Michigan State vs. Nebraska score, highlights: Harlon Barnett gets first win vs. Cornhuskers

After six consecutive losses, Michigan State football is finally back in the win column.

The Spartans (3-6, 1-5 Big Ten) held on to defeat Nebraska (5-4, 3-3), 20-17 on Saturday on senior day at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. The win was interim coach Harlon Barnett's first since taking over after Week 2.

Michigan State forced three turnovers and sacked quarterback Heinrich Haarberg seven times in the win, five of which came in the second half.

More: Michigan State football ends losing skid with 20-17 win over Nebraska

Spartans quarterback Katin Houser got the starting nod, completing 13 of 20 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown in the win. However, to extend their lead to 20-10 in the fourth quarter, it was freshman Sam Leavitt who found Montorie Foster Jr. for a 25-yard touchdown.

Freshman defensive lineman Jalen Thompson finished with five total tackles and two sacks and was a constant in the Nebraska backfield on Saturday. Haarberg was intercepted twice, first by Jaden Mangham and again by Khalil Majeed.

Below are the updates and highlights from Michigan State's win over Nebraska:

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Michigan State vs. Nebraska score

Michigan State vs. Nebraska updates, highlights

Final: Michigan State 20, Nebraska 17

3:24 p.m.: Haarberg's pass is deflected but recovered. Haarberg airs it out as time expires, but the Spartans knock it down to hold onto victory.

3:22 p.m.: Kim misses the field goal and Nebraska has limited time to score with no timeouts.

3:20 p.m.: Spartans run a couple times and are set to attempts a 44-yard field goal with 48 seconds remaining. Nebraska has no timeouts.

3:15 p.m.: Michigan State dials up the pressure and it works to perfection. Haarberg gets hit and fumbles and the Spartans recover. Cal Haladay recovered, and Jalen Thompson forced it out.

3:13 p.m.: Nebraska takes over on its own 22-yard line after the 51-yard punt by Ryan Eckley.

3:12 p.m.: Michigan State goes three-and-out after an incomplete pass, a run and a short passing gain. Spartans need their defense to come up big again with under three minutes to go.

3:09 p.m.: Spartans take over on their own 25-yard line.

Touchdown, Nebraska: Michigan State 20, Cornhuskers 17

3:06 p.m.: Nebraska punches in a touchdown to make this a 3-point game. Haarberg opened the drive with an 18-yard pass before running 43 yards to the goal line, ending in a 4-yard touchdown rush by Emmett Johnson. Things are getting interesting now in East Lansing.

3:02 p.m.: Michigan State goes three-and-out on two quarterback runs and an incomplete pass that stopped the clock. Spartans would've likely wanted to burn more than roughly 90 seconds of clock there. Nebraska takes over with 4:31 left.

2:58 p.m.: Haarberg overthrows the intended receiver and the pass is intercepted by Khalil Majeed for the Spartans' second interception of the afternoon. Michigan State in a great spot to earn its first Big Ten win this season and first under Barnett.

2:55 p.m.: Haarberg digs Nebraska out of its hole with a 30-yard pass to Malachi Coleman.

2:51 p.m.: Houser makes a great on-the-run throw to Foster on third-and-14 but falls just three yards short of the first-down marker. Nebraska takes over on its own 6-yard line and needs to get something going soon to have a chance.

2:50 p.m.: Houser back at quarterback for the Spartans.

2:47 p.m.: Michigan State forces another three-and-out. The Spartans have completely stuffed the Cornhuskers this half.

Touchdown Michigan State: Spartans 20, Nebraska 10

2:41 p.m.: Call stands. What a throw and catch by Leavitt and Foster. Fox Sports rules expert Dean Blandino said on the broadcast he thought it was an incomplete pass.

2:39 p.m.: If that play stands, that was an unreal catch by Montorie Foster. Foster beat the defense off the line and dove one-handed into the end zone for an apparent 25-yard touchdown.

2:35 p.m.: Spartans pick up a third-and-4 on the designed run by Leavitt. Leavitt brings a different scrambling component to the offense than Houser.

2:33 p.m.: First play of the drive, Spartans dial up a double reverse with Leavitt wide open down the sideline, but Leavitt drops the would-be big gain.

2:33 p.m.: Sam Leavitt back in at quarterback for Michigan State.

2:32 p.m.: Michigan State has dialed up the pressure this half. Haarberg drops back on third-and-5 but gets sacked by Aaron Brule. Spartans offense needs to take advantage of their strong defense.

Third quarter

2:22 p.m.: Two sacks lead to a Michigan State punt. Houser made a solid throw to Henry for seven yards on the first play of the drive but was stuffed outside of the short gain. Cornhuskers take over on their own 7-yard line after Ryan Eckley's 43-yard punt.

2:15 p.m.: Michigan State with a great sequence, earning back-to-back tackles for loss before pressuring Haarberg and forcing an out-of-bounds throw. Spartans taking over with great field position at their own 49.

Field goal, Michigan State: Spartans 13, Nebraska 10

2:09 p.m.: Spartans are stuffed on the next set of downs and are forced to attempt a 51-yard field goal, which Jonathan Kim makes. Kim is now 3 of 5 on attempts of 50-plus yards this season.

2:06 p.m.: Houser playing with some confidence now. He just threw a bullet to Henry for a 14-yard gain on third down.

2:05 p.m.: Michigan State opts for a fourth-and-1 try and Houser takes it himself on a designed run for the 1-yard conversion. Nice play fake.

2:02 p.m.: Houser's first pass of the second half is a 28-yard gain to Tyrell Henry. He came to play today.

1:58 p.m.: Michigan State catches a break as Haarberg has an open receiver for a first down, but the pass was dropped. Spartans take over at their own 13.

1:55 p.m.: Nebraska starts with the ball out of halftime.

Halftime: Michigan State 10, Nebraska 10

1:33 p.m.: Some halftime stats:

• First downs: Michigan State 5, Nebraska 11

• Third-down conversions: Michigan State 1-5, Nebraska 4-8

• Total yards: Michigan State 175, Nebraska 146

• Passing yards: Michigan State 141, Nebraska 58

• Rushing yards: Michigan State 35, Nebraska 88

• Penalties: Michigan State 6 for 60 yards, Nebraska 0

• Turnovers: Michigan State 0, Nebraska 1

• Time of possession: Michigan State 11:49, Nebraska 13:09

Looks like the Spartans are going with Houser for the rest of the game, as Houser played all but one drive in the first half. At halftime, he has completed 5 of 8 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown, along with 12 rushing yards.

Field goal, Nebraska: Michigan State 10, Nebraska 10

1:28 p.m.: Despite a couple penalties, Michigan State stays strong and holds Nebraska to a field goal just before halftime.

1:25 p.m.: Unfortunate sequence for the Spartans, as Mangham intercepts Haarberg on an errant pass, but Michigan State gets called for holding to negate the play. Haarberg has struggled with accuracy this afternoon.

1:23 p.m.: Jaden Mangham, who had an interception earlier, gets called for unnecessary roughness on a hit on Haarberg. Spartans are fortunate he wasn't called for targeting as Haarberg slid late on the scramble.

1:22 p.m.: Spartans called for a 5-yard penalty on sideline interference. Barnett was not happy about that one.

1:20 p.m.: Chris Bogle comes up with a big sack to force third-and-14, but Haarberg does a Houdini impression and bounces off a defender for a 16-yard scramble and first down.

1:17 p.m.: Cornhuskers start at their own 20-yard line.

1:12 p.m.: Michigan State gets a 16-yard gain on a Houser pass to Foster Jr. on third-and-18 and opts to go for it on fourth-and-2, but a false start kills the drive.

1:04 p.m.: Nebraska starts the possession with a 22-yard passing play, but Michigan State responds with forcing a punt. Spartans take over at their own 20.

Touchdown, Michigan State: Spartans 10, Nebraska 7

12:56 p.m.: Spartans regain the lead on a 11-yard touchdown pass from Houser to Christian Fitzpatrick. Really solid drive by Michigan State, set up by the trick play.

12:54 p.m.: Michigan State getting tricky. Spartans pick up 42 yards on pass by receiver Alante Brown to Montorie Foster Jr. Brown lined up in the backfield and caught a backward pass before finding Foster downfield.

12:52 p.m.: Spartans going back to Houser this possession. MSU takes over on its own 25.

Touchdown, Nebraska: Cornhuskers 7, Michigan State 3

12:47 p.m.: Haarberg keeps it himself on the option play and plunges it in from five yards to give Nebraska the lead.

12:45 p.m.: Nebraska returns from the quarter break with a running play on third-and-10, but converts nonetheless. Cornhuskers now inside the Spartans' 20-yard line.

Michigan State leads 3-0 after first quarter

12:38 p.m.: Spartans force a third-and-4 but Haarberg finds a wide-open Thomas Fidone for a 27-yard reception.

12:36 p.m.: Nothing going for Leavitt, as MSU goes three-and-out on his first drive of the day. Nebraska with some great field position now at its own 41.

12:34 p.m.: True freshman Sam Leavitt now in the game at quarterback with the Spartans backed up deep in their own territory.

12:30 p.m.: Perfect response by Michigan State, who forces two negative plays before intercepting Haarberg, who aired it out deep on third-and-19. Haarberg might've helped the Spartans a bit there, as he had a receiver wide open, but the pass sailed right.

12:27 p.m.: Michigan State stops a Nebraska run on third-and-4 to force a fourth-down attempt, but the Cornhuskers convert on a quarterback keeper. Nebraska likes to run it with Haarberg.

12:25 p.m.: Michigan State allows back-to-back runs of 11 and 16 yards and Nebraska moves just shy of midfield. The Cornhuskers are starting to show their Big Ten-leading rushing offense.

12:20 p.m.: Michigan State has a three-and-out of its own despite a nice 6-yard run by Houser. Nebraska takes over on its own 15.

12:17 p.m.: MSU takes over on its own 27-yard line.

12:16 p.m.: Spartans with a solid start as they force a Nebraska three-and-out. Caleb Coley had a tackle for loss on the drive.

Field goal, Michigan State: Spartans 3, Nebraska 0

12:09 p.m.: Spartans can't capitalize on the explosive plays, but Jonathan Kim knocks in a 35-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead.

12:06 p.m.: Michigan State's offense working early. Houser first two passes goes to Brennan Parachek and Jaylan Franklin for 17 and 46 yards, respectively to enter Nebraska territory.

12:04 p.m.: Michigan State receives first and Katin Houser starts it at the Spartans' 11-yard line.

Pregame

11:46 a.m.: Here's the full Michigan State injury report:

11:42 a.m.: The Spartans will be without three starters in Tre Mosley, Brandon Baldwin and Maliq Carr against Nebraska. Interim head coach Harlan Barnett also said Katin Houser will start at quarterback but true freshman Sam Leavitt will also play.

What channel is Michigan State vs. Nebraska on today?

• Channel: FS1

• Streaming info: Fox Sports app, Fubo (free trial)

Michigan State-Nebraska will kick off at noon ET on Saturday from Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.

Michigan State vs. Nebraska betting odds

Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Thursday, Nov. 2

• Spread: Nebraska (-3)

• Over/under: 34.5

• Moneyline: Nebraska -150 | Michigan State +125

Michigan State football schedule 2023

Nebraska football schedule 2023

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Michigan State-Nebraska score, game highlights from Spartans' 20-17 win