Michigan State overcomes ‘clear finish’ to keep bowl game within reach

EAST LANSING – When the ball left Hudson Card’s hand, it looked like disaster for Michigan State.

The Purdue quarterback lofted a pass down the right sideline to receiver Jahmal Edrine, who got behind the defense and was wide open. It should have been an easy 75-yard touchdown that would have given the Boilermakers the opportunity to tie the game or try to take the lead in the fourth quarter.

Instead, Edrine dropped the ball on a wet and windy night at Spartan Stadium, and the Spartans could exhale. Michigan State receiver Montorie Foster was asked to recall his reaction watching the play from the sidelines.

“One of them,” he said as he ran a hand over his forehead with a smile of relief.

That about sums it up for the Spartans (5-6, 3-5 Big Ten), who nearly blew a 21-point lead before holding on for a 24-17 win against Purdue (1-10, 0-8) on Friday ​the evening.

“We really needed this win, but it’s a sloppy finish,” linebacker Jordan Turner said. “We expect to finish better, especially when one of our main themes this week was consistency in execution.”

Michigan State snapped a three-game losing streak with its first win in a month, also keeping the shot alive for a 13th game in coach Jonathan Smith’s first season. The Spartans host Rutgers (6-4, 3-4) next week and need a win to become bowl eligible.

“It means a lot,” quarterback Aidan Chiles said of keeping a bowl bid within reach. “I feel like we should have been here a long time ago.”

Michigan State started the season 3-0, but lost six of seven heading into Friday night. Three touchdowns and a field goal on four first-half possessions led to a 24-3 halftime advantage. What appeared to be a lopsided victory against a Purdue team that brought a nine-game losing streak to East Lansing turned out to be anything but that over the final 30 minutes. Despite being thoroughly outplayed in the second half, the Spartans did just enough to pick up their first win in a month.

“Obviously happy to find a way to win a game,” Smith said. “Kind of a tale of two halves.”

That’s a bit of an understatement in a very uneven performance for the Spartans. The second half featured five straight points before taking a knee to run out the clock as the Spartans went scoreless while amassing just 73 yards and going 0-for-7 on third down.

“I don’t want to say how we played,” Chiles said of the second half, “but we didn’t play well.”

Purdue’s only win of the season came in Week 1 against Indiana State, an FCS program, and coach Ryan Walters may be on the hot seat. On the other hand, this year is one of a rebuilding effort for Smith and was happy to escape with a win after back-to-back lopsided defeats.

“There was no panic,” Smith said, “and those guys found a way at the end to do enough to win the game.”

Michigan State has dealt with a number of injuries to starters and other key players in all three phases of the game since Week 1, and the secondary depth continues to dwindle. Relying on true freshmen at cornerback and safety is far from ideal, and Purdue spent big as Card threw for 342 yards, a touchdown and an interception while his team finished with minus-4 yards.

“We play a lot of different guys out there,” Smith said. “We’ve had guys go down, we’ve got youngsters in the game and they kept scratching and scratching and we’ll need that again next week.”

After Edrine dropped the potential touchdown, the Spartans forced a turnover on downs and then sealed the victory. Facing fourth-and-1 from the Purdue 28 with two minutes left, Smith kept the offense on the field and Chiles plowed forward for a first down before the Spartans ran out the clock.

“Obviously we feel really confident with our kicker (Jonathan Kim) getting it to two scores,” Smith said, “but with the elements and where it was, I felt like the best play was, look, you’ve got to to get half a yard to win the game, and that was the call.”

Michigan State will follow another short week of preparation with an extra day to get ready for Rutgers and a shot to extend the season. Smith’s debut has been rocky, but reaching a bowl is still on the table.

“It’s kind of disappointing when you come out and you’re hot,” Chiles said, “and then in the next half, it’s like you’ve never played football before. … We still won the game, a win is a win , and we will push from here, we will improve next week.”

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