MSU received the ball first and moved right down the field, moving to the Tulsa 15 yard line before Brian Lewerke hit Connor Heyward on a swing pass for a touchdown and an early 7–0 lead. The MSU defense took over from there forcing Tulsa to punt on consecutive possessions while MSU turned the ball over on downs and was forced to punt on their next two possessions. At the start of the second half, the Spartans blocked a Tulsa punt ad took over at the Tulsa 24. However, the MSU offense could not manage more than four yards and settled for a Matt Coghlin 28 yard field goal and a 10–0 lead. DE Kenny Willekes recovered a fumble on the ensuing Tulsa possession and MSU settled for another Cochlin field goal. On the next Tulsa possession, a bad shotgun snap ended up going out the back of the Tulsa endzone for safety to give the Spartans a 15–0 lead. The MSU offense moved the ball steadily down the field again, but with fourth and one at the Tulsa nine-yard line, Rocky Lombardi was stopped short and the Spartans again turned the ball over on downs. However, MSU's defense again picked up the slack for the offense as Raequan Williams combined with Willekes for a sack, forcing a fumble that Willekes recovered in the endzone. The score pushed MSU's lead to 22–0. MSU's defense intercepted the next Tulsa pass, setting up MSU at Tulsa's 30-yard line. However, the Spartans again settled for a Coghlin field goal and a 25–0 lead. With just over two minutes remaining in the half, Tulsa moved 85 yards down the field and capped the drive with a 28-yard touchdown pass to narrow the lead to 25–7 at the half.
