When MSU needed a game-winning play, of course Payton Thorne found Jayden Reed for '6'

The Payton Thorne-Jayden Reed connection is alive and well as Michigan State walks off Wisconsin on Homecoming Night!

With the game tied in double-overtime, Michigan State's offense faced a 3rd-and-12 at Wisconsin's 27 yard line. 

Do-it-all defender Jacoby Windmon had just forced a fumble for a crucial stop by the Spartans' defense, and MSU's kicking game issues had reared their ugly head just minutes before. Michigan State was in the midst of a four-game losing streak, in which not much at all had gone right.

When the Spartans needed a big-time play, quarterback Payton Thorne saw man-to-man coverage on wide receiver and long-time teammate Jayden Reed, with no safety help over the top. Thorne said "screw this" to Michigan State's third down play call, and audibled to a deep shot for Reed in the end zone.

"I walked up, and the play we had called — [Wisconsin] walked their linebacker up off the edge and we hadn't really seen that look all day, so I'm thinking he's probably coming," Thorne said. "And even if he's bluffing, they might be bringing something from the ofther side, which on the play we had called is not great.

"I saw 'Bird' was out there, looked like he had since coverage, so I said, "Screw this, let's protect this thing up and throw it, and let's go get in the end zone.'"

MSU fans have seen this movie plenty of times before, and the ending is always the same. Thorne threw a deep 50-50 ball to Reed up the right sideline, and the senior wide receiver went up over his defender to reel in the game-winning touchdown.

"He did a great job coming down with the ball," Thorne said. "People don't realize how hard it is to catch the ball like that — come down, have a defender right in your face, probably smack your head on the ground and still hold on to the ball.

"That's good, strong hands and that's a lot of work in the offseason — grip strength, and working on different drills to catch the ball."

In the midst of a crumbling season, the Spartans had an opportunity to grab a much-needed victory in front of a rocking Homecoming crowd. So, of course the quarterback found the guy he's been playing football with since middle school.

"Bird has proven time and time again that he can make those plays," Thorne said of Reed.

We saw this same play from the quarterback and wide receiver numerous times last season. Michigan State dialed it up on a crucial fourth down last year against Michigan, and the conversion sparked the Spartans' 37-33 comeback victory.

The Spartans ran the same play on fourth down in a snowstorm against Penn State in 2021's regular season finale. End result — Touchdown.

In the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, on a day in which Thorne's accuracy was off and Michigan State's offense struggled throughout the day, Thorne found Reed on a jump ball up that same sideline with the game on the line. Touchdown.

"You're not just throwing it up there and hoping for the best," Thorne said. "We work on those things, and based on where the DB is at, the ball is going to be put in a different place. I try my bet to put it where I want to, based on what the DB does. But, you saw on that last play, that one was over the top, over the shoulder and Bird went and made a great catch."

Very little about this 2022 season has reminded on-lookers of last year's 11-2 record, but that game-winner tonight vs. Wisconsin showed that, yes, this Spartan football squad still has good players who can rise to the occasion on a crucial down.

"We look at it as receivers like...it's just me and the ball," Reed said. "You've got to block out everything else, and you've got to focus on the target and that's how you make plays."

Many of the goals that Michigan State set for itself in 2022 are no longer attainable, but the Spartans still have five games left — and they aren't punting on this season. Not a chance.

"It feels good to be back on the right side of things," Thorne said. "The season's not over. It's not like we're about to go throw a parade...but it feels good to be back on the right side of things, and now, how do we build on it?"

This MSU team desperately needed something good to happen, to breathe life back into a season that had the wind knocked out of the sails after four consecutive double-digit losses.

Of course that was the moment when Payton Thorne went all-in on Jayden Reed. What else did you expect?

"When you go a month without winning a game, it feels really good [to end the losing streak]," Thorne said. "It means a little bit more now that we've been through those past four weeks. The way we won too — it was good to come out of that thing on the right side of it."

Now, Michigan State can flush the negativity these last four weeks have wrought. Now, the Spartans' locker room is filled with the energy and positive vibes a win on the last play of the game can bring. Now, MSU heads into a bye week with a little momentum, with a monster game to follow.

Buckle up, Spartan Nation. We've got back-to-back 'Hate Weeks' in front of us. The Michigan Wolverines are on the clock, and there's nothing that this MSU squad would love more than to end their in-state rivals' perfect season.