50 defining moments from the 2021 Michigan State football season: No. 37

As promised at the end of the last article, we will celebrate the two-week mark of this Michigan State football series with another Jalen Nailor touchdown.

Welcome back to day 14 of my 50 defining moments of the 2021 Michigan State football season. Today marks two weeks since I started this series, and I honestly am surprised how fast this is going. This will be moment No. 37 of the season, that being a Jalen Nailor long ball.

For those of you who missed yesterday’s article, please click here. If you would like to look at previous articles of this series, feel free to scroll through my writing profile.

No. 37: Jalen Nailor 63-yard TD reception vs. Rutgers

For those confused at home, this occurred in the first quarter of the game. Easy to confuse when Nailor scored three touchdowns in the 63-65 yard range in two quarters.

Why No. 37?

Nailor was the key to victory in the Rutgers game, as he was responsible for all 21 Michigan State points by halftime. In an 18-point victory, being directly responsible for 21 points might be helpful.

On this play, Payton Thorne utilizes play action and a pump fake to divert the defense’s attention, letting Nailor cruise past the secondary and then speed to a touchdown. Personally, I love this play as it shows the impact of K9 and then the importance of the offensive line to give Thorne enough time to make this throw. Jay Johnson made another phenomenal call on this play, much like moment no. 39.

This play was crucial as the Spartans were trailing the Scarlet Knights on this drive. After a solid drive down the field had a fake field goal get stopped in its tracks, Rutgers had an easy drive to score a lead and was looking to upset the Spartans for a second straight year. Unfortunately for the Scarlet Knights and defensive back Carnell Davis, this was not the year to beat Michigan State again. Nailor flew down the field and tied the game up. Even worse for the Rutgers offense, their lead lasted all of two plays, which is a whole new level of demoralizing.

In a game that could have set up similarly to the 2020 edition of Rutgers-Michigan State, Jalen Nailor put the team on his back on this play and a few others.

I have this play higher than the previous one on this list due to it being a response to the Spartans trailing. Nailor stabilizes Michigan State football on this play, as now they cannot trail by two possessions no matter the result of the next Rutgers drive. Plus, a two-play drive with a 63-yard touchdown in response to trailing a team that beat the Spartans the previous year? Pretty awesome.

This stated, it is hard to rate this play any higher as it is one score in an 18-point win against a sub-.500 team at the end of the day. Rutgers was upset-minded for their homecoming game, but Nailor was the only one hosting a party after the first half.

Statistically, this was part of Nailor’s record-breaking day for SHI Stadium, as mentioned in my last Nailor article. As mentioned in the tweet attachment, Nailor also set the season lead for deep pass attempt receiving yards through the first six weeks. For Thorne, this was part of his excellent season and excellent day against the Scarlet Knights, as he recorded 339 passing yards and three touchdowns on the day.

Tomorrow, the Spartans will be back in Miami for my next edition of this series.