Michigan State football defense huge in 20-15 win at Indiana
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Mark Dantonio raved for years about Tyler Hunt’s athleticism, which seemed crazy when talking about a walk-on punter and kicker.
Mel Tucker moved Hunt, who played quarterback at Gobles high school, to tight end in 2020. And the senior made the two biggest plays Saturday to help save Michigan State football’s unbeaten season.
With the offense sputtering against Indiana’s aggressive defense, Hunt took a reverse flip and threw a 15-yard pass under pressure to quarterback Payton Thorne, who made a dazzling toe-tap catch on the sideline. Then Thorne returned the favor with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Hunt three plays later to help the No. 9 Spartans escape Indiana with a 20-15 victory and claim the Old Brass Spittoon on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
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MSU (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) enters its bye week with two weeks to prepare for a visit from No. 7 Michigan on Oct. 30. Game time and TV information has not yet been released. The Wolverines, who did not play this week, host Northwestern next Saturday.
Xavier Henderson snuffed out a shovel pass to Hoosiers tight end Peyton Hendershot on a tying two-point conversion attempt early in the fourth quarter, and Matt Coghlin added a 49-yard field goal for a 20-15 lead with 8:31 to play. He made a 51-yard field goal in the third quarter to give MSU a 10-9 edge.
The Spartans held on against an Indiana team playing without starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and cornerback Tiawan Mullen, who were out with injuries. The Hoosiers (2-4, 0-3) had backup quarterback Jack Tuttle pressured all day despite controlling MSU on both sides of the line early.
And the Spartans also needed to overcome their own issues, which included struggles getting off the field on third down defensively, penalties, special teams gaffs, turnovers and watching Walker get bottled up for 84 yards on 23 carries. Thorne finished 14 of 26 for 126 yards and two interceptions.
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The big plays MSU made in the first half at Rutgers vanished, with Indiana dominating up front and not permitting Walker or Thorne to get on track. The Spartans instead resembled the second-half frustrations vs. the Scarlet Knights and the escape against Nebraska three weeks ago.
Walker had little room on his 10 carries in the first half, managing 22 yards and none longer than 8. Thorne’s receivers dropped a few passes — including what could have been a long touchdown to Jayden Reed in the first quarter — and the Hoosiers kept the sophomore quarterback scrambling with pressure.
The Spartans also struggled special teams, with Bryce Baringer shanking one punt and having another partially deflected. MSU committed five penalties for 40 yards before halftime, almost as many as the 57 yards of offense it had in the half, and did not cross midfield on four possessions as Indiana held the ball for nearly 19:30 minutes.
If not for its defense, however, the Spartans might have been even farther behind.
Cal Haladay stepped in front of a Tuttle pass on a tight end slant…
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