UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. _ Injuries and attrition be damned. Michigan State football pulled off another shocking upset of Penn State.
Brian Lewerke directed a 76-yard TD drive in the final 1:19, passing MSU down the field as one receiver after another got hurt.
On third-and-2, Lewerke hit Felton Davis III for a 25-yard TD pass with 19 seconds left that gave the Spartans a second straight shocking upset of No. 8 Penn State, and a 21-17 victory on Saturday at Beaver Stadium.
MSU improves to 4-2 and 2-1 in the Big Ten. Next up for the Spartans is rival No. 13 Michigan, a noon kickoff on Saturday at Spartan Stadium (Fox).
Lewerke finished 24 of 52 for 259 yards and two TDs.
The Spartans defeated then-No. 2 Penn State last year at Spartan Stadium, 27-24, on a last-second field goal.
MSU busted out two first-half trick plays that worked to perfection.
Connor Heyward ran a fake punt as the upback and ran the ball 26 yards for a drive-saving first down.
Two plays later, the sophomore took a handoff from Lewerke, rolled to his right, pulled up and lofted a deep spiral that receiver Cam Chambers ran under for a 36-yard catch to put the Spartans at the Nittany Lions' 1.
La'Darius Jefferson eventually pushed the ball in for a touchdown, helped by a drive-aided penalty by Penn State after it had stopped MSU three times.
A fake field goal throw from Lewerke to Raequan Williams looked like it was going to work, but Penn State's Garrett Taylor soared in and broke up the pass.
After Nittany Lions kicker Jake Pinegar gave them the lead with 9:21 to play, MSU started moving the ball on the ground with Jefferson, whose 27-yard burst took the Spartans into Penn State territory.
The drive stalled at the 22-yard line, and Matt Coghlin came on for what appeared to be a 40-yard, game-tying field-goal attempt. The sophomore had made 16 straight attempts.
But Lewerke, who is the holder, picked up the snap, Coghlin ran to his right like he did on the fake attempt at Indiana. Instead, Lewerke threw deep for defensive tackle Williams. But the pass got knocked away off Williams' hands.
MSU earned the ball back with 4:09 left, but the drive stalled and Dantonio opted to punt and play defense.
It proved to be a wise move.
It was all Lewerke and his remaining pass catchers on the last drive.
He hit Heyward on a screen for 11 yards to start, then two passes to Laress Nelson got MSU into Penn State territory.
Davis got hurt on one incompletion but returned. He broke deep, adjusted his route and caught the ball at the two. The senior shook a defender and reached over the goal line as MSU's sideline piled onto the field.
Davis finished with eight catches for 100 yards and two scores.
Dantonio said earlier in the week Michigan State's goal to run the ball 40 time a game often turned into victories.
The banged-up Spartans _ even without starting running back LJ Scott and two offensive linemen and most of its receiving corps _ did almost that. They got 123 yards on 36 carries, led by Jefferson's 60 yards on 15 carries.
