No. 21 MIchigan St. got off to a slow start against Eastern Michigan on Saturday, but a strong second half eventually led them to a 23-7 win. Running back Le'Veon Bell was a force from start to finish, but his 100-plus yards in the first half couldn't bring the Spartans to the end zone, as they settled for a Dan Conroy field goal to take them into the third quarter, trailing the unranked Eagles, 7-3.
Eastern Michigan Vs. Michigan State Final Score: Spartans Find Offense In Second Half, Win 23-7
Bell would finally reach the end zone late in the fourth quarter, off a 1-yard rush to make the game 23-7 in favor of MSU. Quarterback Andrew Maxwell finished with 159 yards and a touchdown, which was thrown to Dion Sims. He had six receptions on the day, good for 112 yards.
Eastern Michigan's lone score came on the first play of their drive following a Bennie Fowler fumble in the second quarter. Tyler Benz hit Donald Scott for a 23-yard score to put the Eagles up 7-3. Outside of that play, Eastern Michigan struggled to even get a first down, with just eight of them on the day and nine punts total from Jay Karutz.
Box Score Hero: Le’Veon Bell of MSU gets the props in this game, putting on a show rushing the ball. He carried the rock a whopping 36 times for 253 yards, though as noted above, he struggled to find the end zone. He was the lone star in a game that saw little action until the third quarter.
Rankings Ramifications: Eastern Michigan won’t find themselves in the rankings any time soon, but Michigan St. could be falling further in the Top 25 after struggling to get rolling against their unranked opponents.
But Did They Cover? Well, MSU ranged from a 28-point to a 31.5-point favorite, so they did not even come close to covering. The over/under, which ranged from 46 to 48 points, was pretty ambitious, with hindsight. Check out SB Nation’s NCAA Football Odds page for more.
For More On This Game: For more on the Michigan State Spartans, go to The Only Colors. You can learn more about college football around the country over at SB Nation's College Football hub.
Next Week’s Schedule: It doesn’t get any easier for Michigan St. next week, as they’ve got No. 16 Ohio St. on Saturday, while Eastern Michigan will take on unranked Kent State Oct. 6 after a bye.
See More:
