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Promising Future

On senior day for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, the Michigan State Spartans had one last chance to clinch a victory and attain bowl eligibility.

Michigan State started off the game strong with an interception at 12:11 in the first quarter, which led to a Dan Conroy 48-yard field goal.  

Minnesota tallied an interception of its own at 4:43, leading to a touchdown and taking the lead 7-3.  Dan Conroy hit another field goal to tighten the lead to 7-6 ending the first quarter.

The second quarter was scoreless until an intended Andrew Maxwell pass to Tony Lippett tipped into Bennie Fowler’s hands, leading to a 41-yard touchdown with only 1:28 left.

The Spartans led at halftime 13-7, as the half was highlighted by two interceptions from each quarterback.  Leading the Spartans was running back Le’Veon Bell, who totaled 124 yards rushing in the first half.

The third quarter was highlighted by two Dan Conroy field goals, and a field goal for Minnesota making it 19-10.  Highlighting the third was freshman Andre Sims, who had a career best 44-yard punt return to the Minnesota 7-yard line, which then was followed by a Dan Conroy field goal.

Michigan State added one more touchdown, and then ran off the clock for a 29-10 win.  Le’Veon Bell finished the game with 266 rushing yards on 35 carries.

With the win, the Spartans improve to 6-6 on the season and 3-5 in the Big Ten Conference.  Their potential bowl games include the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, Little Caesars Bowl, Meineke Car Care Bowl, or Heart of Dallas Bowl.  This is the sixth-straight bowl season for the Spartans.

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