'Feels like we won a bowl game': Spartans take down Badgers, snap four-game slide

East Lansing — When it’s been more than a month since you’ve won a game, playing it safe just doesn’t seem like the right move.

It surely did not to Payton Thorne on Saturday night, so the Michigan State quarterback took matters into his own hands, deciding the play that had been called didn’t have a very good chance to work.

So, facing a third-and-12 from the Wisconsin 27 in the second overtime with the score tied and any points enough to put the Spartans over the top and end a four-game skid, he threw caution to the wind.

“I said, ‘Screw this,’” Thorne recalled. “Let’s throw it and let’s go get in the end zone.”

BOX SCORE: Michigan State 34, Wisconsin 28 (2OT)

When you’re willing to make that call, it helps to have your most trusted receiver out in single coverage. And Thorne didn’t hesitate, taking the snap, dropping back and lofting a perfect, back-shoulder pass to Jayden Reed, who hauled it in over Wisconsin defensive back Ricardo Hallman.

The play is one Thorne and Reed have connected on countless times, and on Saturday evening, it gave Michigan State a 34-28 victory, a win the Spartans (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten) needed desperately heading into the bye week with a trip to Michigan up next.

“I was playing for a touchdown, that's for sure,” Thorne said, likely not willing to leave things up to a field-goal unit that botched the snap on a potential winning field goal at the end of regulation. “The play we had called ... they walked their backer up off the edge and we hadn’t really seen that look all day. So I'm thinking he's probably coming, and even if he's bluffing, they might be bringing something from the other side, which for the play we had called, was not great. So I saw Bird out there and it looked like he had single coverage.”

Bird, of course, is Reed, and he did, indeed have single coverage, so Thorne let it rip, capping a wild finish that included Reed throwing a touchdown pass to Keon Coleman in the first overtime and Jacoby Windmon, playing linebacker, forcing a fumble recovered by Dashaun Mallory that set up Michigan State’s winning score.

“I mean shoot, kind of feels like we won a bowl game, honestly,” said safety Xavier Henderson, who returned for the first time since injuring his knee in the season opener. “But it’s the 24-hour rule. We’re going to celebrate it. After the game I went up to Payton and I'm like, ‘It’s these moments that are so much fun.’ Just our backs against the wall, you need to win and we fought so hard. That’s what we do for each other, really.”

Reed finished with nine catches for 117 yards and a touchdown while Coleman had five receptions and a pair of scores. Thorne had one of his best games, going 21-for-28 for 265 yards and two touchdowns while Jalen Berger and Elijah Collins added touchdown runs for the Spartans.

The defense had its best game in weeks, too, forcing two turnovers – Windmon had an interception in the first quarter to set up Michigan State’s first touchdown – and holding Wisconsin to 283 total yards while recording three sacks.

“It feels good to be back on the right side of things,” Thorne said. “The season’s not over. It's not time for us to throw a parade, but it feels good to be back on the right side of things. And now, how do we move forward and build on it? But we've been here before. We’ve won games before. But when you go a month without winning a game, it feels really good, it means a little bit more when you've been through those past four weeks and win the way we did.”

Wisconsin moved the ball well early, following the lead of running back Braelon Allen, who gained 123 yards and scored on a pair of 1-yard runs in the first half.

But Michigan State limited the Badgers (3-4, 1-3) beyond that as Graham Mertz threw for just 131 yards and Wisconsin converted just 2 of 7 third downs after halftime. And when Windmon stripped Allen of the ball on the first play of Wisconsin’s second overtime possession, it was the final blow for the Badgers.

“Great battle tonight, obviously the way this one ended it hurts,” Wisconsin interim coach Jim Leonhard said. “But would never question the effort of our guys tonight. They put it all out there. Unfortunately, we didn't execute as well as we needed to in the second half. Obviously, the second overtime as well. That's the difference in the game. Give Michigan State credit. They came out and made plays. Their receivers played extremely well, and they created a turnover when they needed it in that second overtime.”

The wild second half and overtime made the first half a distant memory, one that looked even in the box score but included many of Michigan State’s usual problems like failing to get off the field on a handful of early third downs, committing critical penalties and failing to consistently run the ball.

It all led to a familiar sight – Michigan State trailing at halftime. This time, Wisconsin took a 14-7 lead into the locker room behind a pair of Allen touchdown runs, both coming from a yard out. The first came on the game’s opening possession, one aided by a personal foul on Spartans defensive end Brandon Wright and a third-and-18 conversion by the Badgers.

The Spartans got to the Wisconsin 1 on their second possession – the first went three-and-out – but got stuffed on fourth down. They caught a break when Windmon intercepted a Mertz pass and scored two plays later on a Berger 12-yard run. But the Badgers responded with a 75-yard drive to push the lead to 14-7 while Michigan State lost any rhythm on offense, punting twice with the final possession ending after one play as the second-quarter clock ran out.

It was clear once the second half started that things were shifting. After forcing a three-and-out for the Badgers, Reed returned the Wisconsin punt 81 yards for what appeared to be a tying touchdown, but an illegal block on Germie Bernard wiped the score out.

The defense managed to keep the Badgers off the board until the offense got rolling with a big play on a 72-yard pass from Thorne to tight end Maliq Carr. Four plays later, Collins scored from a yard out to tie the score at 14 with 54 seconds left in the third quarter.

The teams traded punts for a pair of possessions before Michigan State finally got its first lead since week two on a 27-yard pass from Thorne to Coleman, putting the Spartans ahead, 21-14 with 7:23 to play. The drive was kept alive by a pass interference on Wisconsin when MSU went for it on fourth-and-4. Michigan State scored two plays later.

The Badgers answered, returning the kickoff to their 48 and after a 13-yard gain were in MSU territory. They then overcame back-to-back false start penalties before tying the score at 21 on a 3-yard pass from Mertz to Keontez Lewis with 2:04 to play.

Michigan State had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation but lined up for a potential 46-yard field goal, the snap was bad and the kick was never attempted, the clock expiring on the play to force overtime.

“It didn't work out,” Michigan State coach Mel Tucker said. “We did a really good job of getting those guys out there – we were out of timeouts. We had a snap and hold situation that wasn't good, so I'll have to take a look at that.”

Michigan State scored on its first play of overtime when Reed took a reverse handoff and threw to Coleman, who made an outstanding catch to give the Spartans a 28-21 lead. The Spartans then had a chance to win the game, but an interception was missed by Angelo Grose and Charles Brantley in the end zone on Wisconsin’s first play. Two plays later, the Badgers tied the score on a 25-yard pass from Mertz to Chimere Dike, knotting the score at 28. On Wisconsin’s second possession in overtime, Windmon forced the fumble that was recovered by Mallory and on third-and-12, Thorne hit Reed for the winner.

“I just want to thank our fans for hanging in there with us,” Tucker said. “I know it's been a tough stretch for all of us, but that's what we do as Spartans. We don't quit, we just keep chopping and keep going after it relentlessly until we get it right. We took a step in the right direction today and I'm really proud of everybody involved, all Spartans.”

mcharboneau@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @mattcharboneau