Nick Marsh exemplifies Michigan State’s growth in 2OT win over Boston College

East Lansing — Nick Marsh remained at the center of it all, some 20 minutes after a two-point conversion in double overtime sent the Spartan Stadium crowd into rapturous celebration, as Michigan State beat Boston College, 42-40 in double overtime on Saturday night.

And Marsh, sitting alone at the podium, the first to address the media after the Spartans exorcised some demons from a disappointing loss to the Eagles last year, didn’t duck what the moment meant, for him or his team.

“My whole thought process going into this game is, they can have a taste of Nick Marsh,” Marsh said. “I was ready. I felt like we had a pretty decent season leading up to them last year, had our little three-game win streak. So it was real personal. I feel like that was kind of the downfall of our season last year. I took it personally. I felt like we was on a streak and I was like, 'I'm not going to let that get away from us.'”

Michigan State battled back from a seven-point halftime deficit, outscored the Eagles in the second half and, after two overtime periods, had withstood everything Boston College threw at it in the win. It was a resilient, resounding win for Jonathan Smith’s Spartans in Year 2, a benchmark of progress through the offseason and a sign that this Michigan State team is ready to climb a couple rungs up the Big Ten ladder. 

And Marsh, with a team-leading five catches for 68 yards and two touchdowns, was central to it all.

“He is a competitive kid, talented,” Smith said. “So yeah, we’ve gotta continue to find ways to get him the ball.”

After opening the scoring for the Spartans on a slant in the first quarter, dragging multiple defenders from around the 5 yard line into the end zone for a 7-0 lead on his first catch, Marsh slowed for the rest of the half. 

As the Spartans went into the locker room, trailing 21-14, Marsh had three catches for 22 yards and the score, coming on five targets. 

And after seeing that the Eagles were giving him one-on-one coverage as the game went on, Marsh went into halftime with a message for his teammates and coaches: Get me the ball, because they can’t cover me one-on-one. 

“It was a little more demanding, actually,” Marsh said of the interaction. “I told him 'Coach, I've got one-on-one coverage, give me the damn ball.'”

On the first drive of the third quarter, the coaching staff obliged, dialing up a shot play to Marsh from 41 yards out, letting Marsh win in single coverage and run under an Aidan Chiles deep ball in the end zone.

It’s a demand that Marsh may not have made as a true freshman a year ago so early in his college career. But he had no hesitation on Saturday night, knowing he could play a bigger part to help Michigan State win. 

And the demand sat well with his fellow wideouts.

“Nick is a very, very special player,” wideout Omari Kelly said. “And I feel like he's in a space where he can do that. Like we were sitting there. He told coach that he wanted the ball. I looked at Evan Boyd, we was sitting next to each other, I said hey, 'Get him the ball then.' If that's what it is, that's what it is. He's established himself and for him to do that and for him to step up and even have the courage to say something like that, I respect it, honestly.” 

Kelly himself had his share of miscues, particularly a pair of first half fumbles, including one lost. Before he took any questions postgame, he made sure to thank his teammates for picking him up and believing in him to bounce back and make needed plays. 

And they were right to, as Kelly scored the walk off two point conversion in overtime. 

“I want to say I appreciate them for sticking with me and still trusting me,” Kelly said. 

The ability of Kelly to bounce back, and Marsh’s bullish attitude are in some ways indicative of how this Michigan State team has evolved in the last year, and especially since 2024 ended. 

Players spoke during their postgame press conferences about how together this group is, and how much they want to win — and wanted this win, in particular. There’s a burgeoning sense that this Michigan State team, after months of quiet offseason work, can be the good football team all the players and coaches planned on being and win more games than it loses, something the Spartans have done once since 2019.

“We talked about, confidence can come from displayed performance, and these guys did it tonight and hopefully their confidence can continue to grow from that,” Smith said. 

This Michigan State team knows how good it can be and, for the first time, showed it with an emotional, determined victory against Boston College on Saturday night.

And as he is likely to be, Marsh was in the middle of it all, knowing he and his fellow Spartans would get the job done.