50 defining moments from the 2021 Michigan State football season: No. 24

Only 24 days remain until Michigan State football begins its season. For today’s moment, one of the easiest K9 touchdowns of the season gets the nod.

Welcome back to the 27th edition of my 2021 Michigan State football moments. This marks moment No. 24 and again takes place against Michigan in the battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy. Today’s moment features Kenneth Walker scoring against Michigan, again.

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. 24: Kenneth Walker III’s 8-yard TD vs. Michigan

This was his second touchdown of the day, occurring in the second quarter.

Why No. 24?

This play gave the Spartans their first lead of the game after trailing for the first quarter and a half. After stalling out or having drives end in interceptions, Jay Johnson and the Michigan State football team settled into the game and had two consecutive touchdown drives to put the Spartans on top. In a game of momentum shifts for both sides, the Wolverines would quickly reclaim the lead, but this early scoring flurry by the Spartans kept them in the game later.

On this play, the Michigan front-seven elected to shift in some defensive lineman. The Spartans, running an up-tempo offense, caught the Wolverines off guard and snapped the ball. Some Michigan players were not even on their side of the ball, and the ones that were had not gotten set, enabling the Spartan offense line to push through them and give Walker a gaping hole for a touchdown.

I know I have highlighted him a lot in my more recent plays, and Payton Thorne deserves another shout-out here. He noticed the front seven was not ready and took advantage, giving the Spartans a touchdown. While he did not throw for a touchdown pass in this game, he did everything he could right after a bad first quarter. He might not have thrown a touchdown pass, but he certainly caused a touchdown with this decision to snap the ball.

Walker made an excellent read on this play as well. With the Wolverines running in from the left, Walker took the ball and instantly broke to his right. By the time the Wolverine defensive line had gotten to their spots, Walker was already a few yards down the field and had his entire offensive line between him and the opposing front. Just a quick dive to ensure a few defensive backs could not stand him up ensured the Spartans six points.

Michigan State going up-tempo led to multiple touchdowns in this game, with moment No. 28 also coming from a quick snap. The Spartan offense needed any benefit they could get after a few struggles against Nebraska and Indiana, and Michigan generously offered them a huge benefit. A lot of credit deserves to go to Johnson, Mel Tucker, and the Michigan State conditioning staff for preparing the Spartans to take advantage of this situation.

Statistically, this was the second of Walker’s five touchdowns this game. As mentioned previously in the series, his five touchdowns set the record for most all-time against the Wolverines in a game, as well as being the second most in a game by a Michigan State football running back.

While this play gave the Spartans the lead, it was short-lived, as Michigan would score the next 17 points. As a result, this play ranks in the middle of my list. Additionally, this early of a play is hard to justify any higher. The “wow” factor is slightly diminished by the unpreparedness of the Wolverines. No. 24 is the perfect place to slot this moment, in my opinion.

Tomorrow, the Spartans have yet another moment against their chopping friends, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.