BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Michigan State’s best defense Saturday came when its defense wasn’t even on the field.

In a 38-13 blowout loss to No. 3 Indiana, Michigan State’s defense gave up touchdowns on its first five drives and got pushed into its red zone on the next two. But a whopping 19:12 of first half possession time kept Indiana’s offense off the field and made Saturday’s game competitive for at least a little while.

“Going into the game, especially in the first half, we wanted to put longer drives together,” MSU coach Jonathan Smith said. “Possess the ball, and there was a lot that we were able to execute besides just being able to flat-out match touchdown scores.”

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza threw for four touchdowns and 332 yards while leading his offense to a 464-367 lead

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