Michigan State Football: Top 30 games in school history
Dec 5, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan State Spartans running back LJ Scott (3) dives in for a touchdown during the fourth quarter of the Big Ten Conference football championship game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports
18. MSU vs. Iowa (2015)
Football is definitely a grown man’s sport. That was never more clear than during the Michigan State vs. Iowa Big Ten Championship Game on Dec. 5.
It was a game of field goals up until the fourth quarter. Neither defense was budging and it was likely going to come down to the team that scored the first touchdown, taking the conference crown.
Leading 9-6 at the start of the fourth quarter, Michigan State just had to keep up the pressure on defense and not allow a stout Iowa run game to break out. Little did the Spartans know that C.J. Beathard was about to make a back-breaking throw which really took the life out of the entire green and white sideline.
Beathard’s best play of the day happened to be an 85-yard bomb to Tevaun Smith who caught it in stride, over Darian Hicks’ outstretched hand and ran it to the end zone for the go-ahead score, 13-9.
Michigan State was being led down the field by a clearly-injured Connor Cook who was make the routine throws look impossible. He was tossing the ball too high, too low and there was just no zip on his passes. This wasn’t the healthy Connor Cook we all saw earlier in the season before the Maryland game.
Cook did make a couple of big-time passes on the final drive for the Spartans, but the 22-play possession was dominated by true freshman running back L.J. Scott who capped it off with a manly one-yard score with 27 seconds left.
Forever it will be known as “The Drive” as it lasted 22 plays and took 9:04 off the clock to give the Spartans the Big Ten title. Scott is now a legend because of his ability to drag multiple Iowa defenders across the goal-line for the game-winning TD.
Next: 17. MSU vs. Georgia (2012)