Having lost three games by a combined seven points, it wouldn’t have surprising to see Saturday’s game between BYU and Michigan State come down to the wire.
Both teams have shown a knack for playing close games, but that didn’t happen Saturday night at Spartan Stadium.
BYU quarterback Taysom Hill completed 18 of 27 passes for a touchdown and rushed for another and running back Jamaal Willaims added 163 yards on the ground and two scores as the Cougars dominated the Spartans 31-14 on the road.
Jamaal Williams with another big game for BYU. He rushed for 163 yards and 2 touchdowns. Now at 866 yards and 10 touchdowns this season #BYU pic.twitter.com/E6hlv48F8X
— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) October 9, 2016
It was Michigan State’s third consecutive loss of the season after being ranked as high as No. 8 earlier this year. The last three-game losing streak for the Spartans came back in 2009 and Saturday’s game marked just the third-ever non-conference loss in the past decade for Michigan State head coach Mark D’Antonio.
For once this season, the Cougars put together a complete game on both sides of the ball and because of that, didn’t need any late-game heroics.
“It was a little weird,” BYU linebacker Fred Warner told reporters of the blowout victory. “It’s awesome that we did it in this type of fashion. Michigan State is a team you grow up watching on TV. It’s a special one.”
Big Ten football is all about smash-mouth football, but it was BYU who was the one dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
“Having all those close games earlier, I think, paid off this week,” BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said. “We challenged our guys to own the line of scrimmage.”
After a slow start, the Cougar offensive line started opening up huge holes for both Williams and Squally Canada. For the game, BYU had 260 yards on the ground and 138 through the air.
Williams, who rushed for a school-record 286 yards in a win over Toledo, made sure to have an encore performance as the senior torched the Spartan defense all night with big runs. Williams finished with 5.4 yards and Canda added 8.3 yards per carry.
Next Opponent
BYU: The Cougars will return home to take on Mississippi State out of the SEC Friday night at 8:15 p.m. on ESPN.
Michigan State: The Spartans will look to regroup as they resume Big Ten play. Michigan State will host Northwestern fo their Homecoming game on Saturday.
