Dec 5, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan State Spartans running back LJ Scott (3) dives in for a touchdown during the fourth quarter of the Big Ten Conference football championship game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
INDIANAPOLIS — LJ Scott broke three tackles and fought his way into the end zone from a yard out with 27 seconds remaining, lifting fifth-ranked Michigan State to a 16-13 victory against fourth-ranked and previously unbeaten Iowa in the Big Ten Conference championship game Saturday night.
The Spartans (12-1) drove 82 yards in 22 plays for the winning touchdown. The drive consumed 9:04 and included key completions from quarterback Connor Cook to tight end Josiah Price for 13 yards and to wide receiver Aaron Burbridge for 16 yards, moving MSU into position to win the game.
C.J. Beathard’s 85-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Tevaun Smith on the first play of the fourth quarter had given Iowa (12-1) a 13-9 lead.
A 10-yard holding penalty put Iowa in a second-and-20 situation at its 15-yard line when Beathard found Smith on a post pattern for the winning score. Until the 85-yard completion, Michigan State had outgained the Hawkeyes 258-155.
Michigan State’s Michael Geiger kicked 29- and 47-yard field goals during the third quarter to push the Spartans into a 9-6 lead before Beathard’s bomb to Smith.
The Hawkeyes took a 6-3 halftime lead on Marshall Koehn’s 43-yard field goal with 13:28 remaining, capping a nine-play, 42-yard drive that included a crucial 15-yard hands-to-the-face penalty that advanced the ball to the Michigan State 26.
Koehn’s 24-yard field goal with 5:08 left in the first quarter tied the game at 3. Iowa linebacker Josey Jewell’s interception of a Cook pass at the Michigan State 20-yard line set up the game-tying field goal.
Michigan State grabbed an early 3-0 lead on Michael Geiger’s 23-yard field goal with 11:11 left in the first quarter — just after linebacker Riley Bullough forced a fumble from Iowa tight end Henry Krieger-Coble at the Hawkeyes’ 27-yard line on the game’s first possession.
The Spartans missed two other golden scoring opportunities before halftime, each chance failing when Geiger missed two 52-yard field goal attempts.
Iowa threatened to take a double-digit, second-quarter lead, but Beathard was intercepted in the end zone by Michigan State safety Demetrious Cox, who snagged the ball in midair after it bounced off a teammate’s back.
NOTES: Iowa RB Jordan Canzeri left the game with 2:17 remaining in the first quarter after suffering a right leg injury … Canzeri carried only twice for 12 yards before being injured … Before Saturday night’s game, Iowa led this all-time series 23-20-2 … The teams had not met since Oct. 5, 2013, a game the Spartans won, 26-14 …This was Michigan State’s third Big Ten title game appearance in five years, beating Ohio State 34-24 in 2013 after losing to Wisconsin 42-39 on 2011 … This was Iowa’s first Big Ten championship game appearance.
