EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook came within two yards of setting a program record for passing yards while carrying a better Spartan team to a 52-26 win in East Lansing Saturday.
Cook threw for a career-high 398 yards and four touchdowns. Two of them went to junior R.J. Shelton, including a game-clinching catch on a 3rd-and-9 pass attempt. He strung together a litany of needle-threating throws in big situations to bail out a rushing game that is struggling to find solutions to a rash of offensive line injuries.
The Spartans’ usually-assertive running game was held at bay by the 10th best rushing defense in the Big Ten until the game's final minutes.