Wisconsin Badgers vs Michigan State Spartans Match Player Stats On Sep 24, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Sep 24, 2016

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Redshirt freshman Alex Hornibrook passed for 195 yards and a touchdown in his first start and safety Leo Musso scored on a 66-yard fumble return as No. 11 Wisconsin surprised No. 8 Michigan State 30-6 on Saturday at Spartan Stadium.

Hornibrook, who led a fourth-quarter comeback against Georgia State in the Badgers' last game, completed 16 of 26 pass attempts. Corey Clement, who missed the Georgia State game with an ankle injury, rushed for 54 yards on 23 carries and scored twice for Wisconsin (4-0).

The Spartans (2-1), coming off a road win at Notre Dame, committed four turnovers and also bungled a punt attempt in the Big Ten opener for both teams. Senior quarterback Tyler O'Connor threw three interceptions and was sacked four times.

Musso's fumble return gave Wisconsin a 20-6 lead early in the third. Safety D'Cota Dixon popped the ball loose from running back L.J. Scott, Musso picked it up, spun around O'Connor at the Spartans' 38 and sped into the end zone.

Andrew Endicott's 41-yard field goal with 4:58 remaining in the third quarter increased the Badgers' lead to 17.

The Spartans gifted another touchdown to the Badgers a little more than a minute later. Michigan State punter Jake Hartbarger couldn't handle a high snap and had to fall on the ball at his 5-yard line. Clement raced to the left side and scored on the next play for a 30-6 Wisconsin lead.

The Badgers led 13-6 at halftime.

Hornibrook's first-quarter fumble set up Michael Geiger's 48-yard field goal. Hornibrook responded by engineering a 16-play, 65-yard drive to give Wisconsin a 7-3 lead. He finished it off with a 1-yard scoring pass to tight end Eric Steffes, who scored his first career touchdown.

An O'Connor turnover led to Wisconsin's second touchdown. O'Connor threw under duress and was picked off by cornerback Sojourn Shelton, who returned the interception to MSU's 28-yard line. Hornibrook extended the drive with a 23-yard pass to Jazz Peavy and Clement finished it off with a 1-yard run. The extra-point try was missed.

Geiger's 40-yard field goal with 1:18 left completed the first-half scoring.

NOTES: Michigan State senior LB Riley Bullough missed the game with an undisclosed injury. ... Badgers senior TE Eric Steffes had only five career receptions prior to his first-half touchdown. .... The teams were meeting for the first time since 2012. Michigan State now has a 30-23 advantage in the series. ... The last seven games were decided by an average of 4.9 points. ... The Spartans have been ranked for a school-record 45 consecutive weeks. ... Michigan State won 40 of its last 45 games. ... Wisconsin has now held eight of its last 11 opponents under 100 rushing yards and won all of those games.