Oct. 12, 2009
NU Football Game Notes (vs. Michigan State) 
For Openers
Northwestern returns to Big Ten Conference action this week, traveling to Michigan State for an 11 a.m. CT contest at Spartan Stadium. The Wildcats carry a three-game Big Ten road winning streak into Saturday's contest. ESPN2 is televising the game to a national audience.
Northwestern's strong second-half defensive performance at Purdue carried over into last Saturday's game, as the Wildcats defeated Miami (Ohio) University 16-6 in their final nonconference game of the season. The victory extended Northwestern's winning streak to two games and its nonconference home victory string to six.
After forcing six turnovers in its Oct. 3 game at Purdue, Northwestern registered four takeaways last week against Miami, giving the Wildcats 10 takeaways for the month of October. NU totaled three interceptions and a fumble recovery against the RedHawks.
When Miami scored a late touchdown Saturday with 1:19 to play in the game, those six points ended a long scoreless streak by the Wildcat defense. Northwestern's shutout string, which dated to early in the second quarter at Purdue, spanned 100 minutes 32 seconds, or nearly seven quarters of play.
Northwestern totaled eight sacks against Miami, its highest single-game sack total since the Wildcats began keeping official sack statistics. Linebacker Quentin Davie led Northwestern's sack parade, collecting three of the team's eight sacks. After a slow start in that department this season, the Wildcats have now recorded 11 sacks in their last two games, and now rank second in the Big Ten and 12th nationally with 3.17 sacks per game.
This Saturday marks the sixth time since Sept. 27, 2008, that Northwestern will be involved in a football game that has been designated homecoming by either NU or its opponent. The Wildcats have fared well in these games of late, having posted a 4-1 record.
Northwestern is seeking its fourth straight Big Ten road win, and its fifth league road win in its last six tries. Under fourth-year coach Pat Fitzgerald, NU is nearly .500 in Big Ten play away from home, sitting at 6-7 since 2006. Dating to 2005, Northwestern is 9-8 in Big Ten road games.
Michigan State ran its winning streak to two games after defeating Illinois 24-14 in Champaign this past weekend. A week earlier, the Spartans had stopped a three-game slide (three losses by a combined 13 points) with a 26-20 overtime win against in-state rival Michigan. The Spartans, who went 9-4 last year and played in the Capital One Bowl, have won three straight Big Ten home contests.
Behind quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol, MSU ranks first among Big Ten teams in passing offense (280.3 ypg) and passing efficiency (143.37 rating). The Spartans also rank first among league teams in sacks allowed, giving up just one sack per contest. Defensively, preseason Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Greg Jones leads a Spartan defense, which ranks 23rd nationally in rushing defense (102.3 ypg). Jones leads the Big Ten with 71 tackles.
The Broadcasts
Radio -- Saturday's game will be broadcast on WGN 720 AM and wgnradio.com with the broadcast beginning at 10:30 a.m. Dave Eanet (play-by-play) and Ted Albrecht (analyst) call the action. WNUR (89.3), NU's student radio station, also will carry the game. The game can also be heard on Sirius (channel 161) and XM (channel 198) satellite radio.
Television -- ESPN2 is televising the game nationally. Pam Ward (play-by-play) and Ray Bentley (analyst) will call the game.
(For a complete set of game notes, download the PDF above.)