IU scored zero points in the first half.
The Hoosiers had seven penalties for 60 yards, and junior quarterback Richard Lagow had thrown one interception in the endzone and no touchdowns.
It appeared IU had learned nothing from its loss to Wake Forest and No. 17 Michigan State was going to waltz through Bloomington unscathed.
IU failed to score on its first seven drives.
But it put together a 24-point second half, only scoring on its last four drives, to defeat the Spartans in overtime, 24-21, in it’s first ranked Big Ten upset since 2006.
IU didn’t commit a penalty, didn’t turn the ball over and didn’t allow a sack in the second half.
“We were going to do anything we could to get it into the fourth quarter,” IU Coach Kevin Wilson said. “We didn’t know if we could. The defense hung in there. The kids hung in there. I’m proud of them.”
After the dismal first half that featured a total of just 120 yards, IU was down 14-7 with 3:03 left in the third quarter on Michigan State’s 22-yard line.
That’s when IU looked to junior backup quarterback Zander Diamont.
He had been telling Wilson and the coaching staff he had a play drawn up that could work for the Michigan State game. Wilson disregarded the suggestion.
But in the huddle, Diamont nudged Lagow, and before Diamont could say anything about his idea to tie the game, Wilson halted him and agreed to run it.
Senior receiver Ricky Jones used a block on the outside and was left wide open for a Lagow pass and the tying score on the left side of the endzone. The Hoosiers had overcome a 14-point deficit in a matter of eight minutes.
“He ran over to me, jumped on top of me and said, ‘I told you it would work. I told you’,” Jones said.
On their very next drive, the Hoosiers waltzed 70 yards on the shoulders of a 36-yard fake reverse by junior running back Devine Redding and a 15-yard touchdown reception by senior receiver Mitchell Paige to take the lead 21-14.
And after a long 13-play drive, Michigan State found itself tying the game on a 4th-and-goal pass to the corner of the endzone.
The Hoosiers were taking another top-ranked program to overtime in Memorial Stadium. This time it was on the backs of Lagow, a committee of running backs and a new defense.
And the Spartans had the ball first.
Defensive coordinator Tom Allen wanted it that way. He wanted his defense on the field first and told them a stop would give them a great chance to win, junior defensive lineman Patrick Dougherty said.
“He is full of confidence all the time,” Dougherty said about Allen. “It truly shows because it reflects in everybody. It’s unbelievable how positive he is all the time.”
The IU defense hadn’t sacked a quarterback since the Ball State victory three weeks ago, but it got two in overtime.
Dougherty, who had blocked a field goal earlier in the game, got to senior quarterback Tyler O’Connor first. Then junior defensive tackle Nate Hoff brought O’Connor down. Both were the juniors’ first sacks of the year.
The sacks forced Michigan State kicker Michael Geiger to attempt a 49-yard field goal, which he missed, and the Hoosiers battled to the 3-yard line to put junior kicker Griffin Oakes in position to hit the game-winning 20-yard field goal.
Fans rushed the field, players passed around the spittoon trophy and the goalposts came down in the North endzone.
Jones — who had a team-high five catches for 124 yards and a touchdown — said he had only seen scenes like that on TV and that he came to IU wanting to beat programs like MSU.
He said he and Paige shared a moment after the game when the two fifth-year seniors nearly cried on the field.
Paige said he and his teammates will celebrate, but knowing Ohio State awaits the Hoosiers next week, will keep them from celebrating too much.
“Guys were like, ‘Yeah, this is fun, but it’d be a lot more fun if we could do it again’,” Paige said. “We’ll enjoy tonight, but I’m ready right now. I wish we could start watching film on Ohio State tonight.”
