Heading into the game, Michigan State’s pass defense allowed an average of 292 yards per game. In a shocking turn of events, one of the best performances of the night came from the secondary. Those two additions bolstered a defense that has been thin for weeks. “It’s good to get those guys back, they fought hard to get back. “Slade anchors our front seven and X (Henderson) runs the show in the backend,” Head Coach Mel Tucker. Perhaps the most essential change Saturday was the addition of Henderson and graduate senior defense tackle Jacob Slade. Windmon finished with a team high 11 tackles, two TFLs, an interception and a forced fumble. “He thinks about it and he goes out there and does it. “He’s definitely a playmaker,” graduate senior safety Xavier Henderson said of Windmon. Redshirt junior quarterback Payton Thorne sealed the win on the following drive with his 37 yard touchdown pass to redshirt senior wide receiver Jayden Reed. Windmon stripped the ball from the running back and the Spartans pounced on it, cutting Wisconsin’s possession short. On the very first play of the possession, Mertz handed the ball off to Allen, who had already racked up over 100 rushing yards that afternoon. After scoring a touchdown to send the game to double overtime, Wisconsin’s offense trotted back to the field. Windmon also forced what was essentially a game-clinching fumble. The turnover set up Michigan State’s offense at the Badgers’ 12-yard line and sophomore running back Jalen Berger found the end zone on the ensuing drive to knot up the game 7-7. Mertz found his target, but Windmon leaped in front of the receiver, snatching the ball for an interception. Graham Mertz dropped back to pass and Windmon sat back in man coverage, waiting for the quarterback to pull the trigger. In fact, two of the most important plays of the game were made by Windmon.įollowing a failed attempt at a fourth down conversion on Wisconsin’s goal line, the Badgers’ offense was heading back to work with a 7-0 lead. “It was just kind of natural for me, because I played linebacker for a long time.” “It felt good to be back home,” Windmon said. He looked extremely comfortable lined up alongside sophomore Cal Haladay and graduate senior Aaron Brule.

That’s a big shift for a defense that has elected to add an extra defender to the secondary (4-2-5) for a majority of the season.Īfter making the switch to defensive end at the start of the season, junior linebacker Jacoby Windmon was back in his natural position against Wisconsin. To counter the Badgers’ run-heavy offense, Michigan State ran plenty of 4-3 defensive packages throughout the afternoon. Led by Braelon Allen, the Badgers rushed for 152 yards. The only real defensive issue against Wisconsin was the run defense. Wisconsin found the back of the end zone just once in the second half. Michigan State held the Badgers under 300 yards of offense, notched three sacks and nine TFLs.

Game happy end trigger