Cook entered the game with a school-record 31 victories as a starting quarterback. In the past five games, MI State is 4-1 SU and 2-3 ATS. And then turnovers. We took the ball away.
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While an overnight turnaround isn’t going to happen, I’ll call for one of MI State’s better defensive performances after allowing 7.23 ypp to Nebraska.
They could have let the emotion of the Wisconsin loss overtake them, but the Spartans rallied in the second half and beat Georgia in triple overtime on a blocked field goal in the Outback Bowl. The turnover-prone Terps have lost seven in a row. The Spartans dropped to 13th in the committee’s new rankings Tuesday night, underscoring the challenge ahead of them if they want to compete for a national title. Luckily, the Spartans got a sack on third down and Rutgers quarterback Chris Laviano inexplicably spiked the ball on fourth down. Burbridge had three catches for 27 yards. Rowe ended up throwing a pair of interceptions on the day.
Defensive coordinator Keith Dudzinski prioritized pressure against the Spartans attack, sending blitzes early and often.
O’Connor is next in line to fill in for Cook while he recovers. He did not play in the second half, though. The 62-yard drive that essentially sealed the game came on 11 consecutive runs. If not for pile-dragging runs by Gerald Holmes, who had 18 carries for 83 yards, the Spartans might have been vulnerable again.
According to Coach Mark Dantonio’s after game presser he was already planning on getting O’Connor playing time in this game, the Cook injury only solidified that decision. Likely almost scored his first offensive touchdown on a screen pattern but after review was correctly ruled down at the one, which Ross cleaned up for a Maryland touchdown. With only 17 seconds left to play, Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong drove his team 91 yards in 28 seconds and threw Brandon Reilly a 30-yard pass for the game-winning touchdown. He has four career TDs on punt returns and two on kickoffs. Cook, a dark horse Heisman contender, had thrown eight touchdown passes in MI State’s past two games. That question finally can be answered in the final two weeks of the regular season, with MSU visiting Saturday followed by OSU’s game at MI. The Terps defense was the only thing that prevented a total blowout in East Lansing.
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As for Cook’s status for next week, everyone seems to be optimistic that the senior will be able to return for the game at Ohio State. “They’ve played all the good teams (in the conference) and they’ve played them all really good, with chances to win every time they take the field”.
