– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND — Sooner or later, Michigan State was going to take advantage of all of the opportunities its opponent gave it to steal a conference road victory. The Spartans chose later, and quite possibly the latest time possible to finally make good of their second chances.
Jonathan Kim made a 37-yard field goal with one second remaining as the Spartans came from behind to defeat Maryland 27-24 inside SECU Stadium in the 2024 Big Ten opener for both squads. Oregon State transfer Aidan Chiles threw three touchdowns, including a 77-yard bomb to freshman Nick Marsh that tied the game at 24-24 with 4:11 remaining, and was able to overcome his three interceptions with timely throws in the fourth quarter to put the Spartans in a situation to win.
“I didn’t play scared,” Chiles said. “Last week, I basically lied to myself and told myself I wasn’t scared. I was. It is what it is — my first start. I don’t see it that way, but I was scared, I know. Today, I came out with the mentality of take a deep breath and go hunt. Today, we went out there and hunted.”
Despite a new head coach, former Oregon State head man Jonathan Smith, a new offensive coordinator (Brian Lindgren) and four new starting offensive lineman, Michigan State was able to gain 493 yards of offense in the team’s second game under the new regime.
Despite not having too much trouble moving the ball, the Spartans were their own worst enemy for large parts of the second half. With Michigan State up 17-14 in the third, Chiles threw an interception in the end zone to Maryland’s Jalen Huskey that ended the Spartans’ first drive of the second half. Another turnover inside plus territory occurred on the Spartans’ first possession in the fourth quarter, and soon after Chiles hit Marsh on a 57-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage after the Terrapins took a 24-17 lead on a Billy Edwards touchdown pass to Dylan Wade. Glendon Miller dove on a tipped pass from Chiles to make an interception at Maryland’s 37-yard line.
Two drives later, however, Jack Howes missed a 41-yard field goal for the Terrapins that would have given Maryland a 10-point lead. On the ensuing play, Chiles hit Marsh on the deep score that tied the game.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday afternoon’s game, with photos taken by DC-area photographer Rodney Pierce. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page, Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 30 pictures in total.
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