Mel Tucker Reacts To Michigan State's Win Over Michigan

Michigan State was coming off of a home loss to Rutgers, 38-27, in which the Spartans turned the ball over seven times. To compete, and beat, Michigan, they'd have to play a clean game — and that's exactly what they did, beating the Wolverines, 27-24, in The Big House. MSU gained 6.4 yards per play and didn't give the ball away once.

"We knew we had to take care of the football," first-year MSU head coach Mel Tucker said. "The storyline of last week’s game was that we turned it over seven times and gave up 21 points off of turnovers.

"That was an emphasis, and we wanted to build on some of the positives on some of the things we were able to do in the game. Our preparation and our practice was good. It was a tough week, it was a physical week and our guys didn’t flinch."

The story of the contest this week was big plays in the passing game, with redshirt junior quarterback Rocky Lombardi completing nine passes of 15 yards or more, including five tosses that went for 30 or more yards.

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The Spartans had success picking on U-M's cornerbacks, who committed two defensive holding and two pass interference penalties. U-M allowed MSU's Lombardi to post 323 yards through the air. Freshman wide receiver Ricky White had a breakout game, hauling in eight catches for 196 yards and one touchdown — a 30-yard score to put up the first points of the game.

"Obviously, Michigan has some really good players there," Tucker said. "But we’ve got some skilled guys that can make plays. We feel good about our pass protection with our offensive line … we also feel good about our backs and our tight ends being able to protect.

"We’ve known all along that our receivers can make plays. We’ve got some guys that are hard to cover. And so, we’re aggressive in doing that. I really liked the fact that we continued to run the football and take what we can get in a physical manner. We were able to maintain balance, keep them honest. It was a good, strong effort.

"We work on deep balls every week, every day. We were not surprised about what we saw out there. When you see a guy like Ricky White go out there and set a freshman record, he makes plays in practice. We just wanted to take it from practice to the game, and that’s what we saw.

"Give credit to our coaching staff. They did a great job putting together the game plan, figuring out what we could do with the guys that we have versus what they did, what they showed on tape."

After mustering up just 50 yards on Rutgers the week prior, Tucker's crew gained 126 on the ground against U-M. The Spartans averaged just 3.3 yards per carry, but Tucker said it was still worth it to run 38 times.

"It does [help the passing game]," Tucker explained. "We want to have balance. We need to be able to run the ball and throw the ball efficiently.

"You never want to be one-dimensional, especially against a team with a good defense and really good pass rushers. It’s important to stay with the run even if you’re not popping big ones on a consistent basis.

"There’s still a physical mentality and physical element to the game of football when you run the ball … We’re committed to doing that. That complements our passing game and our play-action and things like that."

The Spartans' defense allowed U-M to gain 452 yards, including 300 passing yards, but excelled situationally, holding U-M to a 7-for-7 mark on third downs. Senior linebacker and Ann Arbor native Antjuan Simmons led the Green and White defense, totaling 11 tackles, including a half-tackle for loss, and two pass breakups.

"Antjuan is a leader," Tucker said, acknowledging that the game meant a little extra for Simmons because of where he grew up. "He’s got good mental and physical toughness, and he did not flinch. You know what you’re going to get from him. He’s a relentless competitor and he loves football and he cares about his football team."

MSU takes on Iowa on the road next week, while Michigan travels to Bloomington for a showdown with Indiana.

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