Michigan State 31, Northwestern 17
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 26, 2011
Where: Ryan Field, Evanston, Illinois
Temperature:
54°
Head Official:
Dan Capron
Attendance:
32172
By SportsDirect Inc.
B.J. Cunningham caught two second-half touchdowns, and No. 10 Michigan State finished the regular season with a 31-17 win at Northwestern.
The Spartans (10-2, 7-1 Big Ten) had already clinched the Big Ten Legends Division and will play in the first-ever Big Ten Championship Game next week against either Penn State or Wisconsin.
Kirk Cousins threw for two touchdowns to give him 62 for his career, passing Jeff Smoker for the most all-time in Michigan State history.
Northwestern (6-6, 3-5 Big Ten) got two second-half touchdown passes from Dan Persa, but the Wildcats couldn’t generate enough offense on a rainy day at Ryan Field.
The Spartans led 17-3 at halftime, but Northwestern cut the lead to seven points on two occasions. Each time, Cousins and Cunningham responded with a score.
Cousins hooked up with Cunningham for a 33-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter to make it 24-10. Later, after the Wildcats cut it to 24-17, Cousins looked over the middle for Cunningham, who made a bobbling catch for a 29-yard score that made it 31-17 and essentially sealed the victory.
The loss snapped Northwestern's seven-game win streak in home finales.
Michigan State reached double-digit wins for the second straight season and beat the Wildcats for a fourth straight time.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
Michigan State |
|
Northwestern |
Le'Veon Bell
|
Player |
Jacob Schmidt
|
16 |
Attempts |
14 |
86 |
Yards |
39 |
5.4 |
Avg Yards |
2.8 |
1 |
Touchdowns |
0 |
0 |
Long |
0 |
Team Stats Summary
|
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sck |
FF |
Michigan State
|
380 |
166 |
214 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
6.0 |
2 |
Northwestern
|
370 |
117 |
253 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0.0 |
1 |