The College Football BeltThe CFB Belt
Belt / 2018 season / Reign #305 · Game 1,537 of 1,643
October 27, 2018 Week 9 · Regular Season Belt changed hands

Michigan State takes the belt, 23–13, at home over Purdue.

Home · New Holder
Michigan State 23
AT
Away · Defending Holder
Purdue 13
Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Michigan State took the belt here, ending Purdue’s run of 7 days and 0 defenses (reign #304) and starting reign #305. It lasted 14 days and 1 defense, until Ohio State took it on November 10, 2018.

For Michigan State this was its 13th shot at the belt; it had held the belt once before — and it took it back here.

This is the only time Michigan State and Purdue have met with the belt on the line.

AI-Written

Recap

Michigan State claimed the College Football Belt with a 23-13 victory over Purdue, controlling the game through superior field position and limiting turnovers. The Spartans struck first with two Matt Coghlin field goals in the opening quarter before Rocky Lombardi found Darrell Stewart Jr. for an 11-yard touchdown in the second quarter to establish a 13-3 halftime lead. Purdue answered with a touchdown drive late in the third quarter capped by Terry Wright's 1-yard run to make it 13-10, but Michigan State sealed the win when Lombardi connected with Jalen Nailor for a 48-yard touchdown with under two minutes remaining. Purdue's inability to protect the football, committing three turnovers compared to Michigan State's one, proved decisive as the home team dominated time of possession 39:00 to 21:47.

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score
 Michigan StatePurdue
Total yards426339
Rushing yards10862
Passing yards318277
First downs2616
3rd down conv.6/163/13
Turnovers13
Penalties–yards6–614–31
Time of possession39:0021:47

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play
WhenTeamYardsPlay
Q1 13:10Purdue+0 ydDavid Blough pass intercepted David Dowell return for no gain to the Prdue 49
Q1 11:07Michigan State+43 ydMatt Coghlin 43 yd FG GOOD
Q1 8:11Purdue+28 ydSpencer Evans 28 yd FG GOOD
Q1 9:40Purdue+26 ydDavid Blough pass complete to Brycen Hopkins for 26 yds to the MchSt 4 for a 1ST down
Q1 4:01Michigan State+0 ydRocky Lombardi run for no gain to the Prdue 30 Rocky Lombardi fumbled, forced by Lorenzo Neal, recovered by MchSt Blake Bueter
Q1 3:23Michigan State+48 ydMatt Coghlin 48 yd FG GOOD
Q1 8:11Purdue+21 ydSpencer Evans kickoff for 58 yds , Connor Heyward return for 21 yds to the MchSt 28
Q1 3:23Michigan State+48 ydCole Hahn kickoff for 63 yds , Rondale Moore return for 48 yds to the 50 yard line
Q2 6:33Purdue+35 ydSpencer Evans 35 yd FG GOOD
Q2 3:30Michigan State-5 ydRocky Lombardi run for a loss of 5 yards to the Prdue 49 Rocky Lombardi fumbled, recovered by MchSt LJ Scott
Q2 1:46Michigan State+27 ydRocky Lombardi pass complete to Darrell Stewart Jr. for 27 yds to the Prdue 35 for a 1ST down
Q2 0:56Michigan State+11 ydRocky Lombardi pass complete to Darrell Stewart Jr. for 11 yds for a TD (Matt Coghlin KICK)
Q2 0:00Purdue+57 ydSpencer Evans 57 yd FG MISSED
Q3 10:16Michigan State+21 ydRocky Lombardi pass complete to Matt Dotson for 21 yds to the Prdue 15 for a 1ST down
Q3 8:46Michigan State+37 ydMatt Coghlin 37 yd FG BLOCKED blocked by Lorenzo Neal
Q3 3:08Michigan State+34 ydMatt Coghlin 34 yd FG GOOD
Q3 1:02Purdue+30 ydDavid Blough pass complete to Brycen Hopkins for 30 yds to the MchSt 1 for a 1ST down
Q3 0:35Purdue+1 ydTerry Wright run for 1 yd for a TD (Spencer Evans KICK)
Q4 10:02Purdue-11 ydDavid Blough pass intercepted Tyriq Thompson return for no gain to the MchSt 28 MICHIGAN ST Penalty, Unsportsmanlike Conduct (Tyriq Thompson) to the MchSt 11
Q4 11:40Purdue+36 ydD.J. Knox run for 36 yds to the MchSt 44 for a 1ST down
Q4 3:42Purdue+41 ydSpencer Evans 41 yd FG BLOCKED blocked by Mike Panasiuk
Q4 5:37Purdue+39 ydDavid Blough pass complete to Isaac Zico for 39 yds to the MchSt 32 for a 1ST down
Q4 1:58Michigan State+48 ydRocky Lombardi pass complete to Jalen Nailor for 48 yds for a TD (Matt Coghlin KICK)
Q4 1:47Purdue-2 ydDavid Blough pass intercepted Matt Morrissey return for 2 yds to the Prdue 33

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Michigan State

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINT
Rocky Lombardi26/463186.920

Purdue

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINT
David Blough29/492775.703

Rushing

Michigan State

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
LJ Scott15483.209
Rocky Lombardi11262.409
Jalen Nailor22412.0015
Darrell Stewart Jr.273.505
Connor Heyward273.505
La'Darius Jefferson540.803
Team3-8-2.700

Purdue

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
D.J. Knox7517.3036
David Blough3124.008
Terry Wright111.011
Markell Jones2-2-1.000

Receiving

Michigan State

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Jalen Nailor37023.3148
Darrell Stewart Jr.46015.0127
Cam Chambers55310.6013
Matt Dotson44812.0021
Brandon Sowards6488.0013
Matt Sokol11313.0013
Justin Layne11111.0011
La'Darius Jefferson188.008
LJ Scott177.007

Purdue

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Brycen Hopkins48020.0030
Rondale Moore11746.7018
Isaac Zico24623.0039
D.J. Knox5326.4010
Terry Wright33010.0015
Cole Herdman2105.007
Jared Sparks144.004
Markell Jones111.001
Show more stats (7 more categories)

Defense

Michigan State

PlayerTOTSOLOSACKSTFLPDQB HURTD
Tre Person8600100
Joe Bachie8201100
Justin Layne7300400
Raequan Williams6100.5010
David Dowell6000000
Matt Morrissey4100000
Andrew Dowell4100300
Kenny Willekes4100040
Khari Willis3200010
Jacub Panasiuk3100000
Xavier Henderson3100000
Antjuan Simmons3000010
Grayson Miller2100000
Jon Reschke2000000
Mike Panasiuk2000.5000
Shakur Brown1100000
Cole Hahn1100000
Dominique Long1100000
Byron Bullough1000000
Gerald Owens100.50.5000
Tyriq Thompson1000000
Naquan Jones100.50.5000
Brandon Randle1000010

Purdue

PlayerTOTSOLOSACKSTFLPDQB HURTD
Markus Bailey11700110
Jacob Thieneman11511.5110
Antonio Blackmon9700100
Kenneth Major8600000
Navon Mosley6300000
Lorenzo Neal6200000
Cornel Jones4300.5000
Anthony Watts4000010
Kai Higgins3100100
Giovanni Reviere3100000
Jaylan Alexander3000000
Brennan Thieneman2200000
Team2100000
Jarrett Burgess2100000
Derrick Barnes2000000
Keiwan Jones1101000
Eric Swingler1100000
Simeon Smiley1100210

Fumbles

Michigan State

PlayerFUMLOSTREC
Rocky Lombardi200
Brandon Sowards110

Purdue

No recorded stats in this category.

Interceptions

Michigan State

PlayerINTYDSTD
Matt Morrissey120
Tyriq Thompson100
David Dowell100

Purdue

No recorded stats in this category.

Kick Returns

Michigan State

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Connor Heyward12121.0210

Purdue

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Rondale Moore510821.6480
Jackson Anthrop11414.0140

Kicking

Michigan State

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Matt Coghlin3/475.0482/211

Purdue

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Spencer Evans2/450.0351/17

Punt Returns

Michigan State

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Brandon Sowards100.000

Purdue

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Rondale Moore284.060

Punting

Michigan State

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Bryce Baringer415438.50144

Purdue

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Joe Schopper419047.50174

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.

Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 401012885) · This game in the downloadable dataset