COLLEGE PARK, Md.– Michigan State traveled to College Park to take on Maryland, marking the 15th meeting between these two squads. In a head-to-head game, MSU defeated Maryland, 27-24.
Sophomore quarterback Aidan Chiles threw for 357 yards and three interceptions in his conference play debut. But with his ups and downs, he played a game that led to a win.
MSU started off the game trusting its defense, which slowed down the Maryland offense but did not stop the dominant two-man play of junior quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. and senior wide receiver Tai Felton.
The duo scored the first touchdown of the night and continued the dominant performance finishing with 253 yards and two touchdowns, with Felton racking up 152 yards.
MSU started its drive out strong, with a calm and collected Chiles at the helm. MSU’s run game came out fast and strong, opening up opportunities for Chiles to get the passing game working. The Spartan offense capitalized with a touchdown throw to MSU redshirt senior Montorie Foster Jr. to tie the game 7-7.
“We got more explosive offensively through some strikes down the field,” MSU head coach Jonathan Smith said.
MSU and Maryland continued to go back and forth on offense and defense, stopping each other, but Maryland broke through.
Redshirt senior defensive back Glendon Miller led the charge by picking off Chiles on third down, putting a destructive Maryland offense on the MSU 17-yard line. The Terrapin offense quickly took advantage of the field position with a quarterback run and score. Maryland ended the first quarter up 14-7.
Nonetheless, the Spartans got it done in the second quarter with Chiles taking a chance and threw a 34-yard deep ball to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jaron Glover to tie the game up 14-14. He finished the drive in 11 plays for 75 yards.
Sixth-year defensive lineman Khris Bogle kept Maryland on its toes rushing Edwards Jr. and making him take the sack. MSU defensive coordinator Joe Rossi has transformed the Spartan defense to be dynamic, fast and hard to track when rushing the passer. And it starts with the revamped defensive line.
MSU has been strong in the passing game, with over 100 passing yards in the first half. But the run game has not been there for MSU. Between transfer running-back Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams and redshirt junior running back Nate Carter, both had 63 yards combined.
Without each running back’s large runs for a big gain, the pair would only be averaging 3 yards a carry, which makes the Spartans rely on the passing game much more.
MSU made a last-ditch effort before the second half, storming down the field to the 50-yard line to get up on the board. Chiles missed on a touchdown opportunity on third down, but sixth-year kicker Jonathan Kim checked into the game with a 50-yard field goal to put MSU up three to close out the half, 17-14.
MSU opened up the second half with explosive runs from Carter and a Lynch-Adams 23-yard run on the left side, but MSU could not stay consistent.
Turnovers have been riddling MSU to make a streak on offense. It started with Chiles having three interceptions on the night, and one interception costing the opening drive touchdown in the second half.
“Again, there is a learning curve there, but the kid is resilient. Aidan kept on coming back. He’s the quarterback that drove us down the field and set it up for Jonathan,” Smith said.
Something had to break eventually, and it did, with Edwards Jr. hitting sophomore tight-end Dylan Wade in a drag corner route to put the Terrapins up to start the fourth.
MSU continued to compete with Maryland on the offensive side, trading drives on both ends. True freshman wide receiver Nick Marsh delivered with a 57-yard deep ball putting MSU in scoring position, putting up 194 yards for MSU.
“This game he was going to play more,” Smith said of Marsh. “He’s catching the ball on the sideline, operating in our two-minute offense at the end of the half, and the end of the game. He’s mature beyond his years.”
With four minutes and 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the MSU defense produced a stop and made the Terrapins take a 41-yard kick, leading to a missed field goal. The Spartans took advantage of the missed field goal with a one-play drive from Chiles to Marsh for a 77-yard touchdown to tie it 24-24.
With two minutes to go, MSU and a young quarterback received the chance to win this game, and they did just that. Chiles led the Spartans down the field and sealed the deal with Kim kicking the 37-yard field goal.
MSU took the win in College Park before heading back to East Lansing to matchup against Prairie View A&M on Sept. 14 with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m.
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