Wolverines Drop Overtime Thriller at Michigan State

Saturday, October 3

East Lansing, Mich.

Noon

Michigan

4-1 , 1-1

Michigan State

2-3 , 1-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Michigan

Michigan State

Tate Forcier (5)

10/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football

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By: David Ablauf

Site: East Lansing, Mich. (Spartan Stadium)
Score: Michigan State 26, #22 Michigan 20 (OT)
Records: U-M (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten), MSU (2-3, 1-1 Big Ten)
Attendance: 78,629 (sellout)
Next U-M Game: Saturday, Oct. 10 -- at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), 7 p.m. CDT

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The University of Michigan football team (No. 22 AP, No. 20 USA Today) completed a 14-point comeback to force overtime on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 3), but a U-M interception and subsequent Spartan touchdown in extra time led to a 26-20 Michigan State victory in Spartan Stadium. MSU maintains possession of the Paul Bunyan Trophy for consecutive seasons for the first time since 1967.

Freshman quarterback Tate Forcier (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch) led the offensive effort with 223 passing yards, going 17-for-32 with two touchdown passes and an interception. Sophomore wide receiver Darryl Stonum (Stafford, Texas/Dulles HS) was Forcier's main target with five catches for 97 yards and a touchdown.

Redshirt freshman Jordan Kovacs (Curtice, Ohio/Clay HS) posted a career- and team-high 17 tackles, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Senior/junior linebacker Obi Ezeh (Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central HS) had 14 tackles and a fumble recovery.

Senior linebacker Stevie Brown (Columbus, Ind./Columbus East HS) gave Michigan an early scoring chance with an interception on the game's third play. He picked off a fluttering pass from Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins that was partially tipped by junior/sophomore defensive tackle Ryan Van Bergen (Whitehall, Mich./Whitehall HS) and returned the ball 18 yards to the MSU 14-yard line. The Wolverines were unable to gain a first down and settled for a 36-yard field goal by fifth-year senior kicker Jason Olesnavage (Ferndale, Mich./Ferndale HS).

MSU answered with a 17-play, 80-yard drive that consumed 10:02 of the opening stanza and scored the game's first touchdown on a Larry Caper one-yard run on fourth-and-goal. The Spartans gained 130 offensive yards on the drive and were penalized four times for 50 yards.

Michigan chipped away at the deficit as Olesnavage converted a 43-yard field goal at 4:43 of the second quarter. The 14-play, 67-yard scoring drive was aided by a key 41-yard pass from Forcier to sophomore tight end Kevin Koger (Toledo, Ohio/Whitmer HS) on third-and-10 from U-M's eight-yard line. The Wolverines converted three third-down plays on the scoring drive.

Michigan State answered with a 26-yard field goal by Brett Swenson on the final play of the first half. The Spartans' 10-play drive covered 47 yards and was set up by a 36-yard kick return by Glenn Winston to the MSU 45-yard line.

Michigan State took advantage of excellent field position and a Brett Swenson 24-yard field goal at 6:09 of the third quarter. The Spartans took possession at U-M's 13-yard line after stopping fifth-year senior punter Zoltan Mesko (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg HS) on a fake punt. Senior defensive end Brandon Graham (Detroit, Mich./Crockett Technical HS) forced the Spartans field-goal attempt with a huge hit on a third-and-one play from U-M's four-yard line that lost one yard.

The Spartans increased their lead to 20-6 on a 15-yard touchdown run by Glenn Winston at 14:49 of the fourth quarter. MSU moved 70 yards in eight plays.

Michigan gained its best field position of the game at MSU's 46-yard line after Graham sacked Cousins and stripped him of the ball. Ezeh recovered the fumble. The Wolverines then moved inside the red zone, but Stonum was stripped of the ball at the MSU 10-yard line and the Spartans recovered.

The Wolverines made their largest offensive charge of the day in the final four minutes of regulation, scoring twice and forcing overtime. Michigan trimmed the deficit in half, 20-13, with a 60-yard touchdown pass from Forcier to Stonum with 4:03 remaining in the fourth quarter. The 68-yard scoring drive took 44 seconds and the scoring play came on a third-and-one play.

U-M's final drive of regulation began at the 2:53 mark from its own eight-yard line. After a nine-yard completion and 11-yard run from Forcier, MSU was charged with a 15-yard personal foul, giving U-M an automatic first down and pushing it to the 42-yard line. The rain again began to fall, with the wet grass proving difficult for the Wolverine offense. However, Forcier connected with Stonum for a 13-yard gain at the MSU 25 and just 21 seconds remaining. With eight seconds left on third and eight, Forcier took the snap and connected with sophomore/freshman wideout Roy Roundtree (Trotwood, Ohio/Trotwood-Madison) in the end zone with just two seconds left. The drive consumed 92 yards on 12 plays and took 2:51.

MSU took over on its own 28 with just two seconds on the clock and took a two-yard team loss to send the game into overtime.

U-M opened the first overtime session from the MSU 25 and efficiently earned a first down, but a pass break up in the end zone led to an interception, giving the Spartans a shot at the victory. Their first snap was fumbled and dropped them back nine yards to the 34 for second and 19, but after a short pass play to make it third and eight, Larry Caper ran 23 yards to give MSU the win.

The Wolverines continue their road swing with a primetime matchup at Iowa, currently ranked No. 13 in the AP poll, next Saturday (Oct. 10) at Kinnick Stadium. The game will be broadcast nationally by ESPN on ABC starting at 7 p.m. CDT.