Victory for MSU!!!!

Today the Spartans dug themselves a pretty huge hole. Down 16-0 at the half, with less than 80 yards of offense, they looked to me like they were getting ready to lay down and take a whipping similar to last year's bowl game debacle. I watched the first drive of the second half, and when it ended the way that pretty much every drive of the first half ended, I changed the channel and started watching the NHL Winter Classic.

But then something funny happened. Somehow, the Spartans decided that they knew how to play football. They moved the ball after an interception and got on the board. The two point conversion made it 16-8. A few plays later, a pick six with a missed two point conversion made it 16-14.

I turned the game back on. I watched Georgia move down and put a field goal on the board to go up 19-14. Then I watched the Spartans take about a minute and a half to get themselves another TD and take a 20-14 lead after another failed two point attempt.

That lead would last about a minute and a half itself, as Georgia walked right down the field to score again. Their two point conversion was good, and set up a 27-20 lead.

On the Spartans next drive, quarterback Kirk Cousins threw a pick that I thought would end the game. But the defense stepped up and forced a punt, giving the Spartans one last chance at a drive to tie it up.

With just under two minutes to play, the Spartans took 1:36 to move the ball 85 yards and cap it with a touchdown for the tie. On the ensuing kickoff, Georgia took a knee to head to overtime.

As the teams were getting ready for overtime, the Spartans were visibly hyped up, and Georgia looked a bit tired.

Georgia won the toss and gave State the ball to start. Cousins promptly threw an interception. Game over, right?? Not today...

The Michigan State defense stepped up, again, and held the Bulldogs to zero yard on their possession, and then the field goal was wide right. On the next series, the Bulldogs again did nothing with the ball, but this time hit a field goal.

Now the Spartans take over, and Cousins throws ANOTHER pass right into a Bulldog's hands, but this time the interception wasn't made, the ball was dropped. State moved the ball a few yards and ended up settling for a field goal themselves.

On to overtime number three. The Spartans started with the ball and moved it seven yards before kicking a field goal for a 33-30 lead.

The ball then goes over to Georgia, who ends up throwing a ball right into a Michigan State player's helmet...he tips the ball, but doesn't end up getting the pick. At this point, I figured that Georgia had just dodged their bullet, and they would end up with a TD on the drive for a win...but I was wrong. State's defense stepped up again, and after a loss of four yards on the drive Georgia would have to settle for another field goal attempt.

Blocked.

Today, Michigan State survived a scare and won a bowl game for the first time in over a decade. They ushered their seniors out with Coach Dantonio's first bowl win for the Spartans, and gave their fans something that they had wanted for a LONG time.

I said at the start of the season, it's one thing to go to bowl games every year...but at some point you need to start winning them. This year they did that.

Let's hope that they can continue this trend.