Michigan State vs. Oregon: Score and Twitter Reaction
The Oregon Ducks pulled out a a thrilling come-from-behind 46-27 victory over the Michigan State Spartans in a titanic early-season contest between two Top 10 college football squads.
The Spartans definitely put a scare into the Ducks, who look primed for a run at the national title, but they just couldn't keep up with their Nike-clad foes in the second half.
Here is the quarter-by-quarter score from the contest:
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
| Michigan State | 0 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 27 |
| Oregon | 8 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 46 |
SportsCenter posted a snapshot of the raucous fans preparing to take in the game:
Early, embarrassing miscues from the Ducks quickly quieted the crowd, per Scout.com's Mike Wilson:
The errors were minor and didn't prevent Oregon from jumping out to a quick lead. Thomas Tyner scored on a one-yard plunge toward the end of the first quarter and Oregon took an 8-0 lead after an easy two-point conversion.
Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio wasn't happy about the two-point conversion attempt, per SB Nation:
He should have expected the attempt, as his squad didn't cover the unorthodox formation and allowed the opposition to take the advantage. The play and Dantonio's reaction led to this quip from ESPN's Bomani Jones:
At this point, watching Oregon's offense at work might double as a remedy for claustrophobia. The high-powered offense led by quarterback Marcus Mariota routinely makes big plays, with wide receivers finding acres of lush green space between puzzled safeties and cornerbacks.
Wide receiver Devon Allen's 70-yard catch and run touchdown in the second quarter is a prime example of this.
However, the Ducks could have used a few more of those plays during the first half as the running game stalled and Michigan State did well to control the ball and time of possession.
The Spartans defense held about as tough as 11 men can against the vaunted Ducks attack. It gave their own offense, led by quarterback Connor Cook, the opportunities needed to catch fire in the first half.
The Spartans racked up 24 points in the second quarter alone. Jeremy Langford kicked off the scoring with a 16-yard touchdown run and Cook tossed a pair of touchdowns after a Michael Geiger field goal to give his team a surprising 24-18 lead going into the halftime break.
Cook was superb, but wasn't entirely error-free early on. He threw an ugly interception right after making a beautiful toss down the right sideline, but didn't let it affect his play during the contest. Chris Solari of The Lansing State Journal noted this was par for the course for the signal-caller:
Few expected the Spartans to take a lead into the second half. The defense's work against Oregon's rushing attack was particularly noteworthy, as ESPN Stats & Info points out:
Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde liked the way the Spartans responded to the early 11-0 deficit:
The unlikely advantage held well into the third quarter. Michigan State padded their slim lead with a 42 yard field goal from Geiger just over four minutes into the second half.
But Oregon's aerial attack wouldn't stay grounded for long, as Mariota found Allen in the back of the end zone for the wideout's second touchdown in as many catches, cutting the deficit to two points.
This play seemed to break a confident Spartan side, as the Ducks would score two more unanswered touchdowns to take a 39-27 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Mariota, who finished with 318 yards passing, three touchdowns and no interceptions, did a fantastic job of waiting for the Spartans defense to break down, despite running few plays in the first half and having limited opportunities to establish a rhythm.
Forde noted Mariota did a fine job of taking advantage of busted coverage on his 37-yard touchdown pass to Keanon Lowe, which put his team back in front in the third quarter:
The pressure of keeping up with the Ducks offense regularly breaks teams down.
Down by 12 and with approximately eight minutes left to go in the game, Cook tried force a long pass down the middle. The ball got tipped into the air and cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu made a sensational diving interception, which snuffed out the Spartans last solid opportunity to get back into the game.
The Oregonian's Andrew Grief recapped the play:
Oregon would eventually wind down the clock and put the game away on a Royce Freeman touchdown run with just over a minute to go, leaving the home team with a deserving 46-27 final scoreline.
The result of this game should have major implications for the College Football Playoff. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany believes these big-time matchups will be an important barometer for judging a team's success at the end of the year.
"Everyone is gonna have 10 more games to play, so if you don't continue to play well, it doesn't matter," said Delaney, via USA Today's George Schroeder. "But if you continue to play well and you're in a cluster of teams (under consideration for the playoff at the end of the season), it's something from which people will draw conclusions."
The Spartans played well enough, but they are in danger of missing out on the playoff if there are a smattering of undefeated teams from the major conferences hanging around at the end of the season. They will need to remain perfect from here on out and focus on capturing a Big Ten championship. If they can run the table against the remaining competition and a few other college football titans topple, this team could find it's way into the discussion.
Oregon is in fine position to continue its offensive assault on unfortunate college football defenses. With Mariota running the offense to near perfection at times, this team might be nearly impossible to keep up with as the season goes along. There is some budding NFL talent on this roster, and a run at the national title will do just fine for the standouts on this squad.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
