MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- For a team that was picked to finish near the bottom of the Big Ten Conference standings, Michigan State finds itself in an unlikely position - first place.
Deandra Cobb helped turn the momentum with a 100-yard kickoff return in the final minute of the first half as the 18th-ranked Spartans continued their surprising run with a 44-38 victory over Minnesota.
Michigan State (7-1, 4-0) posted its fifth straight victory and is off to its best start since its famous 1966 season, when the Spartans went 9-0-1 and shared a national championship with Notre Dame.
For only the third time in school history, Michigan State has won its first four conference games. The Spartans only other 4-0 starts in conference play came in 1965 and 1966.
Michigan State does have a major blemish on its ledger - a stunning 20-19 loss to Louisiana Tech on September 13 when the Spartans surrendered two touchdowns in the final 69 seconds.
"It's been a major goal of this team to send the seniors out the door as winners," first-year Michigan State coach John. L. Smith said. "The underclassmen have really helped fulfill this commitment."
Michigan State's Jeff Smoker completed 30-of-46 passes for 252 yards and no touchdowns. But the Spartans showed they could also run the ball as Jaren Hayes rushed for two touchdowns in the first 6 1/2 minutes and Jason Teague ripped off a 60-yard TD run that gave Michigan State a 44-24 lead with 6:47 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Asad Abdul-Khaliq made it close by throwing two touchdown passes for the Golden Gophers in the final five minutes.
After going 4-8 last season, Michigan State began this year with low expectations, but the Spartans have turned things around under Smith.
"I would say that we are contenders," Smith said. "We have a chance. We've played awfully good. This is the start of the climb. That is because everybody is contributing, offensively, defensively and on special teams."
The win left Michigan State alone in first place in the Big Ten as the Spartans and Purdue (3-0) are the only remaining unbeaten teams in the conference. The Boilermakers handed Wisconsin its first conference defeat on Saturday.
However, Michigan State faces a daunting schedule over its next three games. After a week off, the Spartans host Michigan before visiting Ohio State and Wisconsin.
"We are good as of right now," Michigan State kicker Dave Rayner said. "But we have other games to play."
Minnesota (6-2, 2-2) suffered its second straight loss after a 6-0 start as its suspect defense continues to spring leaks.
The Golden Gophers were coming off a crushing 38-35 defeat to Michigan in which it squandered a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter, and still seemed affected by that loss early in the first period against the Spartans.
Hayes scored on runs of 11 and six yards in the first 6 1/2 minutes to give Michigan State a 14-0 lead and the Golden Gophers never recovered. Rayner kicked the first of three long field goals, a 46-yarder with 3:39 left in the first period to make it 17-0.
Minnesota closed to 24-17 on a one-yard TD run by Marion Barber III with 48 seconds left in the first half. But the Spartans, who converted three Minnesota turnovers into 17 points in the opening 30 minutes, scored 10 more points before intermission to take control.
After Cobb's kickoff return, Michigan State recovered a fumble by Barber, which was converted into a 50-yard field goal by Raynor as time expired.
"You can't turn the ball over and give up big plays on special teams in this league and expect to win," Minnesota coach Glen Mason said. "Giving up that kickoff before half was huge, just as the fumbles were, in giving Michigan State a shorter field."
"When you turn the ball over in the Big Ten, teams will tale advantage," Abdul-Khaliq added. "We had terrible turnovers and they capitalized on them. They did a good job."
Raynor converted a 52-yarder with 1:47 left in the third period to give the Spartans a 37-17 cushion.
Teague rushed for 95 yards on 11 carries while Hayes added 65 yards on 13 attempts.
Abdul-Khaliq kept Minnesota in the game by completing 27-of-40 passes for 377 yards and four touchdowns, but Michigan State held the Golden Gophers to just 148 yards on the ground - less than half their average.
