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Fake field goal in overtime gives Spartans classic victory

Fake field goal in overtime gives Spartans classic victory



MATT CHARBONEAU - 
The Detroit News

East Lansing -- Another night game, another classic at Spartan Stadium.
The latest entry in the tradition of Michigan State-Notre Dame shockers went the Spartans' way Saturday night when punter Aaron Bates threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to tight end Charlie Gantt on a fake field goal for a 34-31 overtime victory.

As expected, the outcome produced emotions that ran the gamut.

"Wow, what a football game," Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. "We made a great play at the end of the game. But it was a big night for the Spartans."

And in the Notre Dame locker room, the feelings were the exact opposite.

"Words can't really explain it right now," Notre Dame safety Zeke Motta said. "It's just an awful taste in your mouth."

Before the final play, things were looking pretty grim for the Spartans (3-0). They had stopped the Fighting Irish on a key third-and-2 and forced a 33-yard field goal during Notre Dame's first possession of overtime.
But when the Spartans got the ball, they had trouble moving. Edwin Baker was dropped for a 2-yard loss and quarterback Kirk Cousins scrambled for 7 yards on second down. On third-and-5, Cousins took a sack, losing 9 yards and setting up what appeared to be a 46-yard field-goal attempt by sophomore kicker Dan Conroy.

"When he sacked the quarterback," Dantonio said. "I looked at him and said, 'Little Giants.' That's the name of the play."

What was the reaction from Bates? A confident nod and a simple, "OK."

"We practiced that play all week," said Bates, a senior captain. "Coach D loves running fakes, especially ones he draws up. He wanted to run it a couple other times during the game but the opportunity didn't come up.

"We had it on the right hash and they were running the defense we wanted them to run. Originally the play was made for Le'Veon (Bell), but they kind of got twisted up, which was what we wanted to happen. Charlie cleared up and I threw it out there. I knew he would make the catch."

While Gantt wasn't surprised to see the ball coming his way, it wasn't exactly how things had gone during practice.

"All through the week of practice I never got the ball once," the senior tight end said. "Le'Veon would shoot up the middle and catch it. Aaron did a great job of reading it, Le'Veon was covered and jammed two people. I got open and caught the ball."

And as the ball soared through the night sky, what was going through Gantt's mind?

"Just catch it, do not drop the ball," he said. "Once I caught it and knew I was going to score, the next thing I thought was, 'Don't get dragged to the bottom of the pile.' Last year against Michigan I was on the bottom of the pile and it was the worst feeling of my life. I just made sure to stay on my feet and celebrate with my teammates. It was the most incredible feeling of my life. In my entire life, it was the most amazing feeling ever."

The start of the game was not an accurate predictor to what was to come. Only 14 points were scored in the first half, which ended in a 7-7 tie.

Notre Dame's spread offense was in full force on its first scoring drive, 80 yards in nine plays capped by a 7-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Dayne Crist to Michael Floyd to put Notre Dame up 7-0. A roughing the passer penalty on linebacker John Misch helped get the Fighting Irish to the Michigan State 7-yard-line before the scoring play.

The Spartans marched down on their next drive, but quarterback Kirk Cousins threw an interception in the end zone. It was the second straight week he's been picked off in the end zone.

"Maybe I'm playing a little too tight, I don't know," said Cousins, who finished 23-for-33 for 245 yards and two touchdowns. "I made some mistakes at times, but my teammates picked me up and we got the win."

He bounced back on the Spartans' next drive, however, connecting with Keshawn Martin from 6 yards out to tie the score at 7 late in the second quarter. The Spartans went 94 yards on seven plays after cornerback Johnny Adams intercepted a pass from Crist.

While the first half was lacking in scoring, it didn't take long to realize the big plays would starting coming in the third quarter.

Michigan State running back Edwin Baker, who had just 17 yards in the first half, got things going when he went 56 yards on Michigan State's second play of the third quarter to put the Spartans in front for the first time, 14-7.

Cousins connected with B.J. Cunningham for 18 yards on the first play, setting up Baker's run.

Notre Dame bounced right back, going 74 yards in six plays and only 1:46. Crist hit tight end Kyle Rudolph from 10 yards out to tie the score again.

Bell then got rolling. The freshman running back scored on a 16-yard run and went over the 100-yard mark for the second time in three games. But it was his run on a screen pass on third-and-12 that people will be talking about.

Bell was hit near the line of scrimmage and looked like he was going to go down for no gain. But he spun out of the tackle, regained his balance and carried another tackler to pick up 12 yards and the first down. On the next play, he barreled into the end zone to put MSU up 21-14.

"It was definitely exciting for me," said Bell, who finished with 114 yards on 17 carries. "When I first ran out of the tunnel, it's a night game and all of these people just yelling. But at the same time, I was nervous."

Notre Dame came right back again, going 77 yards in 11 plays, finishing it off with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Theo Riddick. The drive was kept alive when Adams was flagged for holding on third-and-16 from the 37-yard-line.

After Michigan State went three-and-out, Crist continued to pick apart the Spartans, hitting Floyd on a 24-yard touchdown pass to put the Fighting Irish back in front, 28-21.

But the Spartans fought back, forcing Notre Dame to punt for the first time in the second half. The offense then went 56 yards on four plays to tie the score at 28 with 7:43 to play.

On second-and-12 from the Notre Dame 24, Cousins scrambled from pressure, rolled to his right and hit Cunningham for the score.

Crist had a huge night for the Irish (1-2), going 32-for-55 for 369 yards and four touchdowns. Riddick had 10 catches for 128 yards while Rudolph had eight grabs for 80 yards and Floyd had six catches for 81.

None of it, however, was consolation to the Irish.

"It hurts," Rudolph said. "When you go out like that you've just got to come together as a team and believe in each other and come back on Monday."