EAST LANSING, Mich. For Amp Campbell, the timing couldn’t have been better.
This time last year, Michigan State’s sixth-year senior cornerback thought his career might be over after fracturing the sixth and seventh vertebrae in his neck during a 48-14 loss against Oregon.
Last night he discovered it was happening again. Campbell recovered a fumble and returned it 85 yards for a touchdown with 14:08 left in the fourth quarter. That gave the Spartans a 24-17 lead and they stunned the Pac-10 Ducks, 27-20, in the season opener in front of a capacity crowd of 72,923 at Spartan Stadium.
“I feel like a little kid right now,” Campbell said. “Everything went well for me. I just prayed that no one would catch me. I knew we needed a big play, and that really helped our defense get going.
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The Spartans had struggled through the first three quarters containing Oregon’s Junior A quarterback.
J. Feeley, who completed 27 of 49 passes for 343 yards and two touchdowns. Feeley, who replaced departed star Akili Smith, gave the Ducks a 17-7 lead on a 19-yard pass to Tony Hartley with 9:30 left in the third quarter. But MSU’s defense disconnected Feeley’s batteries in critical moments of the fourth quarter, when he completed only eight of 21 passes and Oregon, which rushed for just 28 yards, n He was only able to make a 43-yard field goal.
Campbell’s play, the second-longest fumble return in MSU history, came with the game tied at 17-17. Oregon had moved the ball to the MSU 13 and looked ready to take the lead. But then linebacker Julian Peterson stripped defender Herman Ho Ching of the ball after a two-yard loss and Campbell broke away from the pack for his spectacular sprint to the end zone.
It was the ultimate comeback for a player who underwent spinal fusion surgery the night of his injury and was missing the rest of the season. “I remember those nights in the hospital where I couldn’t move, where I couldn’t turn around to pick up the phone,” he said. “I prayed all the time and my prayers were answered.
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Campbell was cleared to play this summer and the NCAA granted him a sixth year of eligibility. He finally returned to the starting lineup against the Ducks to loud applause from Michigan State fans. “I’m so happy and proud of Amp in so many ways,” Michigan State coach Nick Saban said. “I never felt lower as a coach (than) when he got injured. I never felt better than when he recovered that fumble and returned it.
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