No. 17 MICHIGAN STATE (9-2, 6-1) at No. 7 PENN STATE (10-1, 6-1)
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Place: State College, Pa.
Line: Nittany Lions by 14.5
TV: ABC

What’s at stake: Two teams enter, one leaves as Big Ten champion. Or co-champion. Penn State is the only team that controls its destiny in the conference. If they win, they go the Rose Bowl. If Michigan State wins, Ohio State will have to lose to Michigan to win the Big Ten title.

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From the coin toss to the final snap, Northwestern was dominated.

Michigan State jumped out to an early 17-0 lead and kept the three-score advantage to the final whistle, topping NU 37-20. Continue reading »

The Ryan Field scoreboard showed the painful but unavoidable truth: Michigan State 17, Northwestern 0, with 2:34 left in the first quarter.

In a big game against a ranked opponent, one week after climbing to 22nd in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll, the Wildcats came out flat. It had happened again. Continue reading »

Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald brought up a football movie speech in his postgame press conference to explain the Wildcats’ inability to come up with the big play.

“Great speech out there by Al Pacino, game of inches,” he said, referring to the actor’s pregame pep talk in Any Given Sunday. “We throw the ball a little quicker, get rid of the ball a little earlier, maybe it’s a different outcome.”
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The game in photos

There is a buzz on the Northwestern campus. A football buzz.

One day before arguably the Wildcats’ biggest game in three years, students all across campus are talking about the football team’s perfect start. Grassroots marketing movements have sprung up, dedicating to increasing the University’s “school spirit.” The team itself has gotten into it; players were at The Rock, swapping purple T-shirts with students’ shirts.

The recent days have reminded NU coach Pat Fitzgerald of a football experience that he and his players all went through.

“It’s kind of like being in high school,” he said. “When you’re in high school there’s a lot of excitement on Fridays.”

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For the first time since Nov. 12, 2005, Northwestern has climbed into the top-25 of one of the major BCS polls. The Wildcats are ranked No. 22 in the country in the USA Today Coaches’ poll but failed to make it into the Associated Press poll, finishing 19 votes behind Ball State.

Off to a 5-0 start, the Cats were able to lick their wounds during a bye week on Saturday, watching at home as Oregon, Fresno State and Connecticut all lost and fell out of the top-25.

Which raises the question(s): Has college football become a war of attrition? Or is it more like survival of the fittest?

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Pat Fitzgerald, like many coaches, avoids speaking in absolutes. Continue reading »

Held to 21 first half yards on 12 carries, the Michigan State offense came out determined to beef up Ringer’s carries. Ringer picked up 12 yards on the first two plays of the half, nearly matching his output in the first 30 minutes.

Those first two runs were crucial, setting up two deep play action completions by Hoyer — one to Blair White for 20 yards, and another to Charlie Gantt for 33 yards. That set up Michigan State at the Iowa 5-yard line.  Ringer pushed the ball to the Iowa 2, before tight end Garrett Celek was called for offensive pass interference, backing the Spartans up to the 18.

Brett Swenson attempts a 25-yard field goal, and it is good.

Looking back to the NU-MSU game last year, Hoyer seems to be in a much better rhythm with his receivers. The loss of speed demon Devin Thomas to the NFL draft has the Spartans using a great deal of double tight end sets. That will test NU’s linebackers and safeties next week, as defending 6-foot-5 targets is something NU has not seen in multiple doses this season.

MSU 16, Iowa 3 - 9:32 left, third quarter

Drive summary: 11 plays, 71 yards, 5:09

A week after a bone-crushing hit that knocked out Iowa running back Shonn Greene, Northwestern junior safety Brad Phillips mentioned the upcoming challenge of facing Michigan State running back Javon Ringer, in practice on Wednesday.

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