EAST LANSING, Mich. – After a lengthy lightning delay, Michigan led Michigan State by a score of 7-0 at halftime of their hotly contested Big Ten Conference college football matchup at Spartan Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Michigan entered the game as a 7-point favorite. The Wolverines were rated No. 6 in the nation while the Spartans were ranked 24th.
From the outset the two teams traded possessions back and forth. With 5:15 remaining in the initial period, at 12:32 p.m. both squads were removed from the field and the stadium was emptied due to lightning.
Play eventually resumed 76 minutes later and the scoreless deadlock remained in effect at the end of the opener.
The Wolverines got on the scoreboard first on the very first play of the second stanza, with 14:55 showing on the clock, when quarterback Shea Patterson hit Nico Collins with a 6-yard touchdown pass for a 7-0 advantage.
At the 1:36 juncture, kicker Quinn Nordin from Rockford missed a 36-yard field goal by hooking it to the left for Michigan. That allowed the 7-0 margin to stand at halftime for the Wolverines.
Michigan sported a 6-1 record coming in, having won its last six straight. The Wolverines will now enjoy a weekend off before a big home date at Michigan Stadium against Penn State on Saturday, Nov. 3. The game time has yet to be decided.
Michigan State brought a 4-2 ledger into the contest. Next up for the Spartans will be another Big Ten homefield contest, this one against Purdue with kickoff scheduled for noon next Saturday.
