Michigan State football: 3 takeaways from clutch overtime win over Wisconsin

It only took a month, but Michigan State football finally picked up a win to end its losing streak, beating an embattled Wisconsin team 34-28 in overtime.

Payton Thorne played one of his best games of the season, if not the best, and Jayden Reed returned to form as the defense held strong for most of the game and the offense closed the door.

What did we learn from this huge win?

3. The defense showed life

What we were all worried about came to fruition: the game came down to defense.

And it didn’t backfire.

Michigan State’s offense was struggling to score in the second and third quarters and even though the Spartans were held in check, the defense didn’t get gashed. Sure, there were a few stupid penalties that need to be cleaned up, but this side of the ball came to life and fed off the crowd.

Wisconsin only had 283 total yards and that’s a big credit to the defense which stood up when it was needed most.

Big third down stops, tackles for loss, and even sacks. Heck, the Spartans turned Wisconsin over twice and the last one led to the game-winning touchdown in overtime.

This defense has life after all, folks.