There’s a lot at stake today in East Lansing besides winning this BIG 10 shootout it means that Ohio State and Michigan better be looking in there rear-view mirrors because Wisconsin and Michigan State are on their heels.
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Wisconsin’s Leo Musso returned a fumble 66 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter as the Badgers pulled away to win 30-6 at Michigan State on Saturday. It seems unlikely that we’ll see a switch after one bad game, although that is more or less what Wisconsin did this week after Bart Houston struggled in a narrow win over Georgia State in Week 3.
Michigan State’s game plan appeared to hinge on stopping the Wisconsin running game and making Hornibrook beat them with his arm.
Hornibrook threw for 195 yards and a touchdown, and 11th-ranked Wisconsin turned its early season showdown with No. 8 Michigan State into a rout, beating the Spartans 30-6 Saturday. The Badgers (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) were the better team in the first half and then outscored the Spartans 17-0 in the third quarter.
“You’ve got to have respect for a guy whose first start is against a Michigan State defense”, Wisconsin running back Corey Clement said.
Yet to crack the 100-yard mark in the first three games, the star running back almost matched his season rushing total in less than three quarters against South Florida.
Coming off of a rough game against Georgia State, Wisconsin came into East Lansing with a new starting quarterback in redshirt freshman Alex Hornibrook. Hornibrook’s production on third-down, 9-for-12 for 136 yards and a touchdown, was downright impressive.
On the other side of the football, the Spartans’ defense couldn’t get the Badgers offense off the field on third down, especially on the Badgers’ first two scoring drives in the first half.
But through four weeks, the Badgers have already knocked off LSU and beat a top-1o Michigan State team on the road.
Wisconsin linebacker Zack Baun stops Michigan State wide receiver Donnie Corley for a short gain during the third quarter at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Mich., on September 24, 2016.
Senior quarterback Tyler O’Connor was 3-of-8 for 31 yards in the first quarter and finished the half going 7-of-18 for 57 yards and an interception. Just wait until the Michigan State Spartans let the lion out of the cage. Both teams are ranked within the top-15 as each school kicks off their Big Ten schedule.
While nobody denied that Wisconsin had talent, their biggest problem was their strength of schedule.
That’s because the defense – and the four turnovers it forced – was the collective MVP of the game.
Hello, old friend: The Spartans and Badgers have played their share of exciting games in recent years, but haven’t met since 2012. An O’Connor turnover led to Wisconsin’s second touchdown.
4 hours ago – Matt Charboneau, Angelique S. Chengelis, John Niyo and Bob Wojnowski predict the outcome of Saturday’s Michigan State-Wisconsin game. Michigan State senior linebacker Riley Bullough and sophomore linebacker Andrew Dowell have 12 tackles apiece.
Hurts was 16 of 24 for 164 yards and ran for 54 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown dash on the opening drive.
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The Wildcats (1-3) matched their loss total from past year when they went 10-3.
