Overtime for the Old Brass Spittoon

Saturday, November 19

East Lansing, Mich.

Noon

Indiana University

4-7 , 2-6

Michigan State

5-6 , 3-5

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Indiana

Michigan St.

11/19/2022 4:00:00 PM | Football

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes Postgame Quotes WATCH: Tom Allen Postgame Press Conference WATCH: Dexter Williams II Postgame Press Conference Photo Gallery

By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Sometimes you find a way.

Sometimes you fight, persevere, and believe.

Oh, make history.

Welcome to the Hoosiers' 39-31 double-overtime victory at Michigan State. It was a result that once seemed as likely as the sun setting in the east.

IU (4-7) trailed 24-7 at halftime, and then 31-14 in the third quarter.

Michigan State (5-6) was 9-0 in one-score games under head coach Mel Tucker.

It's now 9-1.

"We stayed with it," senior safety Jonathan Haynes told Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer on the post-game radio show. "Nobody gave up. We motivated each other."

With a fierce snow burst hitting Spartan Stadium, with wind gusting and swirling to disrupt the best of offensive plans (and field-goal-kicking efficiency), with a 31-31 tie entering the second overtime period, quarterback Dexter Williams II hit two of the biggest passes of his young career. The first was for 24 yards to tight end AJ Barner to set up tailback Shaun Shivers' 1-yard touchdown run. Williams followed with a 2-point conversion pass to Barner for a 39-31 IU lead.

The defense shut down Michigan State's final attempt, and just like that, the Hoosiers' seven-game losing streak was history, and the Old Brass Spittoon, symbolic of this rivalry was back in Cream & Crimson hands.

"It's a trophy game, baby," head coach Tom Allen told Fischer. "What a win."

Allen told Fischer he followed trophy tradition by spitting into the spittoon.

"It's a beautiful thing. Now we'll fly that sucker back to Bloomington."

For those who thought the Hoosiers had given up amid all the losing, Haynes set the record straight.

"No matter how the season went," he told Fischer, "we stayed on the fight. We know how good this team is. We had to put it all together like today."

Hoosier heroes were everywhere you looked.

Shivers had a 79-yard touchdown run and finished with 115 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Williams ran for a career-high 86 yards and a touchdown. Jaylin Lucas returned a kickoff 88 yards for a TD, and also had a 43-yard return. Haynes started his first career game and totaled 12 tackles and an interception.

Then there was linebacker Aaron Casey.

A battered linebacker group was without Cam Jones, Matt Hohlt, and Bradley Jennings Jr., forcing safety Bryant Fitzgerald into the position (he finished with a team-leading 14 tackles), and Haynes into a starting role. Casey willed himself to play after missing most of the practice week with an injury that left him on a scooter on Saturday morning trying to get ready. He had six tackles.

"We didn't think he'd be able to play," Allen said. "He gritted it out. He sucked it up."

Michigan State (5-6) dominated with 540 total yards to IU's 288. It had a 29-11 edge in first downs, a 90-51 advantage in plays run, a 37-23 edge in minutes of possession.

It didn't matter.

Williams, in his first college start, completed just 2-of-7 passes for 31 yards.

It didn't matter.

"This was an unbelievable win," Allen told Fischer. "I'm so proud of our team. They fought so hard. They never quit believing.

"It's been a hard season. Some guys didn't play today, but a lot of guys did. The guys who did fought to the bitter end. It wasn't pretty, but we bowed up when we had to bow up."

A battered receiving group and the wintry conditions had IU pushing a previously struggling rushing game.

The result -- the Hoosiers ran for 257 yards.

"The offensive line is getting better," Allen told Fischer. "They deserve a lot of credit. They sucked it up.

"We knew we had to run to win. Michigan State knew that, too, and we were still able to do it. That was massive."

Lucas opened the game with a 43-yard kickoff return that set up Williams' 34-yard touchdown run for a quick 7-0 Hoosier lead.

Michigan State drove to the IU 2-yard line before the Hoosiers went into shut down mode to force a field goal and make it a 7-3, first-quarter score.

The Spartans followed with three touchdowns for that 24-7 halftime lead.

"You make halftime adjustments," Allen told Fischer, "but it's really about staying together and guys making plays. That's what they did."

Indiana's best-possible-start to the third quarter started by forcing a Michigan State punt. Then, on its first offensive play, Shivers bolted 79 yards for a touchdown and a 24-14 score just over a minute into the second half.

The Spartans scored a touchdown to regain the 17-point advantage. Lucas broke free for his 88-yard kickoff return. Haynes' interception set up Charles Campbell's 40-yard field goal for a 31-24 score.

The Hoosiers got the ball back and went to ground-game work.

A much-maligned offensive line blasted Michigan State out of the way for a red zone first down. Tailback Josh Henderson showed the value of patience for a TD run and a 31-31 tie with 13 minutes left.

The Spartans missed a 22-yard field goal as time expired that would have won it. IU followed that by blocking their overtime attempt. Then Michigan State blocked Campbell's attempt.

In the second overtime, Williams connected with Barner to set up Shivers' TD run, then hit Barner for the conversion and a 39-31 Hoosier lead.

The defense held. Victory was secured.

Next up -- Purdue (7-4).

"We know how big this game is," Haynes told Fischer, "but we're going to treat it like any other game, and get the job done."