Recap: No. 3 Indiana 38, Michigan State 13
A quick start from Michigan State fizzled just as quickly on Saturday as No. 3 Indiana scored 38 unanswered points to cruise to the 38-13 victory and hand the Spartans their fourth straight loss.
Fernando Mendoza was unstoppable for the Hoosiers (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten), completing 24 of 28 passes for 332 yards and four touchdowns. Elijah Sarratt had two touchdown grabs for Indiana. Omar Cooper Jr. had eight receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown, while E.J. Williams Jr. and Kaelon Black added touchdowns for Indiana.
Michigan State (3-4, 0-4) had plenty of success on offense early in the game, getting a Martin Connington field goal on the opening drive of the game and a touchdown pass from Aidan Chiles to Nick Marsh on the second which gave the Spartans a 10-7 lead at the time.
From there, however, the Spartans couldn’t sustain the offensive success as the next five drives came up empty.
Chiles was effective at times and was 20-for-22 passing in the first half. He finished 27-for-33 for 243 yards while rushing eight times for 48 yards, including a 64-yard run in the fourth quarter. That drive ended, though, after Chiles was called for intentional grounding on second down and sacked on fourth, leading to Indiana’s final scoring drive which ended with a 31-yard field goal from Nico Radicic with just less than two minutes left in the game.
Marsh finished with seven receptions for 64 yards for Michigan State.
Alessio Milivojevic came on to quarterback Michigan State’s final drive. It ended Michigan State’s scoring drought as Connington booted a 34-yard field goal with 33 seconds left in the game.
8:58 4Q: Michigan State offense stalls again in Indiana territory
The chance for a comeback was slim, but the success Michigan State had early in the game has disappeared.
After Aidan Chiles ripped off a 64-yard run to get the Spartans deep in Hoosiers territory, things turned. Chiles was called for intentional grounding on second down and was then sacked on fourth down as Michigan State turned the ball over on downs.
After scoring on its first two possessions, Michigan State has been shut out on its next five.
3:55 3Q: Indiana pouring it on, pushing lead over MSU to 35-10
The Spartans defense simply can’t stop the Hoosiers, who have not scored touchdowns on all five possessions they’ve had in the game. The latest came after Michigan State’s drive ended with a missed field goal and culminated with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Fernando Mendoza to Elijah Sarratt.
It was the fourth touchdown pass for Mendoza and the second scoring grab for Sarratt.
Mendoza is 20-for-23 for 298 yards and has thrown for four touchdowns in a game for the fourth time this season.
13:09 3Q: Indiana strikes quick again, leads MSU 28-10
Halftime was extended because of a weather delay, but that did little to slow the Indiana offense.
The Hoosiers needed just four plays and less than two minutes to push their lead over Michigan State to 28-10 after a 48-yard pass from Fernando Mendoza to Omar Cooper.
Indiana has scored a touchdown all four of its possessions with Mendoza throwing three scoring passes to three different receivers.
Halftime: Indiana leads Michigan State, 21-10
Michigan State had its share of success on offense, gaining 193 first-half yards and scoring on its first two possessions to take an early 10-7 lead on the third-ranked team in the country.
However, the defense did not fare as well as Indiana scored touchdowns on all three of its possessions. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza was 13-for-16 for 181 yards and a pair of touchdowns. E.J. Williams Jr. and Elijah Sarratt had touchdown catches for the Hoosiers while Kaelon Black had a touchdown run.
Aidan Chiles was effective for most of the first half, going 20-for-22 for 178 yards passing with a 15-yard scoring strike to Nick Marsh. The Spartans held the ball for 20:11 of the first half, but they couldn’t come up with points on either of their final two drives.
0:59 2Q: Indiana extends lead over MSU to 21-10 late in first half
Michigan State has controlled the ball for much of the first half, but its defense has been unable to contain the Indiana offense. After converting on a fourth down, the Hoosiers scored their third touchdown in as many drives on a 29-yard run from Kaelon Black.
The Spartans nearly got off the field on the previous play, but Fernando Mendoza found Omar Cooper with a 7-yard pass to extend the drive.
6:47 2Q: Indiana strikes quickly to go up 14-10 and grab the lead from MSU
It didn’t take long for Indiana to get back in the end zone. Fernando Mendoza hit Elijah Sarratt with a 24-yard touchdown pass on the Hoosiers’ fifth play after losing the lead to the Spartans.
Sarratt’s grab came after two big plays in the passing game for Indiana. Mendoza is facing little pressure and is 9-for-10 for 138 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
9:22 2Q: Michigan State retakes lead at Indiana; leads 10-7 on Nick Marsh TD
The Spartans’ offense surely came to play as it put together a second straight impressive drive, going 75 yards on 12 plays and chewing up 8:18. The drive was capped with a 15-yard scoring strike from Aidan Chiles to Nick Marsh to give Michigan State a 10-7 lead.
The drive kept going when Chiles stretched for a first down and fourth-and-2 deep in Indiana territory. MSU then overcame a holding call to extend the drive and find the end zone.
End 1Q: Indiana 7, Michigan State 3
While the Michigan State defense was unable to get a stop on Indiana’s only possession of the quarter, the offense has been efficient for the Spartans. They opened the game with a 13-play drive to take a 3-0 lead and closed the quarter with a first down at the Indiana 44.
Quarterback Aidan Chiles is 8-for-10 for 65 yards while Nick Marsh has three receptions.
2:40 1Q: Indiana marches down field to take 7-3 lead over Michigan State
The Hoosiers offense wasted no time getting the third-ranked team in the nation on the scoreboard as quarterback Fernando Mendoza authored an 11-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard scoring strike to E.J. Williams Jr. to give Indiana a 7-3 lead.
Two third-down conversions were key to the drive as Mendoza was 6-for-7 passing on the drive.
8:07 1Q: MSU kicks FG to take 3-0 lead over Indiana
Michigan State once again started things out on a high note, crafting a 13-play drive to open the game at Indiana, closing it out with a 38-yard field goal from Martin Connington.
The drive was sparked by an early third-down conversion when Aidan Chiles hit Omari Kelly for 20 yards on third-and-13. From there, some hard running from Elijah Tau-Tolliver got Michigan State in position to take the early lead.
Availability report
Beat writer Connor Earegood has today’s availability report. He adds MSU coach Jonathan Smith says on the pregame radio show that quarterback Aidan Chiles is ready to play.
Spartans look to halt skid
With so much uncertainty surrounding Michigan State’s program — from the status of coach Jonathan Smith to the health of quarterback Aidan Chiles — it might not be the perfect time to try and snap a three-game skid. Add in the fact the Spartans will have to attempt to right the ship on the road against one of the best teams in the country and the task is daunting.
However, that’s the position Michigan State (3-3, 0-3 Big Ten) is in Saturday afternoon as it takes on No. 3 Indiana in Bloomington. The Hoosiers (6-0, 3-0), coming off a massive win at Oregon last week, boast one of the top offenses in the nation, scoring 44.8 points and piling up 502.8 yards a game. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza leads the way with 1,423 passing yards and 17 touchdowns.
None of that bodes well for a Michigan State defense that is allowing 31.8 points a game, which is last in the Big Ten and 119th in the country.
Is there any chance Michigan State shakes off its ugly loss last week at home to UCLA and pulls off the upset? The odds are long, indeed, but the Spartans haven’t lost in Bloomington since 2016, offering at least a glimmer of hope they pull off an unlikely but much-needed victory.
Follow along here for live updates from Detroit News contributor Matt Charboneau.
Michigan State at Indiana
▶ Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Indiana
▶ TV/radio: Peacock/760-AM
▶ Line: Indiana by 26½
▶ Records: Michigan State 3-3 (0-3 Big Ten); No. 3 Indiana 6-0 (3-0 Big Ten)
▶ Series: Michigan State leads 50-19-2 (Last meeting: Nov. 2, 2024 — Indiana 47, (at) Michigan State 10)
