East Lansing, MI – Taylor Martinez found Jamal Turner all alone in the end zone with just six seconds left to lift No. 21 Nebraska past Michigan State, 28-24, on Saturday.
Trailing 24-14 with just under five minutes to play Martinez broke off a 35- yard touchdown run to pull within 24-21, and the Cornhuskers' defense was able to force a Spartans' punt to give Nebraska (7-2, 4-1 Big Ten) one last chance.
Following a touchback, Martinez connected with Quincy Enunwa down the right sideline for a 22-yard gain before hooking up with Kyler Reed for a 38-yard catch-and-run to put the ball on the Michigan State 20.
A pair of incomplete passes set up a crucial 3rd-and-10, but the Spartans were flagged for pass interference to give the Cornhuskers a fresh set of downs at the MSU 5.
Martinez's pass on first down was incomplete, but the shifty quarterback found Turner all alone near the back left corner of the end zone for the win.
With the victory Nebraska takes over first place in the Big Ten Legends division. The Cornhuskers own the tiebreaker after defeating Michigan, which is also 4-1 in the Big Ten, last week.
Martinez finished the game just 16-for-36 passing for 159 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions, but it was on the ground where he really made a difference. He ran for 195 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries and Ameer Abdullah added 110 yards on 22 totes for the Cornhuskers.
Le'Veon Bell carried the ball 36 times for 188 yards and two touchdowns and Andrew Maxwell threw for 123 yards and a touchdown despite completing just 9- of-27 passes. Darqueeze Dennard had two interceptions for the Spartans (5-5 2-4), who lost in November for the first time in eight tries.
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