Sutton emotional over fourth-and-1

Tyrell Sutton delivered a career-long 66-yard run as part of his 139-yard effort during Saturday's 37-20 loss to Michigan State.

The senior running back also unleashed a career high in the "Most Emotional On-Field Display" category.

With Northwestern trailing 34-17 with 12 minutes to go, coach Pat Fitzgerald opted for a field goal rather than try to convert a fourth-and-1 from the Spartans' 4.

As the field-goal team ran on the field, Sutton ran off, jumping, pointing and yelling in the direction of running backs coach Matt McPherson and, to a lesser extent, Fitzgerald.

After Sutton took a seat on the bench, both McPherson and Fitzgerald came over to discuss the matter.

"If it was fourth-and-inches, it would have been a different decision," Fitzgerald said. "When I asked up top (to the coaches in the press box), it was fourth and closer to 2 (yards). It's a three-score game. We're taking the points."

As for the demonstrative dissent, Sutton and Fitzgerald declared no harm and no foul.

"We always say, 'Excuse my passion,' " Sutton said. "The biggest thing I said to him was, 'I want to win.' We didn't argue; we didn't fight."

"I'm not upset with him wanting to win," Fitzgerald said. "Absolutely not. I just love his passion and his fire."

Onside kick blues: Pat Fitzgerald keeps in close contact with his former coach at NU, Gary Barnett.

Barnett used to sense optimal times to try onside kicks in the midst of games - and Fitzgerald tried to do the same Saturday.

After Northwestern sprinted for a touchdown to cut Michigan State's margin to 24-14 a minute into the second half, Fitzgerald had kicker Stefan Demos lob the ball 15 yards downfield.

NU freshman Mike Bolden came down with the ball, which caused the crowd to roar, but a pair of penalties ruined the gambit.

First, the Wildcats were offside. Second, Michigan State's Jesse Johnson alertly waved for a fair catch when he saw Demos didn't bounce his kick off the ground.

Northwestern was hit with a 15-yard penalty for interfering with a fair catch, which set up MSU at the Wildcats' 32 for a touchdown drive.

"I thought it was there," Fitzgerald said. "The young man (Johnson) made a heads-up play. For us to totally not execute the play is extremely disappointing."

He said it: Pat Fitzgerald on MSU's Javon Ringer, the nation's No. 2 rusher who needed 35 carries to get 124 yards (and 2 TDs):

"If you were to tell me we'd hold Javon Ringer to 3.5 yards per carry, I'd be pretty excited by that output by our defense."