fore keeping for 13 more himself. Langford
finished up the eight-play, 75-yard touchdown
drive on a two-yard TD plunge, and the Spar-
tans made their statement early.
Michigan saw a table set for a tie moments
later on a defensive stop, a shanked punt and
a personal foul against the Spartans. The Wol-
verines took over at the MSU 29, but experi-
enced the wrong kind of explosive play imme-
diately.
Gardner fumbled when reaching to handoff,
the ball smothered by MSU nose tackle Law-
rence Thomas, blowing up a perfect scoring
opportunity.
"Offensively, we had some opportunities,"
Hoke said. "We had some turnovers we don't
want to have."
The Spartans looked ready to completely
take over, pounding away on the ground all
the way from their 38 to the Michigan 5. But
the U-M defense made a stand, senior defen-
sive end Frank Clark throwing Cook down for
a five-yard loss, before sophomore defensive
tackle Chris Wormley corralled him on a nine-
yard sack.
Spartans placekicker Michael Geiger pushed
a 36-yard field goal attempt wide right, and the
Wolverines dodged a bullet.
The Wolverines' defense continued to rise
up at the right times, blunting an MSU drive
to the U-M 34 on a fourth-and-seven stop. But
with an offense managing just 35 yards over
the first 25 minutes of the game, it looked like
the defense might only bar the doors so long.
Michigan actually got on the board on a
zero-yard drive, after sophomore safety Delano
Hill scooped up a fumble by MSU tight end
Josiah Price at the Michigan State 31. Three
straight plays netted nary an inch, and senior
placekicker Matt Wile boomed a 48-yard field
goal, making it 7-3 with 3:30 left in the half.
But just like in the 2013 loss at Michigan
State, the Wolverines' defense let down just
before the half, allowing a 72-yard drive,
