Michigan St. Tops Michigan Spartans Pull Out Win With 1:24 Remaining In Back-And-Forth Game

Tony Banks passed for a career-high 318 yards and a 25-yard go-ahead touchdown to Nigea Carter with 1:24 remaining Saturday, lifting Michigan State to a 28-25 upset of No. 7 Michigan.

Banks, who completed 26 of 34 without an interception, hit 8 of 10 for 94 yards in the winning drive, taking the Spartans (3-2-1 Big Ten, 5-3-1) 88 yards in 11 plays. Michigan (3-2, 7-2) had regained the lead for the third time on a 22-yard pass from Brian Griese to Mercury Hayes with 3:38 remaining. Griese completed 16 of 26 for 140 yards with no interceptions.

“We have the best receiving corps in the Big Ten and maybe the country,” Banks said. “I’ve been trying to prove that. Today, maybe people will believe us.”

Tshimanga Biakabutuka, who rushed 37 times for 191 yards, scored on a 5-yard run, nose tackle William Carr had a 1-yard TD dive and Remy Hamilton kicked a 35-yard field goal for Michigan.

Derrick Mason, who finished with 176 all-purpose yards, had a 70-yard punt return and Scott Greene had touchdown runs of 7 and 1 yard for MSU, which kept hopes alive for a bowl bid.

Banks connected with Mason for 11 yards on fourth-and-11 at the Spartans 32 to keep the winning drive alive. He found Carter alone behind Clarence Thompson for the climactic touchdown.

Carr scored in the third quarter and Biakabutuka early in the fourth to give Michigan an 18-14 lead, the Wolverines’ first since early in the first quarter.

The Spartans regained the lead 21-18 on Greene’s 1-yard run with 6:20 left.

The Spartans took a 7-3 lead on Mason’s punt return in the second quarter. Greene’s 7-yard run gave them a 14-3 lead with 30 seconds left in the half.

Mason gathered the ball in at the Spartans’ 30 and found a lane through the Michigan defense. Rob Swett had the last shot at Mason about 20 yards from the goal line, but Mason easily won that footrace up the sideline.

It was the first punt the Spartans returned for a TD since 1984, when Bobby Morse returned one 87 yards in a 19-7 victory over the Wolverines at Ann Arbor.

Michigan holds a 57-26-5 edge in the series, which dates to 1898.