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EAST LANSING, Michigan (Ticker) -- On a gray, overcast day befitting a clash between unbeaten Big Ten Conference rivals, Bill Burke and Plaxico Burress lit up the sky for Michigan State. Burke threw for a school-record 400 yards and two touchdowns and Burress set a new mark with 255 receiving yards as the 11th-ranked Spartans proved they are serious Rose Bowl and national championship contenders with a 34-31 victory over No. 3 Michigan. It is the first time Michigan State has started the season 6-0 since 1966, when the Spartans finished 9-0-1 en route to the national championship. Michigan State's star duo was unstoppable, twice hooking up on long passing plays that set up scores and combining on a 15-yard touchdown late in the third quarter that made it 27-10. "Bill Burke played an outstanding game for us and Plaxico Burress made as many big plays as any player that I ever remember making in a big game," said Michigan State coach Nick Saban. Despite the duo's exploits, the Wolverines (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) scored touchdowns on their final three possessions, coming within three points on Tom Brady's eight-yard touchdown pass to tight end Aaron Shea with 2:47 remaining. But Burress, who caught 10 passes, recovered the ensuing onside kick and sealed the victory for Michigan State (6-0, 3-0) by making a catch for a first down along the left sideline with 1:45 left. Burke shattered the old record of 369 passing yards by Ed Smith against Indiana in 1978, while Burress edged out Andre Rison, who totaled 252 receiving yards vs. Georgia in 1989. "It (the feeling of breaking the record) is not anywhere near the magnitude of winning the football game," said Burke. "All that hasn't set in yet. I would take terrible stats for a win. The win is so much more important. When you win football games, all the accolades and awards come along with it." "I'm just out there going on natural ability," Burress said. "That's all it is. Coach is making the calls and I'm just so happy to come out here and perform the way I did. I just went out there and got it done." While Brady and Burress starred, so did Michigan State's top-ranked rushing defense, which held the Wolverines to six yards. Anthony Thomas totaled 38 yards on 14 carries but several plays that resulted in losses stalled the Wolverines' offensive attack, especially early. Michigan State has yielded a mere 13 yards rushing in its last two games. "They are an outstanding football team," Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr said. "I think that the game was won up front, and Michigan State controlled that aspect of the game all game long on both sides of the ball." But the Wolverines found their game in the fourth quarter by exploding for three touchdowns, the first of which came on Thomas' two-yard run, the first rushing score against Michigan State this season. After Dawan Moss answered with a 14-yard TD burst round right end for Michigan State, Tom Brady hit David Terrell, who caught 10 passes, on a 19-yard score before finding Shea 5:24 later. Moss' TD run was the fullback's only carry of the day. Lloyd Clemons led Michigan State on the ground with 88 yards on 26 attempts. Brady and fellow quarterback Drew Henson were Michigan's offense. Brady completed 30-of-41 passes for 285 yards, while Henson was 6-of-12 for 111 yards and hit Marcus Knight on an 81-yard scoring bomb with 3:39 left in the first half that tied it 10-10. Knight totaled 125 yards on five receptions. Paul Edinger's 43-yard field goal 77 seconds before the break supplied the Spartans with a three-point halftime advantage. Michigan State appeared to take control in the opening 12 minutes of the second half as Burke hit Gari Scott for a 19-yard touchdown and found a wide-open Burress in the right corner of the end zone. A 6-5 senior, Burke completed 21-of-36 passes and was not intercepted. Scott caught five passes for 76 yards. "I thought it would be a low-scoring game, but I also knew that the skill players on the field were going to make plays in this game," Saban said. Burke and Burress also hooked up on a 68-yard flee flicker that set up Michigan State's first score of the afternoon, a one-yard plunge by freshman T.J. Duckett 8:05 into the game. A 49-yard hookup by the pair set up Edinger's 39-yard field goal with 5:28 left in the second quarter that gave the Spartans a 10-3 lead. "Burress had a great game today and is an excellent receiver," said Carr. "He is so hard to match up against. There really isn't anything you can do to stop him. We tried to apply more pressure on him but again, he is an incredible receiver that is tough to contain." Hayden Epstein booted a 56-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter for Michigan, tying the school record held by Mike Gillette, who connected from that distance against Ohio State on November 19, 1988. Michigan State had not scored as many points against Michigan since a 34-0 victory in 1967. "The locker room was complete pandemonium," added Burke. "The locker room is too small to hold all the excitement that we had today."
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