EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) -Michigan State used to find ways to lose games it should have won.
These days, the Spartans are finding ways to win games they probably should have lost.
No. 18 Michigan State (8-2, 5-1 Big Ten) is still in the Big Ten championship chase as it prepares for its final home game of the season Saturday against Purdue (3-6, 1-4).
The Spartans have made big plays to win close games, often capitalizing on opponents’ mistakes while making relatively few of their own.
“When you win a close game, you begin to get confidence that you can win,” said Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, who is engineering a turnaround in his second season in East Lansing. “That’s what we’ve been able to do. We’ve found a way.”
k, Michigan State trailed by 11 points in the fourth quarter. But the Spartans capitalized on Badgers penalties and miscues and won 25-24 on Brett Swenson’s 44-yard field goal with 7 seconds remaining.
“Statistically, we had no business winning that football game,” Dantonio said. “But we didn’t turn it over, we played well on special teams and we made plays at the end of the game.”
It’s not the first time this season Michigan State has had to come up big to save or pull out a victory.
Michigan State preserved a 16-13 win over Iowa on Oct. 4 when linebacker Adam Decker stopped Hawkeyes running back Shonn Greene on a late fourth-and-one play deep in Spartans territory.
Michigan State trailed Michigan in the second half before rallying for a 35-21 victory in Ann Arbor on Oct. 25.
Purdue came up with its own dramatic 48-42 victory over the Wolverines last week. Quarterback Justin Siller, a sophomore from Detroit, completed 21-of-34 passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 77 yards and another score.
Purdue coach Joe Tiller said earlier this week he’s not sure whether Siller or veteran Curtis Painter would start against Michigan State. Painter missed the Michigan game with an injured throwing shoulder.
The victory was exactly what Purdue needed to perk up a sluggish final year for Tiller, who is retiring at the end of the season. The Boilermakers hope to build on last week’s clutch performance.
“If you’ve accomplished something once, why not go out and do it again and again and again?” Tiller said. “That’s a demonstration you have pride in your performance.”
Purdue must win its final three games to be eligible for a bowl.
Purdue has given up more yards rushing per game than any other Big Ten team, bad news considering they’ll have to deal with Javon Ringer, the conference’s leading rusher.
Ringer, one of 16 Spartans playing their final home game Saturday, ranks second in the nation at 142.7 yards per game.
“I don’t know if he gets stronger or if the opponent just begins to wear down,” Tiller said. “But he’s had multiple games where he’s broken big plays in the second half. That tells me this guy is great from an endurance point of view.”
A victory keeps the Spartans in position to contend for a share of the Big Ten title, which they haven’t won since 1990. Michigan State has a bye week after Purdue and closes out the regular season Nov. 22 at No. 3 Penn State.
Purdue has an 18-game winless streak against teams ranked in the Top 25.
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