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Spartan State? MSU takes care of Michigan again

Oct 26, 2014 - 3:16 AM East Lansing, MI (SportsNetwork.com) - Bragging rights in the Wolverine State once again belong to the Spartans following a blowout win on Saturday.

Jeremy Langford ran for 177 yards and three touchdowns as No. 8 Michigan State continued its recent dominance over Michigan with a lopsided 35-11 win.

The Spartans (7-1, 4-0 Big Ten) have beaten their in-state rival six of the past seven years by a combined score of 197-101.

Connor Cook threw for 227 yards in windy conditions, with a big chunk of that yardage coming on a third-quarter scoring strike to Tony Lippett that essentially made sure the Paul Bunyan Trophy stayed in East Lansing.

Even with an extra week of preparation, the Wolverines (3-5, 1-3) managed just 186 total yards to Michigan State's 446.

"Obviously, not the results we worked for," Wolverines head coach Brady Hoke said. "We didn't play how we needed to play and give them credit."

One of the two interceptions Devin Gardner threw was returned for a touchdown, and the embattled quarterback completed a mere 13-of-28 passes for 121 yards.

The only solace for Michigan came with 3:40 left in regulation, as De'Veon Smith ran for a score to end the Wolverines' touchdown drought against the Spartans. It stood at 11 straight quarters prior to the 1-yard plunge.

Rather than take a knee and run the clock out after Smith's touchdown, Michigan State gave the ball to Langford seven straight times, and the talented senior punctuated the rout with a 5-yard TD run.

Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio did not shy away from running up the score.

"Just felt like we needed to put a stake in them," Dantonio said. "You might as well just come out and say what you are feeling at some point because you can only be diplomatic for so long."

The Spartans started off on the right foot as Langford punched one in from two yards out to cap an 8-play, 75-yard opening drive.

Their next three possessions, however, resulted in a punt, a missed Michael Geiger field goal and a turnover on downs, respectively, and their fourth saw Josiah Price lose a fumble at the MSU 32-yard line.

The short field helped the Wolverines' stagnant offense put points on the board as Matt Wile snuck a 48-yard field goal just over the crossbar with 3:30 left in the opening half.

Michigan State ended the half the same way it started, as Langford finished off a balanced attack with a 1-yard plunge over the goal line.

Midway through the third quarter, RJ Williamson stepped in front of a Gardner pass and bobbled it for a second before taking it 29 yards the other way for a 21-3 Michigan State lead.

Another empty Michigan possession gave the ball right back to the Spartans, and on the first play of the next series, Cook completed a back-shoulder throw to Lippett, who turned his defender around and sprinted down the sideline for an easy 70-yard score.

Game Notes

Michigan has lost 12 straight games against ranked opponents on the road, the last six coming under Hoke ... The Spartans have won 13 straight games in the Big Ten ... With his 71st victory at MSU, Dantonio moved into sole possession of second place on the school's all-time wins list behind Duffy Daugherty (109) ... Langford has rushed for 100 yards in 11 straight conference regular season games ... Michigan State has a bye next week before hosting nationally-ranked Ohio State on Nov. 8.