EVANSTON — Purple pride, meet green and white.
Northwestern (5-1, 1-1) welcomes No. 7 Michigan State (7-0, 3-0) to a wet and windy Ryan Field as the Wildcats look to get back on track after a 20-17 loss two weeks ago against Purdue.
Check our preview of today’s game, including a look inside the mind of a kicker, and check out our liveblog and quarterly updates for more from Evanston.
First quarter update from Jonah L. Rosenblum:
The wet and windy weather at Ryan Field wreaked havoc early in the first quarter, but Northwestern managed to launch a touchdown drive midway through, and lead 7-0 after 15 minutes of play.
The Wildcats’ touchdown drive got off to a poor start after a personal foul call, but on third-and-18, junior quarterback Dan Persa kept it alive with a 20-yard pass to senior wide receiver Sidney Stewart. A 44-yard pass down the left sideline to freshman wide receiver Rashad Lawrence put NU in the red zone, and Persa’s scramble from three yards out put the Cats ahead.
NU had a chance to extend its lead on the subsequent drive after a fumble by Spartans running back Edwin Baker. On their first play from scrimmage, NU tried a little trickery, as junior wide receiver Jeremy Ebert threw a 28-yard pass to Stewart to get the Cats deep into Michigan State territory. But a fumble by junior tailback Jacob Schmidt on the goal line foiled NU’s opportunity to take a two-possession lead.
The Spartans recorded just one first down in the first quarter and the Cats end the quarter driving at the Michigan State 20.
Second quarter update:
After a decent start, the NU offense hit a groove in the second quarter, taking a 17-7 lead over Michigan State.
Early in the second quarter, the Cats took a 10-0 lead on a 37-yard field goal by senior kicker Stefan Demos. Michigan State looked like it was going to notch a quick reply, but Spartans kicker Dan Conroy’s 38-yard field goal sailed wide right, his first miss of the season.
NU took advantage, putting together one of its smoothest touchdown drives of the season. In six plays, the Cats drove 79 yards down the field to go up 17-0 on a keeper at the goal line by Persa.
Michigan State responded with its best drive of the game, marching 68 yards down the field for a touchdown. Spartans quarterback Kirk Cousins led the drive, completing 3-of-4 passes for 39 yards, ending with a seven-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mark Dell.
NU has gotten big production from its freshman in the first half. Running back Adonis Smith has 32 yards on just 5 carries while wide receiver Venric Mark has taken over punt return duties.
On defense, the Cats have put up a staunch front against the Spartans’ vaunted rushing game, holding them to just 50 yards in the half.
Third quarter update:
It frequently happens that an underdog will get off to a fast start, but in order to pull off the upset, they must hold off a surge from the favorite. Sure enough, Michigan State came on strong in the third quarter and NU showed they were up to the challenge, leading 24-14 into the fourth quarter.
The Cats came out of the locker room flat, starting the second half with a three-and-out. The Spartans got the ball in great field position and needed just three plays to get into the end zone, scoring on a 22-yard rush by wide reciever Bennie Fowler.
It seemed that Michigan State had all the momentum, but on the Spartans’ next drive, they were stopped at the Cats 44.
NU’s offense found its rhythm once again. Persa scrambled for two third-down conversions and redshirt freshman Mike Trumpy’s 18-yard run brought the Cats deep into Michigan State territory. Persa finished the drive with another scramble, spinning his way into the end zone for a 24-14 lead.
That marked Persa’s third rushing touchdown of the game, the most of any NU player since Tyrell Sutton in 2008.
