EAST LANSING, Mich. — Big plays were back for the Michigan State offense on Saturday, and with that came a defense that was far from perfect but also far better than it was a week ago.
It all added up to a bounce-back win for No. 7 Michigan State as Payton Thorne threw for four touchdowns and Kenneth Walker added a pair of scoring runs in the Spartans’ 40-21 victory over Maryland in front of 67,437 at Spartan Stadium.
The victory sets up a showdown next week with No. 6 Ohio State as the Spartans (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) head to Columbus with control of the Big Ten East on the line. The Buckeyes are 9-1, 7-0.
Michigan State’s offense found some rhythm after struggling last week at Purdue. Thorne threw for 287 yards while Walker carried the ball 30 times for 143 yards, the seventh 100-yard game of the season for the Heisman Trophy hopeful.
Wide receiver Jayden Reed also had a big day, hauling in eight passes for 114 yards with a pair of touchdowns.
Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 350 yards and two touchdowns. But he threw a critical second-half interception near the goal line and the Terrapins (5-5, 2-5) were just 3 for 13 on third down and 2 for 5 on fourth downs. Wide receiver Rakim Jarrett had eight receptions for 105 yards while tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo had eight catches for 112 yards and two touchdowns.
Michigan State rediscovered the explosiveness that had been a big part of the offense’s success this season before disappearing last week at Purdue. On the Spartans’ first possession and the fifth play from scrimmage, Thorne grabbed the flea-flicker from Walker and connected with Montorie Foster for a 52-yard touchdown to take a quick 7-0 lead. It was Foster’s first career touchdown and the fourth time this season the Spartans have scored on the trick play.
After going three-and-out on their next possession, the Spartans struck again on a 29-yard pass from Thorne to Reed to take a 13-0 lead, the extra point going wide left from freshman Stephan Rusnak, who was in for the injured Matt Coghlin.
Maryland pulled with within 13-7 late in the first quarter on a 4-yard run from Peny Boone, the Detroit King product. Michigan State responded with a 14-play drive that ended with Thorne’s third touchdown pass, a 2-yarder to Connor Heyward to push the lead to 20-7 with 8:11 left in the second quarter.
After forcing a quick punt, Michigan State was marching again, this time on a 13-play drive that ended with Walker’s 1-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 27-7 with 1:42 left in the half. Maryland responded quickly, however, with a four-play drive that lasted just 46 seconds, cutting the deficit to 27-14 on a 32-yard pass from Tagovailoa to Okonkwo.
Michigan State’s defense came up big early in the second half as linebacker Noah Harvey intercepted a Tagovailoa pass near the goal line then returned it to the MSU 36. The Spartans took advantage as Thorne found Reed with a 3-yard touchdown pass, his fourth of the game, to push the lead to 34-14 with 9:37 left in the third quarter.
The Spartans defense, however, was back to its old self after that, allowing Maryland to score on three plays, a drive that lasted just 56 seconds as Okonkwo grabbed a screen pass and dashed 32 yards to pull within 34-21 with 8:33 left in the third quarter.
After a Michigan State punt, the defense got a fourth-down stop as Ronald Williams broke up a pass. The offense responded as Walker had a 36-yard run then capped a seven-play drive with a 3-yard touchdown run, his second of the game. It put the Spartans ahead, 40-21, with 10:34 to play, a lead which held after a two-point conversion pass failed.
