Early Scare, Spartans Prevail

Indiana Hoosiers running back Tevin Coleman’s 64-yard touchdown run sent shock waves throughout the Homecoming crowd at Spartan Stadium last Saturday. The Hoosiers had scored a touchdown on their first possession, something many Spartan fans thought improbable, considering their defense is considered number one in the Big Ten, if not the entire country.

The pressure now turned to quarterback Connor Cook and the up-and-coming Spartan offense to see if they could trade blows with the high octane Hoosiers. In the first quarter the Spartans were kept off the board, but in the second, Cook’s pass connected with Jeremy Langford to bring the Spartans even.

After a stellar performance by a rebounding defense, Cook was at it again, this time finding Bennie Fowler to give MSU their first lead of the game at 14-7. But the Hoosiers struck back, taking advantage of a fumbled MSU kickoff return. They made it a 14-14 game courtesy of a touchdown pass from quarterback Cody Latimer. The shootout continued with the Spartan offense leading a late first half charge down the field, which resulted in Langford’s second touchdown, this one coming off of a five-yard run.

With the Spartans coming into the second half with a 21-14 lead, it was clear that they held the edge in this offensive contest. Jeremy Langford continued to amaze as he scored two more touchdown runs, one for two yards, another for 32 yards. Indiana’s only response was a two-yard touchdown run by Shane Wynen, which made it 35-21 MSU going into the fourth quarter. Both teams traded touchdowns in the final frame, with scores coming from Ted Bolser for the Hoosiers, and R.J. Shelton, who had a 34-yard run for the Spartans.

Now they must focus on making a statement against Purdue next Saturday, after the 42-28 win.

Impact Stat

-With the 500th game at Spartan Stadium, MSU has moved into the number one spot in the Legends Division.

Jason Ruff is a Multi-Media Journalist for Impact Sports.

Photo: David Defever