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No need to apologize for Michigan State football win over Michigan

By Thomas Nikundiwe

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Michigan State football head coach Mark Dantonio is fond of saying, players make plays. After the players were done making plays in Michigan State’s incredible comeback win against Michigan on Saturday, there were a lot of Wolverines fans saying that U of M “deserved” to win and even some MSU fans were acting like they felt some type of way about the victory.

But I’m here to say that there is absolutely nothing to apologize for with regard to that win over Michigan. All the plays count. Every single one of them. From the first whistle the to the last — and even including the ones for which the refs never blow a whistle and just call random touchdowns.

The play where Michigan punter Blake O’Neill sailed a punt 80 yards over R.J. Shelton’s head that was downed inside the MSU five-yard line counted and so did the play where he mishandled the snap and fumbled the game away. All the plays count.

Michigan had the game won, they say. But actually, they didn’t.

They had the lead and could have made the plays to win the game, but they didn’t. It feels harder to take because it’s the last play, but the last play has to be played, too.

Michigan’s last two drives went like this: three-and-out followed by a punt and three-and-out followed by a punt. So by the logic of these folks, if MSU had blocked the punt on the first of the last two series and scored and then had not blocked the punt on the last series, then MSU would have deserved the game? So switching the order of the events makes it so that one team “deserved” it and the other didn’t? It’s absurd.

Right after Macgarrett Kings Jr. dropped a would-be first down pass in the fourth quarter, my boy Luke texted me: they’re making plays, we aren’t. That was true at that moment in time. It was true on 4th-and-19 when MSU had the ball with less than two minutes left to play. Michigan’s defense pressured MSU quarterback Connor Cook, forcing him to throw late and short to a jumping Kings. Players make plays.

Michigan got the ball back with a chance to run out the game. Michigan State got a stop on first down. MSU followed that up on the second down play with another stop. And again on third down. Michigan could have sealed the game with a single first down. The Michigan State defensive players stopped them. Players make plays.

Oct 17, 2015; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans wide receiver Macgarrett Kings Jr. (85) scores a touchdown in the third quarter against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

But there were only 10 seconds left and Michigan had just one more play to execute to win the game: snap, catch, punt. That’s it – one more play. But every play counts. Instead of snap it was bad snap. Instead of catch it was bobbled catch. Of course plenty of punts get off with a bad snap and bobbled catch. And this is where MSU earned its win.

True freshman Grayson Miller — in his first ever start — hits Blake O’Neill as he turns to get off a desperation punt knocking it out of his hands. Redshirt freshman Jalen Watts-Jackson rushing from the opposite side sees the ball hurtling toward him and snags it. He takes off running with a caravan of Spartans with him. Only there’s one Wolverine ahead of him with a chance to make a play.

Enter backup cornerback Jermaine Edmondson. He takes on the lone Wolverine who can tackle Watts-Jackson and drives him back into the endzone with a perfect block. Watts-Jackson bursts toward the end zone carrying a late-arriving Wolverine on his back. And in doing so made history. Players make plays.

So there is no asterisk next to this game, the win wasn’t a fluke, there’s no need to apologize. All the plays count and so do all of the victories.

Next: MSU Football: Report card for the Spartans' win over Michigan

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