Michigan State's Nick Myers celebrates on the sidelines as the final seconds tick off the clock.(AP)

One of Duckett's biggest runs came at the end of the game when he reversed field and gained 7 yards on third-and-6 from the Michigan State to enable the Spartans to run out the clock. Duckett carried the last four plays for Michigan State, totaling 23 yards.

"I was running and I didn't see anything and I saw basically the whole defense on that one side," Duckett said. "I took a gamble and cut it back and luckily I made that extra yard."

David Schaefer's 27-yard field goal with 10:48 to go was the difference for Michigan State (2-0), which ended Marshall's 18-game winning streak last week.

The Spartans, with freshman Jeff Smoker at quarterback in place of injured Ryan Van Dyke, struggled against Missouri (1-2), which was coming off a 62-9 loss at Clemson. Van Dyke, who has a bruised right thumb, will return to the lineup next week against Notre Dame.

"We were just trying to hang in there and deliver our punches," Duckett said. "They kept throwing things at us, different blitzes and defensive fronts, and we just couldn't make anything happen."

Missouri had been outscored 199-73 in its previous four games, but controlled play much of the game. Still, the Tigers fell to 1-24 against ranked opponents under coach Larry Smith.

"Our team played a heck of a game," Smith said. "We showed we were a team to be reckoned with."

Some players didn't seem happy with coming close, though.

"I think that's what a bad team would say," defensive end Justin Smith said. "I want to win."

One of Duckett's biggest runs came at the end of the game when he reversed field and gained 7 yards on third-and-6 from the Michigan State to enable the Spartans to run out the clock. Duckett carried the last four plays for Michigan State, totaling 23 yards.

"I was running and I didn't see anything and I saw basically the whole defense on that one side," Duckett said. "Basically I took a gamble and cut it back and luckily I made that extra yard."

Missouri's Smith at least delivered on a promise of showing some new wrinkles. The Tigers opened the game in a "swinging gate" formation with the quarterback, center and two others at the left hash and everyone else far across the field.

The Tigers started their second possession with a lateral pass from Kirk Farmer to Justin Gage, who then hit John Dausman for a 70-yard gain to the Michigan State 6 to set up Brad Hammerich's 25-yard field goal.

"We used them to try and create some momentum," Smith said.

They also used a no-huddle offense most of the game.

Michigan State coach Bobby Williams sniffed at all of it.

"There isn't any trickery about Michigan State football," Williams said. "When you see that, it's coming right at you."

Michigan State missed a scoring chance its next possession when Gary Anthony intercepted Smoker's pass from the 11 in the end zone.

Missouri dominated in the first half, outgaining Michigan State 259-125 and taking a 10-3 lead. But the Tigers missed chances for more points with drives stalling at the Michigan State 38, 37 and 49.

A 35-yard pass from Farmer to Gage to the Michigan State 15 helped Missouri take a 10-0 lead on Abron's 7-yard run with 6:57 left in the first quarter.

The biggest play of the half for Michigan State was a 40-yard pass play to Ivory McCoy to the Missouri 9. McCoy broke a tackle near the line of scrimmage and his play set up Schaefer's 22-yard field goal with 2:47 to go.