MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — My, my, how expectations can change.
Just three weeks ago, before the season started, the notion of Michigan State walking into Miami and picking up a victory to move to 3-0 seemed far-fetched, at best.
Yet there were the Spartans on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium, overcoming a rash of penalties by making big play after big play down the stretch to knock off No. 24 Miami, 38-17, in front of a crowd of 46,427 that included a hefty amount of folks wearing green and white.
Behind four touchdown passes from Payton Thorne, 172 yards rushing from Kenneth Walker III and a massive defensive play in the fourth quarter by Drew Beesley, it was a huge day for the Spartans (3-0).
Clinging to a three-point lead, Beesley sacked Miami quarterback D'Eriq King and forced a fumble that was recovered by Jacub Panasiuk at the Miami 13. Three plays later, Thorne hit Jayden Reed with a 10-yard touchdown pass to push the MSU lead to 10.
After a Miami field goal, Thorne hit Jalen Nailor with a 39-yard scoring strike after picking up a first down on fourth-and-1 to essentially end the game. Reed added a late touchdown on an 8-yard run to blow the game open after a Ronald Williams interception.
When it was all said and done, Nailor had four catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns while Thorne was 18 for 31 for 261 yards and no interceptions as Michigan State picked up 454 total yards, the third straight game it has gained more than 400.
King put up big numbers for Miami (1-2), going 38 for 59 for 388 yards and two touchdowns. However, he threw two interceptions and lost one fumble, while the Hurricanes also had a drop in the end zone in the first half and missed a short field goal. It overshadowed a big day for wide receiver Charleston Rambo, who had 12 receptions for 156 yards and two touchdowns.
It was hardly an impressive first half for Michigan State but even with some early problems, the Spartans managed to take a 10-7 lead to the locker room at halftime. They were able to endure pressure from the Miami front four, which had three first-half sacks, and brushed aside two drives to open the game that essentially went backward.
On its third possession, Michigan State was able to find some offensive rhythm late in the first quarter, moving deep into Miami territory as the first quarter came to an end. After Walker was stuffed on third-and-5, Matt Coghlin kicked a 23-yard field goal to give the Spartans a 3-0 lead with 13:58 left in the second quarter.
Miami bounced right back as King did his best to pick apart the Michigan State secondary, moving the Hurricanes 75 yards on 10 plays. He capped the drive with a 3-yard pass to Rambo to give the Hurricanes a 7-3 lead with just more than 10 minutes to play in the first half. The teams each missed short field goals before MSU grabbed the lead back on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Thorne to Walker with 2:56 left in the second quarter.
After trading punts to open the second half, Michigan State had one of its best drives of the game, marching 85 yards on 10 plays. It ended with Nailor's 11-yard touchdown pass from Thorne where Nailor outran the defense to the corner of the end zone to put Michigan State ahead, 17-7, with 6:08 left in the third quarter. Miami responded with its own impressive drive, using only 2:15 to cut Michigan State's lead to 17-14 with 3:53 left in the third quarter on a 14-yard touchdown pass from King to Rambo.
After Michigan State was forced to punt, the defense came up with the big play as Beesley knocked the ball from King, setting up Reed's 10-yard TD reception from Thorne. After a 55-yard field goal from Andy Borregales, Miami cut Michigan State's lead to 24-17 with 8:11 to play. But Michigan State put the game on ice with the 39-yard pass from Thorne to Nailor to push the lead back to 31-17 with 4:12 to play before the late score from Reed on the ground.
