Stanford Cardinal vs Michigan State Spartans Match Player Stats On Jan 01, 2014

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Jan 1, 2014

No. 4 Michigan State 24, No. 7 Stanford 20: Connor Cook passed for 332 yards and two touchdowns as the Spartans knocked off the Cardinal in the 100th edition of the Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio in Pasadena, Calif.

Cook tossed the decisive 25-yard scoring pass to Tony Lippett early in the fourth quarter as Michigan State (13-1) prevailed in its first Rose Bowl appearance in 26 years. The Spartans sealed the game with a fourth-down stop with 1:43 left to earn the first 13-win season in school history.

Tyler Gaffney rushed for 91 yards for Stanford (11-3) but wasn’t given the ball on fourth-and-1 from the Cardinal 34 when the game was on the line. Fullback Ryan Hewitt was stuffed by three defenders for no gain and Michigan State took over and ran out the clock.

The Spartans trailed 17-14 at halftime and tied the score when Michael Geiger kicked a 31-yard field goal with 12:56 left in the third quarter. Michigan State went ahead with 13:22 left on the touchdown catch by Lippett and the Cardinal pulled within four on Jordan Williamson’s 39-yard field goal with 4:15 remaining.

Stanford jumped out to a 10-0 first-quarter lead on Gaffney’s 16-yard scoring run and Williamson’s 34-yard field goal before Jeremy Langford’s 2-yard scamper got Michigan State on the board early in the second quarter. Stanford’s lead reached 17-7 when Cook's pass was intercepted by Kevin Anderson and returned 40 yards for a score with 2:07 left in the half before the Spartans responded with a seven-play, 75-yard drive capped by Cook’s 2-yard pass to Trevon Pendleton.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Lippett had five receptions for 94 yards and Langford rushed for 84 yards on 23 carries. … Stanford WR/KR Ty Montgomery had just three receptions for 21 yards before leaving the game early in the fourth quarter. … Michigan State played without standout MLB Max Bullough, who was suspended due to a team rules violation.