Michigan State Football: 3 takeaways from huge win at Rutgers in Week 6

Oct 9, 2021; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Michigan State Spartans wide receiver Jalen Nailor (8) runs the ball ahead of Rutgers Scarlet Knights defensive back Christian Izien (0) during the first half at SHI Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /

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Anything that could go wrong for Michigan State football in the first half against Rutgers, did. The Spartans drove down the field and looked in sync but Mel Tucker decided to run a fake field goal and it was easily sniffed out by the Scarlet Knights and they went down and scored with ease.

The Spartans finally settled in as the offense put up some big yardage, bouncing back from a 7-0 deficit to head into halftime with a 21-13 lead.

But that wasn’t before horrible clock management led to a missed field goal.

The second half didn’t start much better either. The Spartans were shooting themselves in the foot with penalties and the offense came out sluggish and confused. Then a 94-yard touchdown run by Kenneth Walker III injected some life into the Spartans, but the field position battle was still wildly one-sided.

Michigan State’s defense held strong, and even forced a huge fumble late in the fourth, keeping the Scarlet Knights in check in the second half, leading to Matt Coghlin’s record-breaking field goal (he now has the most makes in MSU history) to put the Spartans up 31-13.

And that’s where things ended.

What’d we learn from the Spartans’ big road win to become bowl eligible?

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