Minnesota 23–20 Michigan State (OT): late Lindsey sneak, overtime walk-off lift Gophers in a Big Ten thriller

Bassyonni

ago 8 hours

Minnesota 23–20 Michigan

Minnesota clawed back from a fourth-quarter deficit, forced overtime with a last-minute quarterback sneak, and then finished the job with the extra-period touchdown to beat Michigan State 23–20 on Saturday in Minneapolis. The win moves the Golden Gophers to 6–3 and strengthens their bowl positioning, while the Spartans fall to 3–6 and remain winless in conference play despite one of their most explosive offensive outings of the season.

How Minnesota vs. Michigan State swung in the final minutes

Trailing 20–17 inside the final minute, Minnesota engineered a rapid, 65-yard drive capped by Drake Lindsey’s 1–2 yard sneak with :29 left to force overtime. In the extra session, Michigan State’s possession stalled after a reversed pass-interference flag, and the Spartans settled for a 36-yard field goal. Minnesota answered with poise: a pass-interference call on a third-down shot moved the ball inside the 5, and the Gophers punched in the winning score to end it on the first OT series.

The sequence bookended a game of momentum swings: Minnesota’s early control gave way to a Spartans surge, and then the Gophers’ situational offense and penalties at key moments tilted the finish.

Spartans’ surge: Milivojevic airs it out, Tau-Tolliver breaks free

Making his first start, freshman quarterback Alessio Milivojevic delivered a breakout performance, completing 18 of 24 for 301 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. The Spartans’ explosives came on the ground as well, highlighted by Elijah Tau-Tolliver’s 85-yard burst en route to 126 rushing yards. A third-quarter push and a fourth-quarter field goal had Michigan State up 20–17 before the Gophers’ late rally.

What undercut the effort: protection lapses and flags. The Spartans yielded a flurry of sacks across four quarters and were hit with double-digit penalties approaching 100 yards, several of them extending Minnesota drives or flipping field position.

Gophers’ formula: defense in the red zone, offense when it mattered

Minnesota’s offense wasn’t gaudy on the stat sheet—301 total yards for the visitors against 467 for the Spartans tells the story—but the Gophers won the leverage downs. The defense bent between the 20s then tightened inside the red zone, forcing field goals that kept the game within one score. On offense, Lindsey’s calm in the two-minute drill, a timely ground game inside the tackles, and a willingness to take deep shots (even when they merely invited flags) added up to points when the clock squeezed.

First-half hinge: Minnesota built a 10–0 cushion by intermission on a short-yardage score and a field goal, setting a margin that proved crucial once the game turned wild.

Scoring summary (key moments)

1Q 2:24 — Minnesota 7–0: short rushing TD after a quick-strike, three-play, 88-yard drive.
Halftime — Minnesota 10–0.
3Q — Michigan State cuts it to 10–7, then strings together drives to eventually lead 20–17 in the fourth.
4Q 0:29 — Minnesota 17–17: Drake Lindsey QB sneak to force OT.
OT — MSU FG for 20–17; Minnesota answers with the game-winning TD for 23–20.

(Drive lengths and timings rounded to official book entries.)

Box-score leaders

Minnesota

Drake Lindsey (QB): late TD sneak; managed the two-minute drill and OT sequence.
Backfield committee: steady short-yardage conversions; decisive in red zone.
Defense: multiple sacks, key red-zone stands, and pressure that rose late.

Michigan State

Alessio Milivojevic (QB): 301 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; poised debut as a starter.
Elijah Tau-Tolliver (RB): 126 yards on 10 carries, long of 85.
Receivers: a deep rotation created chunk gains, but stalled in OT when coverage tightened.

What it means for both programs

Minnesota (6–3, 5–2 Big Ten): Bowl eligibility secured with room to chase a top-tier December slot. The blueprint—defend the red zone, steal a possession with pressure, and execute late—travels. Cleaning up early-down efficiency remains the next step before the stretch run.
Michigan State (3–6, 0–6 Big Ten): A sixth straight loss stings because the path to a breakthrough was there. The silver lining: quarterback clarity and explosive potential at running back. The fix is discipline—sacks and penalties erased too many positive plays.

Where to watch highlights and replays

Condensed game cuts, full-game replays, and team-produced postgame features are available across official team and conference platforms and in standard highlights hubs within major sports apps. If you missed the finish, the final drive, overtime field goal, and walk-off touchdown are already packaged into quick clips.

The takeaway

A classic Big Ten script: one team won the yardage, the other won the moments. Minnesota owned the last snap and the last stop, and that’s what the standings remember. Michigan State leaves with heartbreak and hope—the tape reveals a quarterback to build around and a run game with real teeth, provided the Spartans can clean up the details that decide tight games.