to run out the clock. Duckett
carried the last four plays for Michigan State, totaling 23 yards.
"I was running and I didn't see anything and I saw basically
the whole defense on that one side," Duckett said. "Basically I
took a gamble and cut it back and luckily I made that extra yard."
Missouri's Smith at least delivered on a promise of showing some
new wrinkles. The Tigers opened the game in a "swinging gate"
formation with the quarterback, center and two others at the left
hash and everyone else far across the field.
The Tigers started their second possession with a lateral pass
from Kirk Farmer to Justin Gage, who then hit John Dausman for a
70-yard gain to the Michigan State 6 to set up Brad Hammerich's
25-yard field goal.
"We used them to try and create some momentum," Smith said.
They also used a no-huddle offense most of the game.
Michigan State coach Bobby Williams sniffed at all of it.
"There isn't any trickery about Michigan State football,"
Williams said. "When you see that, it's coming right at you."
Michigan State missed a scoring chance its next possession when
Gary Anthony intercepted Smoker's pass from the 11 in the end zone.
Missouri dominated in the first half, outgaining Michigan State
259-125 and taking a 10-3 lead. But the Tigers missed chances for
more points with drives stalling at the Michigan State 38, 37 and
49.
A 35-yard pass from Farmer to Gage to the Michigan State 15
helped Missouri take a 10-0 lead on Abron's 7-yard run with 6:57
left in the first quarter.
The biggest play of the half for Michigan State was a 40-yard
pass play to Ivory McCoy to the Missouri 9. McCoy broke a tackle
near the line of scrimmage and his play set up Schaefer's 22-yard
field goal with 2:47 to go.
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Michigan State Clubhouse
Missouri Clubhouse
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