Oct 21, 2006, 21:35 GMT
Evanston, IL - Brett Swenson's 28-yard field goal with 13 seconds left capped the largest comeback in NCAA Division I-A history, as Michigan State overcame a 35-point third-quarter deficit to defeat the Northwestern Wildcats, 41-38, in a Big Ten Conference showdown at Ryan Field.
The Spartans set up the winning kick when Travis Key picked off C.J. Bacher and returned the ball 10 yards to the Northwestern 30 with 2:59 left.
'This is the highest level for me so I guess that's probably my biggest play,' Key said.
Drew Stanton completed 27-of-37 passes for 294 yards with two touchdowns and an interception as the Spartans (4-4, 1-3 Big Ten) snapped a four-game losing streak. Stanton also registered 37 rushing yards and a touchdown on nine carries in the ball game. Kerry Reed was Stanton's primary receiver with 101 yards on nine catches.
The previous NCAA mark for a comeback in a game was 31 points (held by Maryland (vs. Miami, Fla.), Nov. 10, 1984. The Terrapins trailed 31-0 with 12:35 remaining in the third quarter and won 42-40. The other was by Ohio State (vs. Minnesota), Oct. 28, 1989. The Buckeyes trailed 31-0 with 4:29 remaining in the second quarter and won 41-37.
Michigan State also set the NCAA Division I-A record for most points overcome in the second half to win a game.
'It hasn't really sunk in yet,' Stanton said. 'I think it was just a testament of this team working hard. As things started to progress and the gap kind of closed between the score, I think more guys started believing and wanting to make plays. You know, I think the big thing we saw today was how effective we can be when we play together as a team.'
Northwestern (2-6, 0-4) was led by Bacher, who completed 15-of-29 pass attempts for 245 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Shaun Herbert and Ross Lane each accounted for two touchdown receptions in the contest.
Tyrell Sutton led the ground attack for the Wildcats as he racked up 172 yards on 21 carries. Sutton's effort was not enough as Northwestern dropped its fifth straight decision.
Down 38-3, Michigan State began its historic comeback when Stanton engineered a nine-play, 65-yard drive that culminated with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jehuu Caulcrick. A.J. Jimmerson kept the momentum going for the Spartans when he found the end zone on a four-yard scamper that trimmed the Wildcats' advantage to 38-17 with 2:47 on the clock in the third quarter.
All hope seemed lost for the Spartans when Brendan Smith picked off a Brian Hoyer pass deep in Northwestern territory early in the fourth quarter, but Michigan State scored 24 unanswered later in the period.
Ashton Henderson scored on a 33-yard blocked punt return, and after a Northwestern punt, Stanton broke free on a 12-yard touchdown run with 7:54 remaining for a 38-31 deficit. After another Wildcat punt, Stanton threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Williams with 3:43 left before Key had the big interception.
'We saved our season,' Michigan State center Kyle Cook said. 'The bad thing is we really should have come out and did that right away. We shouldn't have let it get to what it was. It showed a lot of character of our team that we were able to come in at halftime, ruffle a couple of feathers, and come out and get it done.'
The Spartans accumulated 436 total yards of offense in the contest while Northwestern had 440 total yards. Michigan State made the most of its scoring opportunities as it was a perfect 6-of-6 in the red zone.
'As always when you have a big lead you think about making the right calls and giving our guys a chance to be successful, but you don't want to do anything crazy,' Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald said. 'Maybe just by making that statement, I took our foot off the pedal and that's what happened. When you do that you aren't going to seize momentum back. We tried to, but especially on third down, we didn't get the job done.'
Michigan State scored the first points of the ball game when Swenson split the uprights on a 32-yard field goal attempt with 10:07 left in the first quarter.
The Wildcats shut the Spartans down for the rest of the half and put up 24- unanswered points along the way. Bacher threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Lane, then rushed two yards for a score, Joel Howells kicked a 30-yard field goal and Brandon Roberson threw an 18-yard touchdown strike to Herbert to give Northwestern a 24-3 lead with 4:17 remaining in the second quarter.
Northwestern kept the pressure on in the third quarter as it opened the frame with 14 straight points. Bacher connected with Lane on a 22-yard touchdown pass and then threw a five-yard scoring strike to Herbert to give the Wildcats a commanding 38-3 lead with 9:54 left in the third.
The Wildcats also suffered a big loss to their defense as linebacker and leading tackler Nick Roach was carted off the field with a broken right leg. He was hurt while covering a punt in the third quarter.
'Nick is one of our best football players and to lose him is going to be very difficult,' Fitzgerald said. 'It's time for someone to step up. Not to minimize what happened to Nick. It's a great loss for his playmaking ability and for our team. Nick is tremendous leader. Now someone is going to have to go out there and prepare to take that over.'
© 2006 The Sports Network
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