EAST LANSING- The Michigan State Spartans came into Eugene looking to snap their losing streak, and gain a win against a top-10 ranked opponent.
MSU defers and chooses to take the ball in the second half, and head coach Jonathan Smith trusts his defense to contain this dominant Big Ten team. On the first play of the game, quarterback senior Dillion Gabriel decided to throw a long ball down the field to his number one target on the night, senior receiver Tez Johnson, but it was broken up by junior defensive back Malik Spencer.
MSU forced a three-and-out halting Oregon from making any plays, and sophomore Aidan Chiles came out firing on offense on the other end. Chiles started out with a huge throw to freshman receiver Nick Marsh for 44 yards putting MSU in the Oregon redzone.
The Spartans tried to push it in with a QB sneak on a fourth and one but was stopped right in its tracks when Chiles rushed in and got stuck, which led to a Spartan fumble.
“Aidan’s a competitive player,” said head coach Jonathan Smith. “He’s going to put his shoulders in there and play physical, but you gotta keep the ball locked up.”
Gabriel on the next drive, handed it off to junior running back Jordan James for a 41-yard gain. Gabriel and the Ducks continued to march down the field, getting within the Spartan five-yard line. But MSU’s defense forced many tackles for loss of yardage on Gabriel, making him feel the pressure all night.
Gabriel ran a no-huddle play on third down, which made him scramble under pressure. Because of that pressure, he threw a costly interception in the end zone to Malik Spencer shifting the tide for MSU.
The Ducks and the Spartans went back and forth trading defensive stops, until Dillion Gabriel decided to do it himself, taking it to the house on first down to put Oregon up 7-0.
Oregon collected the ball to start the second half, which showed why they are ranked top-10 in the country.
The Ducks called a play using their receivers as a decoy, throwing it to senior tight end Terrance Ferguson for a 62-yard gain, which was to no avail because of Gabriel. He threw it into close coverage and it was picked off by redshirt junior Charles Brantley, giving the second interception of the night for MSU.
Turnovers riddled both teams on Friday, with two interceptions thrown by Heisman caliber QB Dillion Gabriel, and Aidan Chiles with a fumble in the Spartans-only trip to the red zone.
James exploded on the ground all night, and he did it again with three 10-plus-yard runs, and he took it to the house one play later giving Oregon a two-touchdown lead, 14-0.
Chiles could not survive in the backfield with the Ducks swarming defensive line. The Ducks chased him all night, with him being sacked for the second time of the night with two minutes left in the second half.
Gabriel tried to end it off the half with a touchdown, but the Spartans secondary held up with multiple forced incompletions in the red zone, until the last play of the drive. Junior receiver Evan Stewart broke away from his defender and extended the lead, 21-0.
The Spartans came out of the second half trying a new approach, Chiles ran three read option plays which seemed to be working, until Oregon adapted and stopped MSU in its tracks on the first down.
Chiles on the next down escaped the pocket and tried to make magic, he threw a deep pass downfield to Jaron Glover which was dropped, stopping the Spartan momentum in its tracks.
Dillion Gabriel sticks to what’s worked so far during this game, letting his running backs gain big chunks of yardage every play.
The Ducks worked the clock during this drive, which did not give the Spartans much time to make a run in the third. After many short runs from the Ducks, which led to a made field goal, the Ducks kept control over the Spartans in the third, 24-0 in the game.
In the fourth quarter for MSU, the Spartans could not get anything going offensively, and the Duck offense capitalized on it.
Gabriel took the Ducks down the field, and showed his roll-out ability, dishing it to his favorite target Tez Johnson for his first touchdown of the night. Johnson racked up 84 yards on the night on 10 receptions, where he averaged 8 yards per catch against the Spartans.
MSU put out a last-ditch effort in the fourth quarter, they rushed down the field off two big catches from junior tight end Jack Velling, bringing MSU into the red zone once again.
MSU chose to stick to the run game, and that paid off late with senior running back Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams who pushed it in for a one-yard Spartan touchdown, the first of the game and the second of the seasons for Lynch Adams.
“I think the line of scrimmage was not to our advantage,” said Smith. “Looking in the run game and protection, that’s something we have to find a way to get better on.”
The Spartans added one touchdown to the board late, making it 31-7 to close out the game.
MSU ended their night in Oregon being shut out in their first trip to Eugene since the 2018 San Francisco Bowl.
The Spartans travel back home to East Lansing for homecoming, taking on the Iowa Hawkeyes after the bye week on October 19, 2024.
