MI State was trying to hold off a late charge by Nebraska when the Cornhuskers’ Reilly stepped out of bounds at about the 7 and came back in to catch the 30-yard pass from Tommy Armstrong Jr. with 17 seconds left. Bullough ended up returning the interceptions for a 44-yard touchdown to give MI State a 14-7 lead with 2:07 left in the first half. After a first-quarter touchdown, the Terps’ offense didn’t cross midfield again until halfway through the third quarter. Connor Cook is one of the best quarterback prospects in the country, and Maryland shut him down.
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Marylands passing game wasnt any better. The Terps were up to their same old tricks on November 14, playing maximum-effort football in East Lansing, MI but handing the game to the Spartans with a series of unforced errors. The Heels beat FCS North Carolina A&T, FCS DE and 5-5 IL, then lost to 3-7 SC on opening night in what will go down as perhaps the 2015 season’s most weird result.
– Riley Bullough intercepted a Perry Hills pass and returned it 44 yards for a TD after the Spartans confused the Maryland QB with a pre-snap movement and a cornerback blitz. Even when Harbaugh was asked about the play of running back De’Veon Smith, he answered by lamenting the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The game also airs as a live stream online.
It’s the fourth turnover of the day for Maryland – two fumbles and two interceptions. Many considered Cook the No. 1 quarterback prospect among the four projected into the first round. He was able to return to the game shortly after that, and played the rest of the first half. On the ground, Gerald Homes rushed for 117 yards and one touchdown in 22 attempts. But whether it’s O’Connor, dual-threat Damion Terry or a combination of both, the lack of experience under center looms large as MI State prepares for its biggest test of the season. Eventually we may have to take him out of the “stock up” category, because his stock really can’t get much higher than it is right now.
“That’s MSU football, you know, “pound green pound” which we preach all the time, I think the coaches wanted to make a statement and we did”, said Holmes. These rivals have now both suffered painful losses, albeit to teams of different talent levels, but man, the revenge is sweet.
Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz reacts after the team was called for holding against IN during the first half of an NCAA college football game IN Bloomington, Ind., Saturday, November 7, 2015. MI State had earlier inserted O’Connor for part of a drive, assumingly to show recruits who’d they be working with next season.
It was a chance to get a few momentum for MSU heading into what might be one of the biggest challenges of the season for the team against Ohio State next weekend, a chance they took. The over/under total for the game has been set at 56.5 points.
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Players and coaches, if they are honest, will tell you that you control your own destiny and you never let the game come down to the fickle, unpredictable nature of officiating.
