Oregon vs. Michigan State: Score, Highlights and Twitter Reaction

The Michigan State Spartans and Oregon Ducks were Top 10 teams that traded punches Saturday in East Lansing. In a matchup that lived up to the hype, Sparty took the victorious spoils, 31-28, as the team's official Twitter account noted:

A distinct advantage on the ground—197 yards and 5.3 yards per carry to Oregon's 123 yards on 43 attempts (2.9 average)—and a 2-1 edge in turnover margin made the difference for the Spartans, though the game didn't start out that way.

Oregon marched down the field on the opening possession on a 13-play drive, capped by Royce Freeman's two-yard run to paydirt.

Seasoned Spartans signal-caller Connor Cook responded with a 12-yard touchdown strike to Josiah Price off a play-action fake, set up by Madre London's 62-yard run two plays earlier on Sparty's first offensive snap from scrimmage.

ESPN CollegeFootball had the highlight of Cook's connection with Price:

Counterpunching was a theme of Saturday's game to begin with, as Michigan State avenged last year's loss to the Ducks by giving Oregon a taste of its own medicine.

"It's one of the main reasons why...we want to come back is to play Oregon again and beat them," said Cook after the game (via State News Sports).

ESPN's Danny Kanell weighed in on the significance of the Spartans' triumph:

Often the Ducks devastate opponents with their uptempo, run-heavy offense. Michigan State's defense was up to the task to stymie it, forcing new Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. to beat the Spartans with his arm.

The results were mixed for Adams as he dealt with a reported index-finger injury on his right throwing hand, per ESPN.com. Adams' athleticism and pure talent allowed him to generate some big plays, but he did throw two interceptions in going 22-of-39 passing for 309 yards.

The first of Adams' picks led to Michigan State capitalizing, and it assisted the Spartans in taking a 14-7 lead on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Cook to Aaron Burbridge, who took a slant pass and fought to break the plane for the go-ahead score.

Adams' second mistake wasn't as costly, as he forced the ball into coverage and benefited from Cook's own lapse in judgment as the MSU signal-caller threw an interception on Sparty's subsequent possession. Michigan State retained its seven-point lead at halftime.

Former NFL coach Tony Dungy hinted at the stellar job the Spartans did defensively in the first 30 minutes:

But after Sparty went three-and-out on its opening third-quarter possession, Oregon's Bralon Addison took the punt 81 yards to the house to helping knot the score at 14-14. ESPN CollegeFootball had the highlight:

In part due to kicker Michael Geiger's struggles, MSU coach Mark Dantonio elected to go for it on 4th-and-6 from the Oregon 34 on the very next drive. Cook delivered for the hosts with a 28-yard completion to Burbridge, leading to LJ Scott's six-yard touchdown run.

CBSSports.com's Dane Brugler commented on Burbridge's importance to the Spartans after he hauled in the team's two most important catches of the evening:

Michigan State put together another strong 12-play drive but relied on Geiger to boot it through the uprights, making the score 24-14.

As mentioned before, Adams made some magic happen and produced enough splash plays to keep Oregon in striking distance. He just wasn't getting the usual support from the Ducks' prolific rushing attack to open up passing lanes.

On a critical 4th-and-7 in the fourth quarter, Byron Marshall was on the receiving end of a 25-yard laser from Adams that set up the QB taking it in himself from two yards out to help cut Oregon's deficit to 24-21 with 12:20 left.

Travis Haney of ESPN.com praised Adams for how he kept his cool:

Just over a minute later, Scott scampered into the end zone for the home team to help balloon the lead back to 10 at the 10:51 mark. It was Scott's second TD of the night and marked a second three-play TD drive—something the Ducks seem to do more of than the reputedly methodical Spartans.

Fox Sports' Stewart Mandel labeled Scott as a first-year phenom to continue monitoring:

Marshall hauled in a jump-ball touchdown reception from Adams with only 3:25 left to help make it a 31-28 game, but Adams missed Marshall on a wide-open pass on the team's last drive. The next play was a third-down sack on which Michigan State brought multiple blitzers, creating a fourth down Adams couldn't convert.

Grantland's Chris B. Brown spoke about the sequence that wound up being the Ducks' undoing:

Special teams proved to be an equalizer that also aided Oregon's cause, but the edge Michigan State had on the ground was too much for the Ducks to overcome. This win cements the Spartans as a legitimate playoff contender—though their kick- and punt-coverage units need work.

It's still possible for Oregon to recover from this loss and qualify for the College Football Playoff. Adams will go a long way in determining how high the Ducks can get their hopes, and there's no shortage of pressure in being the successor to Marcus Mariota.

Georgia State presents an easy test for Oregon in its next contest with home fans to help the team along. Saturday's clash was the first of four straight home tilts for the Spartans, so they ought to be able to build momentum, starting with a matchup versus another run-oriented offense in Air Force next week.