Around the Big Ten: Youngstown State at Michigan State Game Recap
Following an impressive week one over conference foe Northwestern, the Michigan State Spartans had an easy opponent in week two in Youngstown State. The Spartans wanted to come out and continue the momentum gained from their week one victory, which they did with ease, beating the Penguins 42-14 to improve to 2-0 on the season.
A beautiful day for football 💚 #GoGreen pic.twitter.com/uqoVcuIQMe
— Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) September 11, 2021
The Spartans dominated from the opening kickoff, entering the locker room at halftime with a 35-7 lead before cruising in the second half, chewing clock and getting out with an easy win.
Siri, show me first half domination: pic.twitter.com/gUgSBWIJsu
— Michigan State on BTN (@MichiganStOnBTN) September 11, 2021
Another week and another Spartan running back looked like a Heisman contender, as Jordon Simmons exploded for 126 yards on 18 carries. Not to be left out, running back Kenneth Walker continued his hot start to the season as he rushed for 57 yards on seven carries and one touchdown. The Spartans put up 272 rushing yards in the victory.
While the run game was strong yet again, the focal point of the offense this week was the dynamic performance of quarterback Payton Thorne. Thorne, who was not asked to do much in the week one victory over the Wildcats, came out and put on a show today. He threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns on an efficient 15/21 passing.
Much like their week one performance, the Spartan defense came out and stifled the Penguins’ offense, only allowing a mere 270 yards of total offense. The Spartans held the Penguins to 106 yards through the air and 164 yards on the ground, while also forcing one turnover.
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Connor Zimmerlee is a writer and reporter for Wildcats Daily. Zimmerlee received his Bachelor's of Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin as part of the class of 2021 and now attends the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern.