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Saturday, Nov. 11 1:00pm ET Boilermakers one victory from Rose Bowl bid | |||
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EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Michigan State may have shocked the college football world, but the Spartans are not surprised one bit. Michigan State beat No. 9 Purdue 30-10 on Saturday, adding yet another upset to a season full of them. T.J. Duckett ran for 174 yards and a touchdown to keep the Spartans (5-5, 2-5 Big Ten) bowl hopes alive. The Boilermakers (7-3, 5-2) can still advance to the Rose Bowl with a victory next week at home against Indiana because of Iowa's loss at Northwestern. "It's probably one of those things that will sink in later," said Michigan State coach Williams, a former Purdue captain. "It's big because there were a lot of Purdue people here, a lot of former teammates and a lot of people thinking the train was going through East Lansing." Michigan State led the entire game and broke it open with two fourth-quarter touchdowns. Entering the game, it ranked No. 2 in the NCAA against the pass while Purdue was the nation's fourth-best passing team. Those who believe a good defense will beat a good offense were correct once again. Purdue's Drew Brees was 26-of-43 for 279 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Brees was reminded that his team can still go to the Rose Bowl. "That's because we're very lucky," Brees said. "I'm just disappointed about the way we played in all facets of the game. We just didn't seem like we were in it. The fact is if we beat Indiana, we're going to the Rose Bowl. Michigan State will not be headed for a glamorous bowl if it beats Penn State next week on the road, but it would be a satisfying way to close a disappointing season. "It definitely is a huge win for us and our program," Michigan State's Jace Sayler said. "It definitely makes a lot of wounds heal faster and it makes you feel better about where this team is going." The Spartans should have a quality quarterback leading the way wherever they're headed now and in the future. Freshman Jeff Smoker completed 12 of 23 passes for 195 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also ran for 46 yards on 11 carries, which included three first-down runs. "He made some outstanding plays," Williams said. "We put a lot of the game into his hands. And he really put us into some good situations and got us out of bad situations. He made some great throws, scrambled well, ran the option with control and ran some key draw plays." The Spartans led 15-3 at halftime, but its lead looked threatened when Brees connected with Vinny Sutherland for a 68-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 15-10. But the Boilermakers' hopes were dashed when Renaldo Hill intercepted a pass on their next possession and Michigan State went on to score consecutive touchdowns. Michigan State took a 23-10 lead when Duckett was stuffed up the middle then ran to the outside, stiff-armed a defender to the ground and reached the football across the goal line. After Purdue went three-and-out, the Spartans drove 86 yards to take a 30-10 lead. Duckett gained 38 yards on the first three plays and on the next play his backup, Little John Flowers, scored on 48-yard run in which he lost his right cleat along the way. "Well, we got some execution for a change and we scored some points," Williams said of a team that was averaging just 16 a game. The Spartans and their fans were inspired from start to finish in part because the game marked the last home game for 21 seniors. "It's been a long time coming," Michigan State's Josh Thornhill said. "We knew were a good team, but we just haven't been getting any breaks. A lot of people thought they were going to blow us out, but they thought wrong. We finally showed what we have been capable of all year." Purdue in turn played its worst game of the year at the worst time. "This week we're going to beat the hell out of each other," Purdue's Matt Mitrione said. "Last week we just sat around and got the pub. Today for the most part we were pathetic. There was nothing positive we did today. MSU came out hyped and beat our tail. We're really angry. Nobody said a word in the locker room." |
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AUDIO/VIDEO   Little John Flowers loses his shoe, but goes 48 yards for a Michigan State touchdown to seal the win.avi: 882 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Drew Brees airs it out to Vinny Sutherland for a 68-yard TD.avi: 1252 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Chris Baker scores on a 18-yard TD pass from Jeff Smoker.avi: 1276 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Michigan State's Jeff Smoker takes it in on a TD run.avi: 644 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 | ||
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