Baylor Bears Defeated by 4th Quarter Comeback by Michigan State in 2015 Cotton Bowl

The Cotton Bowl game that occurred on January 1, 2015, at the AT&T Stadium, was a memorable meeting between the Spartans of Michigan State University and the Bears of Baylor University. Michigan State University entered the game ranked eighth, and Baylor University entered the game ranked fifth. Baylor should have been victorious, and I”m sure all their fans that ended up betting on Baylor Bears football for the Cotton Bowl win walked away a little bruised. Though the win did not fare well for the Bears or Texas football rankings, it should be noted that the Bears held their own until an unexpected comeback by the Spartans turned things around.

Michigan State University was the only team to play against Oregon and Ohio State during the season. In the beginning of the game Spartans, Jeremy Langford, ran a 65-yard touchdown. Baylor quickly responded with a successful throw deep to one of the team’s best receivers. KD Cannon ran 49-yards to complete a touchdown for Baylor. Michigan State came back with a short rush to complete another touchdown. Baylor quickly answered back with a trick play that led to a touchdown. The first lead of the game was taken by Baylor in the second quarter after Michigan State was penalized several times. Baylor also scored a field goal just before the half. At the half, the game was 24-14, Bears.

At the beginning of the third quarter, Baylor completed a 74-yard touchdown. The momentum kept on for Baylor, and by the end of the third quarter Baylor started to pull away from Michigan State after another touchdown. Michigan State Spartan quarterback, Connor Cook, was picked-off on two out of three Michigan State drives. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Michigan State was trailing Baylor by 20 points. The quarterback for Michigan State threw a touchdown pass with only 17 seconds left on the clock.

After a 46 yard field goal attempt at the start of the fourth quarter, Michigan State recovered an onside kick. Michigan State sealed the deal when Marcus Rush blocked the 43-yard attempted field goal with only 1:05 left on the clock. When Baylor received the ball for one last chance, Petty was sacked several times before an interception from Michigan State. Spartan quarterback, Cook, got the ball to Keith Mumphrey, which was on third and goal to tie the game. The extra point was earned, and Michigan State took the lead to eventually win the game.

Michigan State pulled it together in the fourth quarter and scored three touchdowns to win the game. The final score of the game was 42-41, Michigan State. This game was the highest scoring game in Cotton Bowl history.

Baylor’s quarterback, Bryce Petty, completed 36 of 51 passes, which was a Cotton Bowl record. Baylor University had a total of 583 yards. Spartans quarterback, Cook, completed 24 of 42 passes for a total of 314 yards with two touchdowns. According to ESPN, the only other team in college football to come back after a 20-point gap this year was Baylor against Texas Christian University. Michigan State’s Jeremy Langford ran for 163 yards, and he also completed three touchdowns for his team. Langford had a one-yard dive with only 4:55 on the clock, which made the score 41-35. Langford scored the final touchdown for the team in the fourth quarter. Coach Mark Dantonio’s record is now 4-4 in bowl games with Michigan State University.

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