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'Hit By A Haymaker'
Michigan State mounts record-setting comeback
Steve Silver
By Steve Silver
The Daily Northwestern
After turning in his best performance of the season, sophomore running back Tyrell Sutton walked off the field Saturday in tears.
Offensive coordinator Garrick McGee wrapped his arm around Sutton, trying to console the tailback as they entered the locker room.
But there was little consolation for a Northwestern team that watched a 35-point lead disintegrate in less than 30 minutes of game time.
Michigan State shocked the Homecoming crowd at Ryan Field and made history as it scored 38 unanswered second-half points to snatch a 41-38 victory from the Wildcats - the all-time largest comeback in NCAA Division I-A football.
"It hurts," sophomore safety Brendan Smith said. "It hurts a lot - knowing that we are capable of doing it, but we couldn't get it done."
The Cats (2-6, 0-4 Big Ten) did exhibit a new ability to move the ball offensively and shut down the Spartans' offensive attack in the first three quarters of the game.
Ranked last in the Big Ten and 103rd nationally, NU's offense was not itself as sophomore quarterback C.J. Bach�r took the reigns as a late substitute.
Bach�r threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns as the offense generated 425 total yards through three quarters.
Sutton added a season-high 172 yards on 21 carries, his first 100-yard rushing performance this season.
But with a 38-3 lead in the middle of the third quarter, NU shifted to cruise control.
"As always when you have a pretty big lead, you say, 'Let's make sure we are making the right calls, and that we are giving our guys a chance to be successful, but let's not do anything crazy,'" coach Pat Fitzgerald said. "Maybe just by me making that statement, we took our foot off the pedal. And when you do that you aren't going to seize momentum back."
Yet Michigan State (4-4, 1-3) did not just snatch the game from the Cats.
Rather, it slipped slowly, almost methodically away.
First senior linebacker Nick Roach broke his right leg while covering a punt - a blow from which the defense never seemed to recover. Roach led the team in tackles (62) before leaving the game.
"When you lose a player like Nick Roach, it is obviously going to affect the defense," said senior linebacker Adam Kadela. "He is a special player."
Roach is expected to miss the rest of the season.
With one of its most vocal leaders in the X-ray room, the defense began to succumb to Spartans senior quarterback Drew Stanton.
Stanton led two consecutive scoring drives to cut the deficit to 38-17 by the end of the third quarter.
The senior quarterback sat out one series after suffering a minor injury from a late hit by redshirt freshman defensive end Corey Wootton, which drew an unnecessary roughness penalty.
Stanton would eventually return to complete 9 of 11 passes for 92 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter en route to the Spartans' late rally.
"It hasn't really sunk in yet," Stanton said about the biggest comeback since Ohio State overcame a 31-point deficit to beat Minnesota 41-37 in 1989.
But it was the Spartans' special teams and defense that provided the foundation for the record-breaking victory.
After its first fourth-quarter drive stalled in three plays, NU was forced to punt with 11:22 remaining in the game.
Sophomore receiver Devin Thomas blocked the Cats' punt and freshman cornerback Ashton Henderson returned the failed punt 33 yards for a touchdown - chipping away at NU's lead to bring the Spartans within two scores, 38-24.
"I think the punt block was the biggest shift in momentum," said senior receiver Shaun Herbert, who led the team with six receptions for 54 yards and two touchdowns. "They got points on the board quickly and it took momentum away from us."
With the game knotted at 38-38, NU took possession of the ball late in the fourth quarter. The first play from scrimmage, though, resulted in an interception.
Junior safety Travis Key reeled in his first career interception on Bach�r's pass and returned it to NU's 30-yard line - setting up the eventual game-winning field goal by freshman Brett Swenson.
Still winless in the Big Ten, the Cats will travel to No. 2 Michigan next week in search of a cure for pain left behind from this blown opportunity.
"This is going to be one that's a direct blow right to the chin," Fitzgerald said. "We got hit by a haymaker.
"You get knocked down and you get up and you keep fighting. And you battle, and you fight, and you scratch, and you claw and you find a way to win."