Michigan State football headlines perfect weekend for Spartan athletics
By Ryan Kay
November 28, 2020, will go down in history as an amazing, perfect day for Spartan athletics, headlined by a Michigan State football upset.
A lot is going on not just in this country but around the world and right now the COVID-19 pandemic is, unfortunately, keeping families and friends from seeing one another due to precautions to stop the spread of the virus.
Games all around the nation have either been canceled or postponed as more and more student-athletes and coaches test positive for the virus. However, if you’re a Michigan State fan, just for one day you were able to take your mind off of all of the uncertainty and unsettledness in your life and enjoy a perfect day of Michigan State athletics.
The Michigan State football team started their game against No. 8 Northwestern at 3:30 p.m. ET. The Spartans had not played the previous week as Maryland was unable unable to take the field due to COVID-19 cases within the program. Michigan State’s only victory prior to the game against the Wildcats was a road victory against in-state rival Michigan.
The Michigan State hockey team began its contest against Ohio State on the road at 5:30 p.m. ET. The Spartans had a good, but not perfect, start to their season as they tied and defeated Arizona State at home to technically begin the season undefeated. The Buckeyes entered the game ranked No. 10 in the nation after they lost both games to open their season against a top-10 Minnesota team
Michigan State basketball hosted Notre Dame for its second game of the season at 8 p.m. ET. The Spartans opened up their season with a victory against Eastern Michigan and they looked to get a win against another power conference opponent when they hosted the Fighting Irish. This would be the first game of the season for Notre Dame which hoped to pull off the upset in East Lansing.
The “perfect day” for Michigan State athletics started on the football field when the Spartans took a shocking early lead against the undefeated Wildcats. The Spartans went into halftime with a 17-6 lead. However, the Wildcats would claw back and eventually take the lead in the fourth quarter, 20-17. The Spartans would respond in a big way.
Spartan hockey, like the football team, started off well, taking a 2-1 lead into the third period. However, the Buckeyes would tie the game in the third, forcing overtime. The Spartans, playing in their first road game, at minimum hoped for a tie and wanted to avoid a loss at all costs to stay undefeated.
Tom Izzo’s squad, like the hockey team, was in a competitive game at the beginning of their contest against the Fighting Irish. With just under seven minutes left in the first half, Michigan State was down 26-22 but they stepped up in the final minutes of the first half to go into halftime confident that they would end up not ruing the perfect day for Michigan State athletics.