Sixty-three players played in the first half. Seven freshmen defenders played at one time.

The No. 11 ranked Spartans bounced back after their a bye week following loss in Eugene with a 73-14 dominating performance against Eastern Michigan. Connor Cook, who only attempted six passes, ended up with 83 yards and two touchdowns.  He also had a rushing touchdown of his own. Cook sat out the majority of the second quarter and the entire second half while MSU maintained a comfortable lead.

Damion Terry and Tyler O’Connor both saw significant playing time in the second half. Terry was a highly touted recruit out of the class of 2012 as a dual-threat quarterback. During the beginning of the 2013 season, some fans even argued that he should have been the starter, over Cook and Andrew Maxwell during their slow start on offense that season.

However, it was Cook who got the touchdown on the ground today for the Spartans. Terry was asked if he was jealous that Cook got to score on plays that looked like they were designed for him to run.

“Of course I want a touchdown, but it’s all good. I know Connor is a really good runner too and he showed it today,” Terry said — adding that himself, Cook and O’Connor have always been very supportive of each other.

Jeremy Langford rushed for nine carries and 60 yards and one touchdown, and later split carries with Nick Hill, Delton Williams and others.

The big story of the second half was the play of Williams, who had a rushing touchdown in the first half, and two in the fourth quarter – the latter being an impressive 80-yard run.

Delton Williams was happy that he was able to make such a big play, stating that he told his teammates he felt he was about to break a long run.

“I told a couple of teammates that one of these is gonna be a long one,” Williams said. “Once I got to the sideline, I told myself I’m not getting caught.”

Michigan State played with sixty-three 63 different players in the first half.  Head coach Mark Dantonio mentioned in his press conference that he saw seven freshmen or redshirt freshmen on the field on defense during one play.

Dantonio talked about how this game served as an opportunity to see some of the Spartans’ less experienced players and to catch a glimpse of what the future might hold.

“There’s no question that we will evaluate this film very closely, especially our young players and guys that don’t get to play as often, and I think that’s important,”  Dantonio said. “Because that’s the only way they get better is playing in the game.”

Michigan State improves to 2-1 on the season. Their next game will be homecoming on Sept. 27 against Wyoming at 12 p.m.

Bradley Allen is a multimedia journalist for Impact Sports
Photo: David Defever/Impact Sports