Michigan State rallies past Northwestern, 35-27
“The Mousetrap” couldn't have worked better for Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio if he had been masterminding both teams Saturday afternoon at Ryan Field.
But it took a lot more than another successful trick play for the seventh-ranked Spartans to rally for a 35-27 Big Ten victory before 41,115 on homecoming in Evanston.
Sparked by the fake punt Dantonio dubbed “The Mousetrap,” Michigan State scored 21 fourth-quarter points driving into a stiff south wind as the Wildcats squandered endless chances to put away their upset.
“We had every opportunity to win that football game,” said NU coach Pat Fitzgerald, who threatened to make changes after he watches the tape.
“We've got to find a way to make some plays down the stretch against good football teams. That's what it came down to.”
Michigan State (8-0, 4-0) rallied from deficits of 17-0 and 24-14 to take its first lead with 2:00 to go on B.J. Cunningham's acrobatic one-handed catch in the end zone.
As amazing as Cunningham's play happened to be he laid out and cradled the ball with his left hand shortly before it hit the turf it was one of many the Wildcats (5-2, 1-2) believed they should have made.
Safety Brian Peters deflected Kirk Cousins' pass, then banged his head on the grass when he learned the result.
“I thought I was going to catch it, to tell you the truth,” Peters said. “But not quite. It's a game of inches and it went their way today.”
Among the other things that went against Northwestern:
ŸLeading 7-0 late in the first quarter, the Wildcats had first-and-goal inside the 1 when Jacob Schmidt coughed up the ball on a slow-developing handoff.
On every goal-line possession before and after the miscue, NU asked quarterback Dan Persa (46 yards, 3 TDs) to run the ball.
ŸOn Michigan State's first touchdown, Cousins' 7-yard pass to Mark Dell over the middle, Peters said he read the Spartans' man-in-motion and knew the play's tendency but didn't adjust properly.
ŸNorthwestern's offense committed 3 personal fouls, including left tackle Al Netter's ill-timed penalty for removing defensive end Colin Neely's helmet while pass-protecting.
It occurred immediately after MSU took a 28-27 lead, which meant Northwestern faced first-and-25 from its own 18 when it had less than two minutes to get into range for a potential game-winning field goal.
That drive wound up going nowhere as Persa (18 of 29, 187 yards) struggled to find the range while throwing with the big wind at his back.
He overthrew Jeremy Ebert three times, including on fourth-and-12 when open over the middle for a first down.
“Yeah, it sailed on me,” Persa said. “I've just got to bring that down.”
ŸThen, of course, there was “The Mousetrap,” another in Dantonio's series of movie-inspired trick plays.
With the Spartans trailing 24-14 early in the fourth and facing fourth-and-6 on NU's 31, they went through an elaborate scheme leave offense on field, take timeout, take delay penalty with punter on field to make the Wildcats believe they wouldn't fake it.
“We had to get them to take the cheese,” Dantonio said with a smile.
All because Michigan State noticed on tape that NU cornerback Jordan Mabin, who defends the gunner in punt formation, would chuck the gunner for 10 yards before heading out of bounds to avoid the punt hitting him.
As Mabin peeled away from gunner Bennie Fowler right on schedule, punter Aaron Bates raised up the ball and lobbed it to Fowler for a 21-yard gain as Mabin couldn't recover.
“It was a good play on their call,” Mabin said. “It was clutch. Their guys just made a play.”
On the next snap, Cousins (29 of 43, 331 yards, 3 TDs) fired a 15-yard score to Dell to trigger the 21-point fourth-quarter comeback.
“I think our entire program will look at this game with a very critical eye,” Fitzgerald said. “And guys are going to have to swallow a pretty heavy pill. You look at yourself in the mirror. Me included.”