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Michigan State rebounds to beat Maryland

Nov 16, 2014 - 2:41 PM College Park, MD (SportsNetwork.com) - Connor Cook threw for 240 yards, Jeremy Langford had two rushing touchdowns and 12th-ranked Michigan State posted a 37-15 win over Maryland in the first meeting between the teams since 1950.

Langford had 138 yards on 25 carries and capped his performance with a 25-yard score that put the Spartans up 30-7 about midway through the fourth quarter.

Maryland quarterback C.J. Brown answered by throwing a 31-yard touchdown pass to Juwann Winfree, but Nick Hill sealed the win with a 33-yard TD run after Michigan State recovered an onside kick.

The Spartans (8-2, 5-1 Big Ten) bounced back from last week's disappointing home loss to Ohio State and won a school-record ninth straight conference road game.

"We had a great showing out here tonight," said Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio about the crowd support. "I told our football team that we were going east and when we go east, every Spartan on the east coast is going to be there, and they were. We have a great following, we have great fans that are passionate."

Brown finished with 246 passing yards and two touchdowns, but he had three interceptions, one of which was returned for a score.

Maryland (6-4, 3-3) was held to 11 first downs and six rushing yards.

"They beat us up front," said Maryland coach Randy Edsall. "We knew it was going to be tough to run. That's the thing they predicate their defense on, put a lot of guys in the box and do that. We didn't do a good enough job getting guys off the ball."

Michigan State made three consecutive red-zone trips after punting on the game's opening possession. However, the Spartans were held to a field goal each time.

Meanwhile, the Terrapins were sluggish on offense. Safety Kurtis Drummond picked off Brown on the third play of Maryland's first drive.

The Terrapins didn't register a first down until the second quarter when Brown converted a 4th-and-6 from the Michigan State 37 with a 17-yard pass to Jacquille Veii. Brown then threw a touchdown pass to Daniel Adams on the next play as Maryland trimmed the deficit to 9-7.

The Maryland defense then forced a three-and-out, but the momentum pendulum quickly swung back in favor of Michigan State.

William Likely, who already had kick returns of 42 and 52 yards, muffed the punt, and the Spartans recovered at the Maryland 38.

Michigan State failed to capitalize on the turnover as Michael Geiger missed a 47-yard try. He had converted from distances of 35, 34 and 22 yards.

The Spartans finally reached the end zone on their next possession as Keith Mumphery's 62-yard reception preceded Langford's 8-yard TD run.

Brown threw an interception on the final play of the first half and he was picked off a third time in the third quarter. Safety RJ Williamson caught the deflected pass and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown, extending Michigan State's lead to 23-7.

Game Notes

The Spartans have scored 438 points this season, surpassing the single-season school record of 434 set in 2011 ... Hill's touchdown was the 55th scored by the Michigan State offense this season, a new school record. The previous mark was 54 set in 1978 ... Brown tied Scott Milanovich (1992-95) for the most career touchdowns in Maryland history with 53 ... Defensive end Marcus Rush became the first position player in Michigan State history to start 50 career games ... The Spartans lead the series 5-1.