EAST LANSING – When the ball left Hudson Card’s hand, it looked like disaster for Michigan State.

The Purdue quarterback lofted a pass down the right sideline to receiver Jahmal Edrine, who got behind the defense and was wide open. It should have been an easy 75-yard touchdown that would have allowed the Boilermakers to tie the game or try to take the lead in the fourth quarter.

Instead, Edrine dropped the ball on a wet and windy evening at Spartan Stadium and the Spartans were able to exhale. Michigan State receiver Montorie Foster was asked to recall his reaction when he saw the play from the sideline.

“One of them,” he said, running his hand over his forehead with a smile.

That sums up the Spartans (5-6, 3-5 Big Ten), who nearly blew a 21-point lead before holding on for a 24-17 victory against Purdue (1-10, 0-8) on Friday night. .

“We really needed this win, but that’s a sloppy result,” linebacker Jordan Turner said. “We expect to finish better, especially since one of our key topics this week was consistency in execution.”

Michigan State broke a three-game losing streak with its first win in a month, also keeping the chance of a thirteenth game alive in coach Jonathan Smith’s first season. The Spartans host Rutgers (6-4, 3-4) next week and need a win to become bowl eligible.

“It means a lot,” quarterback Aidan Chiles said of keeping a bowl bid within reach. “I feel like we should have been here a long time ago.”

Michigan State started the season 3-0, but lost six of seven on Friday night. Three touchdowns and a field goal on four possessions in the first half led to a 24-3 lead going into halftime. What looked like a lopsided win against a Purdue squad that snapped East Lansing on a nine-game losing streak turned into everything but that in the final thirty minutes. Despite being thoroughly outplayed in the second half, the Spartans did just enough to pick up their first win in a month.

“I’m obviously happy that I found a way to win a game,” Smith said. ‘A kind of story of two halves.’

That’s a bit of an understatement in a very uneven performance for the Spartans. The second half featured five consecutive punts before taking a knee to run out the clock, as the Spartans went scoreless while picking up just 73 yards and going 0-for-7 on third down.

“I’m not going to say how we played,” Chiles said of the second half, “but we didn’t play well.”

Purdue’s only win of the season came in Week 1 against Indiana State, an FCS program, and coach Ryan Walters could be in first place. On the other hand, Smith is in the first year of an attempted rebuild and was happy to escape with a win after successive lopsided defeats.

“There was no panic,” Smith said, “and those guys ultimately found a way to do enough to win the game.”

Michigan State has dealt with a series of injuries to starters and other key players in all three phases of the game since Week 1, and its secondary depth continues to dwindle. Relying on true freshmen at cornerback and safety is far from ideal and Purdue capitalized as Card threw for 342 yards, one touchdown and an interception while his team finished with minus-4 yards rushing.

“We play a lot of different guys there,” Smith said. “We’ve had guys go down, we’ve got young players in the game and they kept scratching and clawing and we’re going to need it again next week.”

After Edrine dropped the potential touchdown, the Spartans secured a turnover on downs and then sealed the victory. With two minutes to play facing fourth-and-1 from the Purdue 28, Smith kept the offense on the field and Chiles plowed forward for a first down before the Spartans ran out the clock.

“Obviously we have a lot of confidence in our kicker (Jonathan Kim) to make it two scores,” Smith said, “but with the elements and where that was, I felt like the best play was, look, you have to get half a meter to go to win the match and that was the decision.

Michigan State will have another short week of preparation with an extra day to prepare for Rutgers and a chance to extend the season. Smith’s debut was a rocky one, but reaching a bowl is still on the table.

“It’s a little disappointing when you come out and you’re hot,” Chiles said, “and the next half it’s like you’ve never played football before. … We still won the game, a win is a win , and we’ll continue from here, we’ll improve next week.

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