Michigan State vs. Notre Dame First Half: Defense Winning Out So Far
By Jack Crosby
Sep 14, 2013; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans running back Nick Tompkins (32) fumbles the ball against the Youngstown State Penguins during the second half in a game at Spartan Stadium. MSU won 55-17. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Through one half of play, the 77th meeting between the Michigan State Spartans and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish has been void of basically any kind of offensive excitment, which, given the teams involved, isn’t really all that surprising.
At the moment, Notre Dame leads Michigan State by a score of 10-7. The Irish got their total up to 10 right near the end of the first half, when ND QB Tommy Rees heaved a pass into the back into the end zone which was hauled in beautifully by wideout T.J. Jones. Jones was able to get up, grab the ball and get his feet down in bounds.
Other than that, Rees has wildly overthrown some wide open receivers multiple times throughout the half.
From the Spartans’ standpoint, they haven’t been much more successful on offense neither.
After having somewhat of an offensive epiphany last week, Michigan State has garnered themselves just seven points through the first 30 minutes. The one score came on a back shoulder TD pass from QB Connor Cook to Macgarrett Kings Jr for 12-yards and the points.
Both teams are trying to establish something consistent in the running game which isn’t working for either squad. Defense, again as was expected, is ruling the majority of this game so far.