EAST LANSING, Mich. — Shea Patterson threw two touchdown passes and No. 6 Michigan earned a desperately needed 21-7 win over No. 24 Michigan State on Saturday, snapping a streak of 17 consecutive losses to ranked teams on the road.

The Wolverines (7-1, 5-0 Big Ten) had lost eight of 10 against their in-state rivals and those setbacks have led to them not winning a Big Ten title since 2004.

The Spartans (4-3, 2-2) struggled to move the ball, getting held to 94 yards and failing to convert any of its 12 third downs.

Patterson’s 79-yard pass to Donovan Peoples-Jones put Michigan ahead late in the third quarter. He converted a fourth-and-2 from the Michigan State 41 early in the fourth, setting up Ben Mason’s 5-yard run that gave the Wolverines a 21-7 lead.

The Ole Miss transfer was 14 of 25 for 212 yards and made a successful debut in a series that has been tilted Michigan State’s way in part because of poor quarterback play. His 6-yard pass to Nico Collins broke a scoreless tie early in the second quarter and was Michigan’s first touchdown throw against the Spartans since 2011.

Michigan State needed a fumble deep in Michigan territory and a trick play to score once.

Chris Evans lost the football at the Wolverines 7 early in the third. Two plays later, quarterback Brian Lewerke caught a 4-yard pass from receiver Darrell Stewart off a reverse to pull the Spartans into a tie.

Michigan’s Karan Higdon had 144 yards rushing on 33 carries against the nation’s top-ranked rushing defense, which entered the game giving up an average of 62 yards on the ground.

LJ Scott returned from a leg injury to play for the Spartans after a four-game absence and ran for just 25 yards on 10 carries.

Lewerke was 5 of 25 for just 66 yards with an injury-depleted corps of receivers, which now includes Felton Davis after he was carted off during the game with an apparent Achilles tendon injury.