Michigan State Football: 3 implications of snowy win over Penn State

As the snow continued to fall on Saturday night, Michigan State football needed a big play or two in order to come away with a big win over Penn State.

On fourth-and-15 with the Spartans up 23-20 in the fourth quarter, Payton Thorne tossed a ball in the air for Jayden Reed to go get it. The ball was in the perfect spot where only Reed could get to it and the junior wideout made a heck of a catch to put Michigan State up 30-20 and essentially shut the door on a Penn State comeback.

The catch had to be one of the top-three plays of Michigan State’s season and helped the Spartans hold on for a 30-27 win in East Lansing.

A 10-2 record in year two of Mel Tucker isn’t too shabby.

Let’s dive into some implications from the win.

3. This team is mentally tough

Down a handful of players who have battled injuries and the flu all week, Michigan State entered the Penn State game as a surprising underdog.

Fans were starting to believe that Michigan State was in trouble and honestly, the worry was warranted. The injuries and illnesses weren’t disclosed so no one knew which players would be out, but luckily both Payton Thorne and Kenneth Walker III were healthy and Jayden Reed returned for potentially his final home game as a Spartan.

Michigan State punched Penn State in the mouth despite potentially not having as much healthy talent, on paper, and even when the Nittany Lions countered, the Spartans came back even stronger and held on for a huge win in the snow.

It would have been easy to roll over a week after losing to Ohio State by 49 points and being down some key players, but Michigan State didn’t roll over.

This team is mentally tough.