3 Up, 3 Down: Michigan State upsets Illinois, keeps bowl hopes alive

Michigan State entered Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois as a 16-point underdog. The Spartans left the stadium was a 23-15 victor over the No. 16 team in the country.

It was an outstanding effort for MSU, who was down several defensive starters due to both injury and the suspensions which resulted from last week's postgame incident at Michigan Stadium.

However, head coach Mel Tucker and this staff had these guys ready to play today, and Michigan State took a massive step towards securing bowl eligibility with today's upset victory.

Here's what stood out most from this big victory for MSU:

Three Up

1. MSU defense dominates short-yardage situations

The Spartans owned short-yardage situations today vs. Illinois, and it earned them the victory. Michigan State stopped the Fighting Illini on a goal-to-go situation on their first defensive series, and that set the tone for the game.

Illinois went 1-for-6 on fourth down today, and most of those conversion attempts came on 4th-and-short. The Fighting Illini had the nation's leading rusher in Chase Brown, and he got his 136 yards on the ground, but in the biggest plays, in the biggest moments, the Spartans' defensive front stood tall. On the day, MSU held Illinois to just 3.9 yards per carry after adjusting for sacks.

What made this defensive effort even more remarkable is the fact that Michigan State's defense has been devastated by injury and now suspension. In addition to the player's who suited up for MSU today, defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton deserves a lot of credit for having this unit ready to play today.

2. Payton Thorne played well today

Few players on this team have been more heavily criticized than quarterback Payton Thorne. Some of that criticism is warranted, and the redshirt junior has certainly gone through his ups and downs this season, but he played well today and had some timely throws for MSU.

The windy conditions were far from ideal for throwing the ball in Champaign, but Thorne bounced back quickly from throwing an interception on MSU's first offensive play and finished with 182 yards and two touchdowns while completing 19-of-29 pass attempts.

Jayden Reed was Thorne's favorite target today. The senior wide receiver finished with 68 yards and a touchdown on five receptions.

Fans have been clamoring for backup Noah Kim and even third-stringer Katin Houser at times this season, but Thorne quelled that noise for at least a week.

3. Spartan run game does just enough

We mentioned the windy conditions early, and because of that the ground game was all the more important. Michigan State was held to just 2.8 yards per carry in the first half, but ran for 4.9 yards per carry in the second half.

Getting something established on the ground in the second half was huge for Michigan State tonight. The Spartans' defensive depth is thin, and getting that push allowed MSU's offense to stay on the field and give its defense a chance to rest in-between drives.

Mel Tucker has talked about complimentary football all season, and that's what it looks like. Jalen Berger was the main tailback today, with 81 yards on 15 carries. Jarek Broussard added an 11-yard touchdown scamper for the Spartans.

Michigan State finished with 118 rushing yards for the game, on a solid 4.2 yards per carry (sack-adjusted).

Three Down

1. Late game management nearly cost the Spartans

The clock management on Michigan State's final possession was mind-numbingly idiotic.

The Spartans' defense forced a turnover on downs inside Illinois' 10 yard line with less than three minutes left, and the Fighting Illini were out of timeouts. MSU ran the ball twice and used the entire play clock, which is fine. Except there was some kind of miscommunication after the second run, which caused a delay of game and stopped the clock.

Tucker and/or Johnson then elected to throw the ball on third-and-goal from the 14 yard line and it fell incomplete, stopping the clock again. Michigan State has been notoriously bad in the kicking game this season, and it came as no surprise when Ben Patton shanked a 31-yard field goal attempt to keep it an eight-point game.

The thing is, if not for the clock management gaffs, Illinois would have gotten the ball with only 20 to 25 seconds even with the shanked field goal. However, because of the total mental breakdown, the Fighting Illini had over a minute to work with.

Illinois would end up reaching Michigan State's 28 yard line, before their attempt to tie the game fell short. Still, that was a horrible sequence for Tucker and the offensive coaches, and it could have resulted in an all-time meltdown had the Illini scored and tied the game.

2. Brutal officiating in Champaign

Let's make one thing clear — I am not a 'blame the refs' guy, and I despise that kind of excuse-making.

With that being said, the Big Ten officiating crew who called this game was really poor today. Michigan State had two first downs either ruled short or overturned by replay. The first was when Payton Thorne scrambled for what looked like a clear first down but was ruled short, and the second came on what was initially ruled a first down catch by Jayden Reed, before being overturned by replay. I can't see how there was indisputable evidence to overturn Reed's catch.

Beyond those two plays, there were several cheap penalties called, especially early in the game. Not a great effort from the officials today.

3. Injuries continue to pile up

Michigan State came in to this game already thin at a lot of positions, and matters could be even worse going forward.

Jacob Slade, who's only been back on the field for two games after missing several, left today's game in the second quarter and did not return. Also, left tackle Jarrett Horst was not in uniform today and right guard Matt Carrick went down with an injury and was seen in street clothes in the second half.

In addition to Slade, Michigan State also suffered injuries to Dashaun Mallory, Avery Dunn and Simeon Barrow at defensive tackle. I know Mallory returned to play, and Dunn may have as well. I can't recall if Barrow made his way back on to the field or not after his injury.

By now, most of you know about Michigan State's depth concerns, particularly on defense. After a tough, physical game today it can only be assumed that healthy bodies are going to be hard to come by next week.