By David MorrisonThe Daily Northwestern

Senior linebacker Nick Roach is Northwestern’s leading tackler. He’s a three-year starter and one of the team captains.

And now he most likely will sit out the rest of the season.

Roach broke his right leg covering a punt return at the beginning of the third quarter. The play was eventually called back for a roughing the kicker penalty on Michigan State.

“Nick is one of our best players, and to lose him is going to be very difficult,” coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “It’s a great loss for his playmaking ability and for our team.”

Roach lay on the field surrounded by trainers until a cart came out to take him into the locker room. As he was taken off the field, Roach was greeted with an ovation from the student section.

Junior linebacker Chris Malleo replaced Roach and recorded two tackles.

“Guys definitely need to step up,” junior linebacker Adam Kadela said. “When you lose a playmaker like Nick Roach, it’s obviously going to affect the defense. He’s a special player.”

Roach has 241 tackles and nine sacks in his four years as a Wildcat.

Fitzgerald said he would “absolutely not” reconsider playing starters on special teams after Roach’s injury.

“You’ve got to put your best players out there to give yourself a chance to win,” Fitzgerald said. “If you look all over college football, there’s starters out there on special teams.

“Injuries happen. And when they happen, you can never second-guess yourself.”

momentum kicked over

Michigan State used NU’s special teams miscues to seize momentum in its 41-38 win Saturday.

Trailing by 21 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Spartans blocked junior Slade Larscheid’s punt. Cornerback Ashton Henderson scooped the loose ball up and ran it in for a 33-yard touchdown.

Fitzgerald said the Cats changed their formation from an earlier punt when the Spartans almost got their hands on the ball

“We didn’t execute the adjustment,” he said. “That’s why I put that on my shoulders.”

On the ensuing kickoff, sophomore running back Tyrell Sutton and senior cornerback Marquice Cole let the ball roll down to the 1-yard line before Sutton picked it up.

He could only return it eight yards and the Cats were forced to punt again three plays later.

“I was thinking (the ball) was going into the end zone,” Sutton said. “He had been kicking it through the end zone all game. I don’t know if he put as much force into it, but it just died.”

Although senior kicker Joel Howells made a 30-yard first-half field goal and recorded three touchbacks, he missed a 36-yarder at the end of the first half that turned out to be the difference in the game.

He also sent a kickoff out of bounds, placing the ball at the 35-yard line.

The sutton renaissance

Along with the resurgence of NU’s passing game came a sort of renaissance for Tyrell Sutton.

Sutton carried the ball 21 times for 172 yards against the Spartans, both season highs.

It was the first time this season Sutton has cracked 20 carries and 100 yards after doing it five times as a freshman.

Sutton said sophomore quarterback C.J. Bach