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Posted on Sat, Sep 12, 2009 : 4:08 p.m.

Central Michigan stuns Michigan State football team, 29-27

By Jim Knight

EAST LANSING (AP) — Andrew Aguila, handed a second chance to make the winning field goal on a Michigan State penalty, kicked a 42-yarder with 3 seconds left Saturday to give Central Michigan a stunning 29-27 victory over the Spartans.

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Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour, who became the Mid-American Conference's all-time leader in total offense, threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Paris Cotton with 32 seconds left to pull the Chippewas within 27-26.

Central Michigan went for the win, but on the 2-point conversion attempt, Antonio Brown caught LeFevour's high-arching pass out of bounds.

But the Chippewas (1-1) recovered an onside kick and drove into position for a 47-yard field goal. Aguila missed it, but Michigan State (1-1) was whistled for an offsides penalty, giving Aguila another shot at it from 42, and he nailed it.

When time expired, Central's players ran in all different directions, some piling on each other and others heading toward the maroon-and-gold section in one corner of the stadium. One player waved an oversized "C'' flag as the Spartan faithful streamed out of the stadium.

The win is Central's second straight over a Big Ten opponent and fourth all-time against the conference. It also snapped the program's four-game losing streak to the Spartans.

LeFevour finished 33 of 46 for 328 yards with three TDs and an interception. The suburban Chicago native surpassed Byron Leftwich's record of 12,084 yards on a 12-yard TD pass to Kito Poblah that tied the game 20-20 less than a minute into the fourth quarter. Leftwich, of Marshall, now is the starter for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Michigan State took the lead 27-20 on a 7-yard pass from Kirk Cousins to B.J. Cunningham with 7:33 remaining.

Cousins, who was 13-of-18 for 164 yards and the one TD, started and played the majority of the game. Fellow sophomore Keith Nichol played a handful of series and completed 3-of-8 passes for 51 yards and score.

Michigan State led 17-13 at halftime, thanks to a 16-yard pass from Nichol to Charlie Gantt that the tight end caught while falling down in the end zone with 4 minutes to go in the second quarter.

Earlier in the second, LeFevour called his own number on a fourth-and-1 play from Michigan State's 29-yard line. Down 10-6, Jones decided to go for it, and his QB bowled over a couple of State defenders for a 2-yard gain and a first down.

But two plays later, he missed an open receiver and was picked off by Jeremy Ware at the Michigan State 7-yard line.

Central then held the Spartans and drove 36 yards in three plays, the last being a 6-yard TD pass from LeFevour to Brown. The wide receiver found himself all alone in the corner of the end zone, and LeFevour sailed it right into his arms for a 13-10 lead with 5:49 to go in the first half.

Brown did a little bit of everything on Saturday, catching passes and returning punts and kicks. The junior from Miami even threw a 24-yard pass to LeFevour and ran twice from scrimmage. He finished with 248 all-purpose yards.

The Spartans executed a perfect drive to open the game, taking only 2 minutes to go 74 yards in five plays. Cousins connected with Blair White on a 39-yard pass that initially was ruled a 40-yard TD, but a video replay showed White's knee down just before the ball made it over the goal line. Caulton Ray barreled in on the next play.

Comments

tater

Sat, Sep 12, 2009 : 7 p.m.

MSU has once again unmasked itself as the great impostor. I think this shows that their brush with being an elite team is going down the same clockwise hole as their one game winning streak against UM.