Purdue (at) Michigan State: The Live Blog

Welcome to Senior Day here at Spartan Stadium, a mostly sunny and chilly noon kickoff.  It might be 40 degrees, then again it might not be quite 40 degrees.  It is, in other words, around 40 degrees outside.

17 Spartans are today playing their final home game ever for Michigan State.  With a win this afternoon, they will become the most successful class in the history of this institution, football-wise.  The Seniors come in to today's game with a record of 31-18 (.632), tying them with the MSU Class of 1990 which also won 31 games.  Michigan State is today looking to complete the first 7-0 home season in school history.  This the MSU Game Notes tell us.  For all their success--MSU is 9-1 and ranked #11 heading into today's game--there are a lot, and I mean A LOT of empty seats here at Spartan Stadium, which, to my mind at least, is a little hard to figure out.  I cannot imagine there are many seats unfilled today at, just to pick a venue at random, Michigan Stadium, even though the Wolverines are a mere 3-3 in the Big Ten Standings and well out of the title race.  Spartan fans, speaking of the Wolverines, are in the unusual position of having to root for Michigan today.  Michigan's home to #7 Wisconsin, and a win by the Wolverines helps MSU, currently tied for the conference lead with the Badgers and universally-hated Ohio State.  We're watching the Wisconsin-UM game on the computer and we'll keep you posted as we update you on this one.

12:12pm:  Speaking of updates...MSU, after holding Purdue to three-and-out to start the game, drove smartly and easily down the field (72 yards in 9 plays) to score on a 24-yard Kirk Cousins to Mark Dell touchdown pass with 9:01 left in the first quarter. MICHIGAN STATE 7, PURDUE 0.

12:15pm:  That didn't last long.  0:57 to be exact.  Purdue's Keith Carlos just went 80 yards right up the middle to tie the score 7-7.  It was a 2-play, 80-yard scoring drive and it took all of 50 seconds.  MICHIGAN STATE 7, PURDUE 7.

12:18pm:  It just got worse.  Ricardo Allen picked off a Cousins pass and turned it into what they call in this business a "Pick Six".  Allen intercepted the pass at the MSU 35 and went untouched into the end zone and now it's Purdue 14, MSU 7 with 6:29 left in the first.  Worse--and it must be pretty bad if its worse than an interception return for a score--Cousins was injured on the play.  We don't know the nature or seriousness of the injury, but its nature and severity are such that a redshirt Freshman from Midland, Andrew Maxwell, has replaced Cousins at quarterback for Michigan State.  And Wisconsin has taken a 7-0 lead in Ann Arbor. MICHIGAN STATE 7, PURDUE 14.

12:36pm:  Cousins returns to quarterback the Spartans and there is either one great sigh of relief here, or several thousand smaller ones.  The first quarter ends.  How can MSU be losing?  They've got 7 first downs.  Purdue has 1.  But they are.  After 1: MICHIGAN STATE 7, PURDUE 14.

12:50pm:  Another good-looking drive by MSU and the game would be tied except for the fact that Dan Conroy chose this particular touchdown, a 19-yard Edwin Baker run, to miss his first extra-point of the season after 37 consecutive makes.  It was another long Spartan drive--52 yards in 9 plays this time for what looked like it would be, until the Conroy miss, the game-tying touchdown.  With 11:10 left in the first half, it's MICHIGAN STATE 13, PURDUE 14.

1:05pm:  Cousins gets sacked to bring up 4th-and-22, but the big news is that the Spartan QB, who missed a series earlier when he was injured, had to be helped off the field. Purdue has the ball and the lead, 14-13, with 4:07 left in the half.  Wisconsin is putting the hammer to Michigan 17-0 late in the first half, so it does not look like help for the Spartan cause is forthcoming from Ann Arbor.

1:20pm:  We don't know how badly Cousins is injured because MSU hasn't gotten the ball back since he was helped off the field.  Purdue has put together their first sustained drive of the half and have 3rd-and-goal from the MSU 8 with 0:15 left in the half.  MSU has called time-out.  Wisconsin has Michigan down 24-0 at the half. 

1:22pm:  Touchdown, Purdue.  They are going to lead 21-13 at the half, a shocker around the Big Ten and a shocker here at Spartan Stadium.  What a drive for the Boilermakers: 85 yards in 14 plays.  The elapsed time: forever.  Rob Henry completed an 8-yard TD pass to Antavian Edison after the MSU timeout.  Cousins did return at quarterback to take a knee after MSU took over with 0:03 left in the half, so he appears to be okay so there is that, at least.  That gigantically long Purdue drive means they out-gained MSU in the half, 192 yards to 189.  The halftime score (and we are as surprised as you, probably more): MICHIGAN STATE 13, PURDUE 21.

1:50PM:  Three-and-out for Michigan State to start the second half, replete with a false start penalty that made a 3rd-and-2 a 3rd-and-7. Not what you want to see when you are down 8 to a team, Purdue, which had been outscored 154-39 in the four games leading up to this one.  And now the Boilermakers are driving again, moving into MSU territory.  One begins to feel uneasy about the outcome of this one, I can tell you that much.

2:02pm:  First-and-goal, Purdue.  All off a sudden MSU can't stop them.  Cortez Smith has just caught a 13-yard TD pass from Henry and with the PAT it's 28-13, Purdue.  The crowd boos their 9-1 Spartans.  After going 85 yards in 14 plays for a TD on their last drive of the first half, Purdue goes 69 in 11 for a TD in their first possession of the second.  We've got trouble with a capital "T" here in E. Lansing!  MICHIGAN STATE 13, PURDUE 28.

2:11pm:  MSU moved the ball a little before they had to punt and they have Purdue at the 2, which I like to say because it rhymes.  Now the MSU defense has to come up with a stop of some sort.  We are down to 4:00 left in the 3rd.

2:15pm:  So much for the defensive stop thing.  Henry hits Smith on a bomb down the right side for 67 and Purdue, no longer at the 2, is instead at the MSU 31.  Man, this is exactly how you lose ballgames. Purdue now has come up with their longest run of the year and their second-longest pass of the year in this one game.  Their drive stalls and MSU gets the ball back, but the 3rd quarter is now over and it is not coming back.  MSU is down 15 big points as we go to the 4th quarter:  MICHIGAN STATE 13, PURDUE 28.

2:23PM:  Things are getting more interesting but ultimately unchanged in Ann Arbor where Bucky Badger now leads 38-21.  I looked earlier this week and Michigan has something like the 5th-ranked offense and the 118th-ranked defense in the FBS which is how you arrive at scores like 38-21 or 67-65 or whatever it was for them against Illinois a couple of weeks ago.  Cousins just came breathtakingly close to throwing his second interception of the day and what a killer that would have been.  He then completes a pass to Le'Veon Bell on 3rd and 11 to keep the ball in MSU's hands.  We have 13:52 to go.

2:29pm:  That, the Purdue 44, is as far as the Spartans came go though and another punt is in order.  The Spartans down it at the Purdue 4.  Another chance (and MSU is running out of them) to get a stop and get some field position.  The clock reads 12:42.

2:34pm:  Out of nowhere and for no apparent reason, Purdue's Henry throws the oddest sort of pass--a bomb that just hangs in the air like a punt and MSU's Chris L Rucker--the only player on the field anywhere near the thing--intercepts it at the Boilermaker 40 and returns 20 yards to the Purdue 20 and the Spartans are back in business back in the ballgame, maybe, just maybe.  It's first and goal after an 11-yard run by Keshawn Martin.  State gets a real break when Purdue is offside on 3rd-and-goal from the 10.  The Spartans thus get another shot at it and they cash in when Cousins finds B.J. Cunningham in the near right corner of the end zone.  The point makes it 28-20, Purdue with 10:55 remaining.   It's a short (20 yard) drive in four plays for a huge TD for MSU off the huge Purdue turn, a giveaway that, simply put, didn't have to happen and shouldn't have happened.  MICHIGAN STATE 20, PURDUE 28.

2:42PM:  Nothing is coming easily today.  The Spartans give up a 54-yard return on the ensuing kick-off and Purdue starts from the State 40.  The defense does its part, but Purdue is close enough to attempt a 52-yard field goal, and Carson Wiggs makes it, naturally.  It's Purdue's longest field goal of the year, naturally.  8:42 to go.  MICHIGAN STATE 20, PURDUE 31.

2:50pm:  "The play is under review."  So says the ref after what might have been a 37-yard Cousins to Cunningham TD pass is ruled incomplete.  The ruling stands.  Most of us feel the ball was ripped out of Cunningham's hands by the defender after he had possession in the end zone, but the ruling is that he lost the ball when he hit the ground.  No problem.  Cousins hits Cunningham for 28 yards on the next play and its first and goal MSU.  A play later, Dell catches a Cousins pass in the end zone for the score.  31-26, Purdue and the Spartans go for 2.  A great catch by Dell means the 2-point try is good and the Spartans are back to within 3 with 6:54 to go.  This is getting good:  MICHIGAN STATE 28, PURDUE 31.

3:02pm:  MSU pushes 'em back inside the ten and then they BLOCK THE PURDUE PUNT.  JOHNNY ADAMS RECOVERS AND IT IS FIRST AND GOAL FOR MSU AT THE PURDUE 3!!!

3:04PM: Cousins, back to pass, runs it instead and scores.  It's under review as Cousins fumbled on the play.  The question--was he in the end zone already?  He was, and the TD counts.  The PAT makes it 35-31--the first time MSU has led since 7-0, a long, long time ago.  4:32 to play:  MICHIGAN STATE 35, PURDUE 31.

3:10PM:  Give Purdue some credit.  They convert 4th-and-6 when they had to (a little over 3 minutes to play and only one timeout left) and they move into MSU territory.  A late hit on Trenton Robinson moves the ball to the State 22.  2:13 to go.  Man, what a game!

3:14pm:  4th-and-8 for Purdue from the MSU 20:  The Ballgame.  And Henry is intercepted by Chris Norman and the Spartans have it with 0:44 left and they are going to win.  The Rucker interception and the blocked punt result in 15 MSU points late in the 4th quarter and this one will be over on the next snap as Purdue uses their final timeout.  MSU is 7-0 at home, 10-1 overall.  They close it out at Penn State next weekend with their hopes for a Big Ten title still, somehow, alive: MICHIGAN STATE 35, PURDUE 31.