EAST LANSING, Mich. — With the ball in the air, there wasn't much anyone could do except wait and hope. Oregon receiver Byron Marshall had gotten past the cornerback, who had stumbled. Vernon Adams saw him streaking down the sidelines, headed for the end zone, and let fly.
"You don't like to see that football up there like that," Michigan State linebacker Riley Bullough said.
Oregon didn't like seeing the football come down. When it landed — just overthrown, beyond Marshall's diving fingertips — so did the Ducks' last real chance.
"You've got to make that throw," said Adams, "and the game is different.