Nebraska Cornhuskers vs Michigan State Spartans Match Player Stats On Oct 04, 2014

No. 10 Michigan State 27, No. 17 Nebraska 22: Tony Lippett caught a touchdown pass and ran for another score as the Spartans held off a valiant fourth-quarter comeback attempt by the Cornhuskers for their 11th straight home win.

Lippett hauled in three passes for 104 yards and added a 32-yard touchdown on a double reverse for Michigan State (4-1, 1-0 Big Ten), which has won 11 consecutive conference games. Connor Cook threw for 234 yards, Jeremy Langford rushed for 111 and a score on 29 carries and the Spartans’ defense held the Cornhuskers’ second-ranked ground attack to 47 yards – more than 307 below their season average.

Ameer Abdullah entered the weekend with an FBS-high 833 rushing yards and scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns but was limited to a season-low 45 yards on 24 carries for Nebraska (5-1, 1-1). De'Mornay Pierson-El returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown with 3:22 remaining to make things interesting late.

Nebraska ran 13 of its first 18 plays in Michigan State territory but was forced to punt each time and paid for it when Cook connected with a wide-open Lippett on a 55-yard touchdown strike for the only first-quarter score. After punter Mike Sadler backed the Cornhuskers against their own goal line late in the first and the Spartans forced a three-and-out, Langford raced 31 yards for a score.

Michigan State forced a fumble by Abdullah at the Spartans 7 in the second quarter and took a 17-0 lead into halftime following a field goal by Michael Geiger. Lippett strolled into the end zone untouched to make it 27-3 late in the third, but Nebraska stormed back with three fourth-quarter scores before Tommy Armstrong Jr. was intercepted by Trae Waynes at the Michigan State 17 with 31 seconds remaining to preserve the victory.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Langford has rushed for over 100 yards in each of the Spartans’ last nine conference games. … Armstrong finished 20-of-43 for a career-high 273 yards, while Cornhuskers WR Jordan Westerkamp set career highs with nine catches and 158 yards. … Michigan State C Jack Allen was ejected after getting flagged for his second personal foul early in the fourth quarter.