UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. _ Michigan State football's defense needed one more stop to give its offense a chance.
And then another.
And then, the Spartans had to stop Trace McSorley and the big-play Penn State offense one more time, as they had done the entire second half Saturday.
"We stayed in the fight the whole game," MSU linebacker Joe Bachie said. "And then you come out the end, you give your offense a chance to win."
After struggling all season to close out games in the third and fourth quarters, the Spartans' defense slammed the door on one of the nation's most prolific offenses and keyed a 21-17 upset of No. 8 Penn State on Saturday.
"For a team that's putting up 40-plus points a game, to give up three points in the second half is a tremendous job across the board defensively..." senior safety Khari Willis said. "I think this demonstrates the heart and character of the football team."
MSU, which entered with the nation's No. 1 run defense and No. 122 pass defense, gave up two big first-half runs to Nittany Lions running back Miles Sanders. His 78-yarder set up a first-quarter touchdown pass from McSorley to KJ Hamler (Orchard Lake St. Mary's), and Sanders' 48-yard TD in the second quarter put Penn State up 14-7 at halftime.
After allowing 169 yards rushing in the first five games, MSU's defense gave up 166 yards on 15 carries by halftime.
They clamped down on Sanders after halftime, holding him to 16 more yards to finish with 162 yards on 17 carries. Penn State had 159 yards of offense in the second half, finishing with 397.
Pittsburgh, under former MSU defensive coordinator Narduzzi, is the only other team to hold the Nittany Lions to less than 400 yards this season.
"That's Spartan dog football right there," defensive tackle Raequan Williams said. "That chip and the swagger we carry, to everyone, means everything."
And the Spartans never allowed McSorley to do any damage with either his arm or legs. The senior quarterback was 19 of 32 for 192 yards, and he was held to 37 yards rushing on 13 carries.
"We had to have a guy on him," Bachie said. "I thought we did a really good job. Our D-line did good and took away a lot of step-up lanes throughout the game and put pressure in his face. And our DBs did a great job in the back end as well."
Perhaps the biggest play of the game came with about a minute and a half to play. Penn State needed a first down to run out the clock, and McSorley took off running on third-and-8. However, MSU cornerback Justin Layne upended McSorley 3 yards short of a first down, sending him out-of-bounds to stop the clock.
"He got off the block from the receiver, he made the play," Bachie said. "We got off the field, and it gave us a chance to win the game."
