No. 7 Michigan State beats No. 6 Michigan, 37-33, behind second-half rally
No. 7 Michigan State continued its surprising start to the season by knocking off No. 6 Michigan 37-33 with a furious rally in the second half on Saturday.
Kenneth Walker was the star for the Spartans, who improved to 8-0. The Wake Forest transfer ran for 195 yards and five touchdowns as Michigan State won for the 10th time in 14 meetings in the rivalry. The five touchdowns are the most by a Spartans player against Michigan in a single game.
Michigan seemed to have control in the third quarter. After Cade McNamara hit Andrel Anthony for two touchdowns in first half, he threw a 16-yard scoring strike to Mike Sainristil that put the Wolverines ahead 30-14 in the third quarter.
That's when Walker got going. He scored on consecutive possessions and with two two-point conversions, the game was tied with 12:29 left.
McNamara then found Sainristil for 43 yards on a third-and-8 to set up Jake Moody for a 36-yard field goal that put Michigan back ahead.
Walker struck again with a 23-yard touchdown run with 5:08 left as Michigan State was ahead 37-33.
A defense then did the rest, with stop on fourth down on their 31 and then Charles Brantley secured the victory for the Spartans with an interception.
It was the only interception thrown by McNamara, who finished with 383 yards and two touchdowns passing.
The loss by the Wolverines spoiled an impressive start that saw them win their first seven games after finishing 2-4 last season. There's still the possibility of winning the Big Ten ahead of them with games against Ohio State and Penn State.
The were early fireworks in the first half of a game projected to be a close, defensive struggle.
Michigan intercepted Peyton Thorne on the game's first possession as then McNamara found Anthony for a 95-yard touchdown.
Michigan State turned the momentum around with Walker rushing for two scores to put the Spartans ahead 14-13. However, the connection of McNamara and Anthony struck again in the second quarter. Their 17-yard scoring connection put the Wolverines back in front and a late field goal gave them a 23-14 margin at halftime.
Michigan outgained Michigan State 333-219 before the break.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football: Michigan State beats Michigan behind last-minute INT
