MSU ball

It's simple: if NU gets a stop, it gets the win. If not, we keep going. Hoyer to wide open Kellen Davis, but too low and he can't hold on. 2nd and 10. Hoyer throws it out the back of the end zone, trying for Thomas. 3rd and 10. Hoyer escapes David Ngene, but throws incomplete to Mark Dell in the end zone. 4th down. Time out, Michigan State. Hoyer throws to nobody. Game over: NU 48, MSU 41.

MSU won the toss

And has elected to defend. So NU takes over at the 25. Bacher throws behind Conteh, 2nd and 10. Bacher finds Ward in the middle of the field for 13. 1st and 10 at the 12. Bacher throws it behind Conteh, makes a wonderful catch on his back shoulder for the touchdown. Conteh came down funny and is still on the field, but it looks like they're working out a cramp. Villarreal makes the extra point: NU 48, MSU 41

Wide Left

Enough said. Villarreal isn't perfect on field goals anymore. Overtime.

Here's the Deal

NU's defense made a stop, and got the punt back at its own 18. The very next play, Conteh busts a screen down the left sideline for 52 yards to the MSU 30. The Cats just converted a 3rd and 4 and have the ball at the 19, setting up for a game-winning 36-yard field goal.
Stay tuned.

...

36-yard field goal to go ahead. Kyle Daley fumbles the snap. Still tied with 2:58 left.

Hold the Phone

Malcolm Arrington blocked Aaron Bates' punt at the MSU 28 with 5:19 to go. NU just converted another third down and have a 1st and 10 at the 15.

And like the pendulum...

The game swings back in favor of the Spartans. Devin Thomas took the kickoff back to the NU 27. Three plays later, Hoyer found Eric Andino off a play-action fake (the NU defense's favorite play) for a 19-yard score. 41-41. 9:57 left. Id say hold on to your hats, but mine has already been blown off.

The Day the Defense Died

So, C.J. Bacher and Eric Peterman just hooked up on a 70-yard TD to put NU up 41-34. Bacher just set his career high in passing yards with 421, tied for 5th all-time for a single game. Peterman also set his career high in yards for a game with the catch. By my count, we've seen about 1050 yards of total offense to this point. Big Ten football?

C.J. makes like Baz, Ringer makes it not matter

Bacher looked like he was throwing it out of the back of the end zone on 3rd and Goal from the 1, but Ross Lane snuck in at the other end of it and caught it for the go-ahead touchdown. 12:49 to go in the game and NU has a 34-27 lead. Bacher was 8-of-9 passing on the drive for 67 yards and threw his third touchdown. He is 28-of-34 for 348 yards on the game. Um, hold on a sec. Javon Ringer just ran 80 yards down the right sideline and tied the game up again at 34. 12:36 to go. Get your popcorn out.

End of the 3rd quarter

And we're still deadlocked at 27. But NU is in the midst of a long, methodical drive that started at its own 20 and has taken more than four minutes. They've gone 40 yards on 9 plays and are at the MSU 20 with a 1st and 10. But how well can the Cats finish?

Leads are fleeting

And NU's is gone just as soon as it came. MSU took the ball 80 yards on four plays, culminating in a 47-yard burst down the right sideline from Javon Ringer. Fasten your seat belts. NU 27, MSU 27.

Ever heard of Jeff Yarbrough?

Well, he just caught a post pattern from Bacher in the middle of the field and scampered 78 yards for a touchdown on a 3rd and 15. It was a great read by Bacher and the safety gambled and missed, leaving Yarbrough with nothing but green grass and a Spartan fan section stunned into silence in front of him. NU 27, MSU 20 (11:45 left in 3rd)

Ever been on a see-saw?

Well, that's kind of how this game feels. Michigan State drives 55 yards on six plays to tie up the game yet again. Jehuu Caulcrick reprised his Jerome Bettis impression and plunged in from a yard out for his second score of the game. NU 20, MSU 20

Bacher's drought is over

Let it rain. Bacher found Ross Lane in the back of the end zone to put NU up 20-13 with 13 seconds left in the half. MSU's Aaron Bates shanked a 14-yard punt to give NU prime field position at the 30-yard line. And the Cats capitalized. Bacher went 4 of 4 for 27 yards on the drive, and gave NU a halftime lead for the second week in a row. After a kickoff return to the 45, Hoyer's Hail Mary fell incomplete and the Cats are in the tunnel with a seven-point lead. After a disastrous fourth quarter against Michigan, Bacher's having himself a half against State. He is 17-of-20 passinig for 177 yards and a touchdown. And Kurt Mattes and Dylan Thiry are doing a good job of keeping the Spartans' sack leader Jonal Saint-Dic out of Bacher's face. After giving up 133 yards in the first quarter, the defense has buckled down, giving up only 22 yards and not allowing a first down in the second quarter.

Speaking of...

We've got ourselves a tie ball game. Hoyer pitched Ringer, who runs through an open field into the end zone from 4 yards out. Seriously, it looked like the cops were clearing traffic for him. NU 13, MSU 13.

End of the 1st quarter

NU 13, MSU 6, but the Spartans are driving. Brian Hoyer just completed a 21-yard pass in wide open space to Mark Dell at the NU 4. Neither of these teams has heard of a failed third-down conversion: NU is 4 of 4 and Michigan State is 2 of 2. Apparently neither has heard of defense either: NU and MSU have combined for 17 first downs and 288 yards in the opening quarter.

Run, Omar, Run

NU completes its second 80 yard drive of the game, capped by an Omar Conteh 9-yard TD run on a perfectly executed option play. The Cats are 4-for-4 on third down. Slight problem - Mr. Automatic Amado Villarreal misses an XP - his first blunder of the season.

Northwestern 13, Michigan State 6 (4:15 left, 2nd quarter)

NU 7, MSU 6

Michigan State marches impressively down the field (never facing a 3rd down) and Jehuu Caulcrick plunges in from a yard out. Jaavon Ringer had 31 yards on four carries and, aside from running twice, playmaker Devin Thomas threw a tooth-loosening block on Sherrick McManis to spring Ringer for a 23-yard gain. Then Corey Wootton unfurls his 6-foot-7 frame on Brett Swenson's extra point and blocked it, preserving the lead.

Deante Battle is playing

Don't be alarmed.

Kim Thompson can be my hero baby

Northwestern notches arguably its best drive of the season. Bacher completes two fade passes to Thompson on third-and-10 (24 and 22 yards). Eric Peterman breaks a tackle on a flank right for a 23 yard play. Conteh dances into the end zone for an 11 yard TD run.

Northwestern 7, Michigan State 0

Deante Battle might not play

Just got word that cornerback Deante Battle is a game-time decision with a phantom injury. If he can't go, the two-deep says Justan Vaughn will start. Welcome to the big leagues.

Must win game in week 6?

Good morning Wildcats fans,

We've made to East Lansing. The press box is boiling. Nobody else is in our row and yet we're getting to know each other very well in our sandwiched corner.

Predictions for today's game anyone?

NU wins if Bacher (yes we're no longer doing the accent e) if the passing game comes to play.
MSU wins if their rushing offense plays half as well as they're capable of.

Michigan State 34, Northwestern 16

--Matt Baker

The Cats' run defense comes to play for a second week in a row, but Javon Ringer is, believe it or not, a better pass catcher than Mike Hart. The Spartans' offense burns NU's "D" with dinks and dumps. Drake Dunsmore leads NU's passing attack with his first 100-yard receiving game of his career, but its not enough for NU to escape Animal House, Michigan with a win.

Michigan State 30, Northwestern 23

--Chris Gentilviso

C.J. says enough is enough and holds on to the football in a Cats upset victory. The collapse comes every year for the Spartans...and it starts this week.

Northwestern 34, Michigan State 28

--David Morrison