While the Spartans had to punt on the ensuing possession, their next drive was aided by 25 yards of penalties from the Broncos and a 26-yard completion from Andrew Maxwell to Bennie Fowler.

Michigan State's second drive of the new half was spurred by a 33-yard punt return by Andre Sims and put the Spartans on the Bronco three-yard line on third down.

An interception by Jairus Jones put Michigan State at Western's 12 yard line, but they were unable to gain any yardage and had to settle for a second field goal.

Notre Dame would respond with a touchdown of their own after a pass interference penalty called against Trae Waynes on fourth and one put them deep in Michigan State territory.

A turnover late in the third quarter proved costly for the Spartans, as on a halfback pass, true Freshmen R.J. Shelton threw an interception which swung momentum in Notre Dame's favor.

On their final drive, coach Mark Dantonio decided to pull a struggling Connor Cook (who had played every snap) in favor of the previous season's starter, Andrew Maxwell.

In February, 2018, the NCAA announced that Notre Dame would be forced to vacate all wins from he 2013 season, including this victory over the Spartans, due to academic misconduct.

Several plays later, Jeremy Langford would pick up a blitz on 3rd and 8 which allowed Connor Cook to find Macgarrett Kings, who then avoided several defenders on his way to the end zone for 46-yard touchdown pass to put Michigan State up 10–0.

After the Hawkeye defense forced a punt, Iowa scored another touchdown on their next possession, this time in the form of a Rudock pass to big TE C.J.

Connor Cook led the offense directly down the field and finished off the drive with a 37-yard bomb to Bennie Fowler for a touchdown to re-take the lead 17–14.

Michigan State would add another field goal, as Michael Geiger made his 3rd kick of the day, this time from 49 yards, to make the score 23–14.

Purdue's offense was held scoreless thanks to a strong defensive effort by the Spartans, missed field goals of 51 and 41 yards, and an interception by Isaiah Lewis in the end zone.

Michigan State would get the only offensive points for the day when the ball was lateraled to Tony Lippett who threw to an open TE Andrew Gleichert for a 5-yard score.

The Spartan defense put on a dominant performance, with a key moment in the game coming in the 2nd quarter, as the Illini were on the Michigan State goal line with an opportunity to take the lead.

In what would swing the momentum in favor of Michigan State, the Spartan defense made an impressive goal line stand, preventing them from scoring on 4th down.

Connor Cook, much like the first possession of the quarter, led the offense down the field and with 23 seconds remaining in the half, found Bennie Fowler in the righthand corner of the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown pass.

The Spartans would receive the ball to start the second half, and they took advantage of it, as Connor Cook led the offense down the field before coming up short on 3rd and 11 after an 8-yard pass to Tony Lippett.

The Spartan defense, in a physically dominating performance, recorded 7 sacks on Michigan QB Devin Gardner and held the Wolverines to a program low −48 yards rushing, en route to an impressive 29–6 victory over their in-state rivals.

On the opening drive, Nebraska running back Terrell Newby fumbled a pitch on an option play which was recovered by Michigan State.

After Connor Cook overthrew a wide open Bennie Fowler in the back of the end zone, the Spartans had to settle for a field goal, giving them a 3–0 lead.

However, with 2:32 remaining in the first half, Shilique Calhoun forced Tommy Armstrong to fumble the football deep in Nebraska territory, which was recovered by Michigan State.

The Spartan offense, in what would be a recurring theme of the game, capitalized off of another Nebraska turnover, as Jeremy Langford carried several defenders into the end zone with him for a 6-yard rushing touchdown, putting Michigan State up 20–7 going into halftime.

On the first play of the possession, Tommy Armstong fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Trae Waynes at the Nebraska 3 yard line with 5:30 left in the quarter.

Offensively, the Spartans gained some momentum on their opening drive of the 2nd quarter in which Jeremy Langford carried the ball 8 times, the last of which was a 20-yard rush for a touchdown to put Michigan State up 7–3.

Michigan State secured a spot in the 2013 Big Ten Football Championship Game, in the process winning their 2nd Legends Division title in 3 years.

Both teams had an opportunity to score before halftime, but Minnesota QB Phillip Nelson and Connor Cook both threw interceptions in their opponents territory.

[13] Although Michigan State technically would have been able to get invited to the Rose Bowl even if they lost (as long as they were ranked within the top 14 in the BCS standings), the Spartans wanted to win the Big Ten outright.

Senior kicker Drew Basil converted a 20-yard field goal attempt as time expired to bring the Buckeyes within a touchdown going into halftime, giving them momentum going into the second half in which they would receive the ball first.

The physical running attack of Ohio State would be the theme of the third quarter, as Buckeye RB Carlos Hyde, who had been relatively quiet up until that point, started to gain traction.

Knowing they had to get a critical stop, the Michigan State defense stood tall, as on 4th and 2, Spartan linebacker Denicos Allen beat his blocker and prevented Braxton Miller from converting the first down on a speed option play.