College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Michigan State 27, Rutgers 21
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 12, 2022
Where: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan
Temperature: 38°
Head Official: Ron Snodgrass
Attendance: 63267

Payton Thorne threw for two touchdowns to lead host Michigan State to a 27-21 win over Rutgers on Saturday in East Lansing, Mich.

Thorne completed 19 of 35 passes for 256 yards and Jalen Berger rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown for Michigan State (5-5, 3-4 Big Ten), which was won three of its last four games.

Kyle Monangai rushed for 162 yards on 24 carries for Rutgers (4-6, 1-6), which has lost three games in a row and six of its last seven.

Michigan State opened the scoring with 1:10 remaining in the first quarter, taking a 7-0 lead on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Thorne to Daniel Barker.

Rutgers evened the game 7-7 with 5:52 left in the second quarter on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Gavin Wimsatt to Aaron Young.

The play finished off a nine-play, 96-yard drive for the Scarlet Knights.

Michigan State regained the lead at 14-7 on a 2-yard touchdown run by Jalen Berger with 2:05 remaining in the second quarter.

On their first drive of the second half, the Spartans marched 86 yards and took a 21-7 lead on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Thorne to Jayden Reed.

Rutgers mounted a 69-yard scoring drive and cut Michigan State's lead to 21-14 with 1:30 remaining in the third on a 1-yard touchdown run by Johnny Langan out of a wildcat formation.

After blocking a 39-yard field goal attempt by Rutgers, Michigan State drove down the field and took a 24-14 lead with 6:28 remaining on a 34-yard field goal by Ben Patton.

With 3:22 remaining, Patton drilled a 48-yard field goal to give the Spartans a 27-14 lead.

Shameen Jones of Rutgers caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Wimsatt on fourth-and-29 with 47 seconds left to make it 27-21 Michigan State, but the Spartans recovered the ensuing onside kick.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Rutgers   Michigan State
Kyle Monangai Player Jalen Berger
24 Attempts 16
162 Yards 85
6.8 Avg Yards 5.3
0 Touchdowns 1
0 Long 0
Receiving
Rutgers   Michigan State
Johnny Langan Player Jayden Reed
5 Receptions 4
73 Yards 90
14.6 Avg Yards 22.5
0 Touchdowns 1
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Rutgers 460 224 236 3 0 0 0.0 0
Michigan State 453 197 256 3 2 0 3.0 0