Michigan State Football: Top 30 games in school history
9. MSU vs. Northwestern (2006)
About 35 minutes into the 2006 matchup between Michigan State and Northwestern, it looked like John L. Smith’s four-year tenure was going to come to an end immediately following the game.
Playing in Evanston isn’t exactly vaunted territory for Big Ten foes since Kyle Field is so small and the fans are usually split nearly evenly, but the Spartans were having a nightmare of a time trying to slow down the Wildcats. Northwestern jumped out to a 38-3 lead with just under 10 minutes left in the third quarter and the rest of the game was a near formality.
Drew Stanton was having one of the worst games of his career and the entire team was failing at every opportunity to put points on the board.
Two minutes later, Stanton and the offense really came alive. Jeu Caulcrick caught a touchdown pass with seven minutes left in the third to make it 38-10. AJ Jimmerson scored on a four-yard scamper about four minutes later and it was 38-17.
Northwestern had a prime scoring chance in the red zone with 38 seconds left in the third and the Wildcats threw an interception in the end zone. The defense did the scoring next, blocking a punt and returning it about 40 yards for a touchdown to make the score 38-24 with 11 minutes to go.
Another three minutes went by and Drew Stanton made a shifty run in the red zone to give the Spartans yet another touchdown, trailing by just seven with eight minutes left. T.J. Williams caught the game-tying touchdown with four minutes left and Brett Swenson hit the game-winning field goal with 13 seconds left.
This was the biggest comeback in FBS history. Just an unbelievable game.
Next: 8. MSU vs. Ohio State (1974)