Liam Boyd Kicks Five Field Goals as Michigan State Forces Four Turnovers, Stuns Michigan 15-6

Michigan State never reached the end zone and did not need to. Liam Boyd made all five field goal attempts, the Spartans' defense forced four turnovers and sacked Tommy Carr five times, and Michigan State beat Michigan 15-6 on Saturday night at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor to take back the Paul Bunyan Trophy.

Michigan State (3-6, 1-5 Big Ten) came in on a six-game losing streak and without its top three running backs, and left with its first conference win under first-year coach Pat Fitzgerald. Michigan (5-4, 2-4 Big Ten) entered as a two-touchdown favorite but did not score until 1:35 remained, when Savion Hiter ran in from the 1-yard line with the Wolverines down 15-0.

The win snapped Michigan's four-game winning streak in the series and was Michigan State's first victory over its rival since a 37-33 win in East Lansing in 2021. It was also the Spartans' first win in Ann Arbor since 2020. Michigan still leads the all-time series 75-39-5.

An early chance goes unused

Michigan State's defense made the first big play. On Michigan's first possession, Carr's pass was tipped and intercepted by safety Devin Vaught, who returned it to the Michigan 49. The Spartans could not turn the takeaway into points. Facing fourth-and-2 at the Michigan 41, Alessio Milivojevic threw incomplete for Bryson Williams, and Michigan took over on downs.

Milivojevic, back in the lineup after missing the UCLA game with an injury, played with a brace on the throwing hand, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The first quarter ended scoreless, and Michigan opened the second with its best drive of the night. The Wolverines went 71 yards in 13 plays, with Bryson Kuzdzal running for 16 yards and Andrew Marsh catching two passes inside the Michigan State 30. The drive stalled at the 8 when Hiter lost a yard on third-and-1. Freshman kicker Jacob Baggett, in the first attempt since replacing Trey Butkowski, hit the left upright on a 26-yard try at 11:01.

Boyd puts Michigan State on the board

Michigan's offense went backward from there. Carr was sacked twice on the Wolverines' next possession and again late in the half, and Michigan finished the first half with 78 total yards.

Michigan State took over at midfield with 4:39 left in the second quarter and moved slowly into scoring range. On third-and-2 from the Michigan 31, Milivojevic hit Kenneth Williams for 12 yards, and a personal foul on Michigan's Troy Bowles added 10 more to put the ball at the 9. Carson Gulker ran 6 yards to the 3, but a third-down pass to Williams gained nothing, and Boyd kicked a 21-yard field goal at 1:33 for a 3-0 lead.

The Spartans got the ball right back. After a Michigan three-and-out, Chrishon McCray muffed Cam Brown's punt but recovered it at the Michigan State 40. Four plays later, McCray caught a 35-yard pass to the Michigan 13. An offensive pass interference penalty on McCray pushed the Spartans back, and two more incompletions followed, but Boyd made a 37-yarder with five seconds left for a 6-0 halftime lead.

A 17-play, 79-yard answer

Brown's best punt of the night nearly put Michigan State in a hole to start the third quarter. The 52-yard kick was downed at the Michigan State 1-yard line at 12:53.

The Spartans answered with the longest drive of the game. Milivojevic hit Fredrick Moore for 10 yards on second down to get out from the goal line, and Brandon Tullis carried the offense from there. Tullis, described by the Free Press as the Spartans' fifth-string running back, ran up the middle again and again. Williams broke a 23-yard run on third-and-6, Gulker converted a third-and-1 with a 3-yard run, and Samson Gash caught an 11-yard pass to the Michigan 16.

The drive ended when Milivojevic was sacked on third down, but Boyd's 38-yard field goal at 2:12 made it 9-0. The march covered 79 yards in 17 plays and used 10:41 of the third quarter.

Takeaways close the door

Michigan moved the ball on its next drive, helped by an illegal substitution penalty and a pass interference call on NiJhay Burt after a 22-yard catch by JJ Buchanan was overturned on review. On the final play of the third quarter, Kuzdzal ran 9 yards to the Michigan State 48, but Anelu Lafaele forced a fumble and Nikai Martinez recovered.

Michigan State failed to score after that takeaway, but the next one led to points. On third-and-16 from the Michigan 12, Burt intercepted Carr at the Michigan State 38 with 10:23 to play. On the next snap, Milivojevic found Bryson Williams for 36 yards to the Michigan 26. McCray caught an 11-yard pass on third-and-9 and another 11-yarder to the 6, and Boyd made a 24-yarder at 5:04 for a 12-0 lead.

Burt struck again on Michigan's next possession. Marsh caught a 10-yard pass from Carr at the Michigan 37, and Burt forced the fumble and recovered it himself at the 37. Tullis ran three times as Michigan called timeouts, and Boyd drilled a 49-yard field goal at 4:09 to make it 15-0.

Michigan's late touchdown

Michigan finally found the end zone on its next drive, though it took a pass interference penalty on fourth-and-3 and a fourth-and-21 conversion to get there. After Carlos Hazelwood sacked Carr for an 11-yard loss, Carr found Travis Johnson for exactly 21 yards to the Michigan State 48. Hiter ran 11 yards on third-and-10, and Carr hit Buchanan for 31 yards to the 1. Hiter scored on the next play at 1:35.

Carr's two-point pass failed, and Michigan's onside kick traveled only 7 yards. Milivojevic knelt three times to run out the clock.

By the numbers

Michigan State outgained Michigan 298 to 192 and held the ball for 38:07, controlling the clock with 43 rushing attempts. The Spartans converted 9 of 20 third downs, while Michigan converted 2 of 10. Michigan State had 17 first downs to Michigan's 13 and did not turn the ball over. Michigan State was penalized seven times for 70 yards, and Michigan twice for 20.

Milivojevic completed 21 of 32 passes for 188 yards without a touchdown or an interception. McCray caught six passes for 92 yards. Tullis carried 25 times for 86 yards, and Williams added 41 rushing yards and four catches for 23 yards.

Carr completed 14 of 26 passes for 138 yards with two interceptions and was held to minus 19 rushing yards on seven carries, largely because of the five sacks. Kuzdzal led Michigan with 49 rushing yards on nine carries, and Michigan finished with 54 rushing yards as a team. Johnson and Marsh each had 38 receiving yards.

Martinez led Michigan State with seven tackles. Burt finished with six tackles, an interception, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. Trey Lisle, Lafaele, Derrick Simmons and Hazelwood each had a sack, and Michael Richard and Brady Pretzlaff split another. Vaught left in the first half with an injury and did not return.

For Michigan, Bowles made 15 tackles, Chris Bracy had 10, and John Henry Daley had eight tackles and two sacks. Smith Snowden added a sack. Michigan State punter Rhys Dakin averaged 48.8 yards on four punts and put three inside the 20.

What it means

For Michigan State, the result ends a stretch of six straight losses that included a 28-10 loss at UCLA before the bye week. The Spartans scored every point on Boyd's kicks, but the defense allowed only one scoring drive, and Burt's two takeaways in the fourth quarter set up two of Boyd's field goals. Michigan State hosts Washington on Nov. 14, then plays Oregon at home on Nov. 20 and closes against Rutgers on Nov. 28.

For Michigan and first-year coach Kyle Whittingham, the loss follows a 28-21 win at Rutgers that Carr led with a late go-ahead drive. It is also Michigan's second home loss in three weeks, after Indiana's 13-6 overtime win at Michigan Stadium on Oct. 24. Michigan plays at Oregon on Nov. 14, hosts UCLA on Nov. 21 and finishes at Ohio State on Nov. 28.

Sources: ESPN box score (opens in a new tab) and play-by-play. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Michigan Photography.