Michigan State Football: Top 10 plays of the regular season

Sep 12, 2015; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans running back LJ Scott (3) runs the ball against the Oregon Ducks during the fourth quarter at Spartan Stadium. Spartans beat the Ducks 31-28. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

9. LJ Scott TD run vs. Oregon

In the biggest early-season game in college football, the Spartans were fighting hard to hold off the then-No. 7 Oregon Ducks. Spartan Stadium was alive with the idea of a victory over one of the nation’s top teams and that win didn’t come easy.

Many opportunities slipped through the fingers of MSU to really pull away and that led to the Ducks sticking around and playing possessed. Vernon Adams Jr. wasn’t at full strength for Oregon, but as we would soon find out, this was really the beginning of the Spartan injury trend — with the exception of Ed Davis.

Connor Cook didn’t have his most prolific passing day, but his poise and leadership kept the Spartans level-headed throughout the contest, even when it looked like the Ducks might come back to win it.

Up 24-21 with about 11 minutes left in the game and Michigan State driving, true freshman running back LJ Scott, playing in his second career game, took a handoff and hit a huge hole, dashing 38 yards to the end zone.

"ICYMI: LJ Scott ran 38 yards for his 2nd @MSU_Football TD of the game. Brought to you by #GrubHub. http://t.co/Pra0RAXGT0 — Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 13, 2015"

This would end up being the winning score and Michigan State came out on top with its first win over a top 10 team in 2015 by the score of 31-28.

Next: 8. R.J. Shelton catch vs. Rutgers