Michigan
2-6 , 1-3
Michigan State
7-2 , 4-1
U-M Loses to Spartans in Battle for Paul Bunyan Trophy
10/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan Stadium)
Score: Michigan State 35, Michigan 21
Records: U-M (2-6, 1-3 Big Ten), MSU (7-2, 4-1 Big Ten)
Attendance: 110,146
Next U-M Game: Saturday, Nov. 1 -- at Purdue (West Lafayette, Ind.), Noon
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The Paul Bunyan Trophy will reside in East Lansing for the first time in seven years as the University of Michigan football team fell 35-21 to the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 25) at Michigan Stadium in the 101st meeting between the programs.
MSU's big-play offense registered two of the four longest plays against U-M's defense all season, scoring touchdowns on a 64-yard rush and a 61-yard pass while rolling up 473 total yards of offense. Spartan quarterback Brian Hoyer completed passes of 61, 50 and 44 yards to finish with 282 yards through the air and three throwing scores. His most potent target, Blair White, caught passes of 61 and 50 yards, finishing with 143 yards and a touchdown.
Michigan's defense had periods of dominance, forcing a pair of turnovers, recording five sacks and blocking a field goal but ultimately gave up too many big plays to the Spartan offense. Junior Brandon Graham (Detroit, Mich./Crockett Technical) finished with three sacks and four tackles, while junior Stevie Brown (Columbus, Ind./Columbus East) had a key sack and a forced fumble in the first quarter that led to the Wolverines' opening score. Fifth-year senior John Thompson (Detroit, Mich./Crockett Technical) also helped the cause, blocking a 32-yard field goal attempt late in the second quarter.
Offensively, junior running back Brandon Minor (Richmond, Va./Varina) led the U-M attack with a pair of touchdowns in the first half, one a 19-yard catch and a two-yard rush to close the first half, giving him five touchdown scores in a row dating back to Oct. 11 vs. Toledo. Sophomore/freshman quarterback Steven Threet (Adrian, Mich./Adrian/Georgia Tech) had periods of success, passing for 168 yards and a touchdown while rushing for one score on a heady play to tie the game before the half, but his three interceptions proved costly.
Michigan's defense contained the nation's leading rusher for most of the first half, holding MSU's Javon Ringer to 45 yards on 16 carries through 29 minutes before the tailback broke a 64-yard touchdown run at the end of the second quarter -- the longest run allowed by the U-M defense all season. Ringer was mostly a non-factor in the third period, rushing for 12 yards on six carries but upped his game in the fourth, rushing for 70 yards and a touchdown to finish the day with 194 yards on the ground.
Michigan State opened scoring with a 61-yard pass and catch on its first drive, taking an early 7-0 lead. Brown's sack and force fumble deep in Spartan territory late in the first quarter helped U-M tie it up on a touchdown pass to Minor to knot it at 7-7. Michigan State kicker Brett Swenson's streak of consecutive field goals made was broken at 15 with a miss in the second quarter and Thompson blocked another Swenson try, this one a 32-yard kick to keep it even.
With just over a minute left in the half, Ringer bounced a run outside and broke a 64-yard touchdown run to put Michigan State up, 14-7. Michigan responded with just 1:02 on the clock, starting with freshman Boubacar Cissoko's (Detroit, Mich./Cass Technical) 23-yard return and Threet's 35-yard connection with freshman tight end Kevin Koger (Toledo, Ohio/Whitmer), putting the ball at the MSU 30. Threet's rush for 16 yards and a pass-interference penalty in the end zone put the ball on the two, setting up Minor's second touchdown of the day, tying it 14-14.
Michigan's defense came out strong to open the second half with Graham picking up his second sack of the game, allowing the offense to gain traction, marching 66 yards for a score to take a 21-14 lead on Threet's two-yard TD dive into the end zone. Michigan State struck back in its third offensive possession of the third quarter with Hoyer passing for 60 of MSU's 63 yards on the scoring drive, knotting it at 21-21.
Graham picked up his third sack of the afternoon to begin the fourth quarter, but MSU's offense ground the Maize and Blue down, marching 82 yards for the go-ahead score to lead 28-21 with 6:59 on the clock. Threet threw his second interception of the afternoon on the first play of Michigan's next drive which led to Hoyer's third touchdown pass of the day, putting the Spartans ahead 35-21.
The Wolverines will take on Purdue next Saturday (Nov. 1) at noon at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind.
Team Stats
MSU 7, MICH 0
MSU - White, Blair 61 yd pass from Hoyer, Brian (Swenson, Brett kick) 6 plays, 83 yards, TOP 3:04
MSU 7, MICH 7
MICH - Minor, Brandon 19 yd pass from Threet, Steven (Lopata, K.C. kick) 3 plays, 18 yards, TOP 0:46
MSU 14, MICH 7
MSU - Ringer, Javon 64 yd run (Swenson, Brett kick), 1 plays, 64 yards, TOP 0:12
MSU 14, MICH 14
MICH - Minor, Brandon 2 yd run (Lopata, K.C. kick), 3 plays, 65 yards, TOP 0:42
MSU 14, MICH 21
MICH - Threet, Steven 2 yd run (Lopata, K.C. kick), 6 plays, 66 yards, TOP 2:24
MSU 21, MICH 21
MSU - Gantt, Charlie 4 yd pass from Hoyer, Brian (Swenson, Brett kick) 8 plays, 63 yards, TOP 3:51
MSU 28, MICH 21
MSU - Ringer, Javon 3 yd run (Swenson, Brett kick), 8 plays, 82 yards, TOP 3:46
MSU 35, MICH 21
MSU - Rouse, Josh 7 yd pass from Hoyer, Brian (Swenson, Brett kick) 9 plays, 40 yards, TOP 3:42
