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Spartans Dominate First Half In Win Over WMU |
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Written by Mike Smith
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Saturday, November 07 2009 |
EAST LANSING, MI. – Michigan State’s offense scored on three of its first four possessions, and the Spartans defense dominated early as the hosts cruised past Western Michigan 49-14 Saturday at Spartan Stadium.
Michigan State was particularly effective over the first thirty minutes while building a 35-0 halftime advantage.
Things turned bad quickly for the Broncos, who were playing before the largest crowd (73,910) in WMU program history. Ashton Leggett broke loose for a 71-yard touchdown run on the game’s third play from scrimmage.
Then, five plays into Western Michigan’s first drive, the Spartans created a turnover. Greg Jones and Trevor Anderson sacked WMU quarterback Tim Hiller, who fumbled the football. Johnathan Strayhorn recovered at the Broncos’ 40, and the Spartan offense was in business again. Eight plays into the drive, Leggett went into the end zone from two yards out.
The Spartans posted their third TD of the first quarter two possessions later when quarterback Kirk Cousins found Garrett Celek on a 13-yard TD pass. Brett Swenson’s PAT gave the Spartans a 21-0 lead.
Michigan State’s defense continued to shine in the second stanza, keeping the Broncos off the scoreboard while holding them to a season-low 36 yards of offense in the first half.
The Spartans offense, meanwhile, put two more touchdowns on the board before intermission. Cousins hit Keshawn Martin with a 48-yard TD pass at 5:35, and Leggett picked up his third TD of the contest with 26 seconds left in the half.
Western Michigan (4-6, 3-3 MAC) had the Spartans in third down situations six times during the first half. The hosts converted just two, but benefited from three roughing-the-passer penalties that extended three of five first half Spartan scoring drives.
“Our young players just didn’t handle the venue very well…. I just think they weren’t prepared to play in a Big Ten atmosphere,” WMU coach Bill Cubit said. “The game got away from us early, and we never got into a good rhythm.”
“I think they came out with a sense of urgency, and we did not match that,” Hiller said.
“That is a good team that came out physical and beat us physically and mentally,” said running back Brandon West, who picked up a record along the way. The senior’s 38-yard kick return early in the game gave him 2,978 return yards. That broke the NCAA Division I FBS career record (2,945 yards) formerly held by SMU’s Jessie Henderson.
“It’s good to get the record, but I want to get the record with a win,” West said. “I just go out there and try to play hard.”
Down 35-0 at the midway point, Western Michigan regrouped. West then provided a quick boost for Bronco morale when he broke loose for an 80-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter. It was the longest run of his career.
Western Michigan got another score on the first play of the fourth quarter when Hiller hit Blake Hammond with a 12-yard pass. It was the 94th passing TD of Hiller’s career and marked the 39th game in which the senior recorded at least one passing touchdown.
Hiller completed 15 of 37 for 111 yards and one TD (no interceptions) against the Spartans.
Despite West’s 80-yard TD run, WMU had just 94 yards rushing and 211 yards of total offense.
Two fourth quarter Spartan touchdowns, including Leggett’s fourth TD of the day, completed scoring.
“We played much better in the second half,” Cubit said. “I thought we were competitive and got the score back up to 35-14, but then we let them run 70 yards and score another touchdown.’
Overall, Michigan State rolled up 602 yards of offense. Leggett provided 110 of the Spartans’ 219 rushing yards. Cousins, meanwhile, completed 22 of 25 for 353 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.
NOTES:
- Neither team did well on third down conversions. Michigan State converted just 3 of 13, while WMU failed to convert any of 13 chances.
- There was only one turnover in the contest, and that was Hiller’s fumble. MSU converted the turnover into a touchdown.
- Western Michigan stays in the state next week as it goes to Ypsilanti to face winless Eastern Michigan (0-9, 0-5 MAC). |
