Michigan State Football: Mark Dantonio’s 15 most memorable games
14. MSU vs. Northwestern (2010)
Northwestern has been a pesky team for as long as I can remember. Attending this game back in 2010, I didn’t expect it to be as close a contest as it turned out to be. To be fair, the Wildcats were 5-1, but Michigan State was ranked No. 7 in the country and was 7-0.
Maybe it would be a one or two-touchdown game, I thought, but it turned out to be much more of a nail-biter.
The Wildcats raced out to an early 17-0 lead and it looked as if Michigan State’s dream season would come to an abrupt end. Dan Persa and the Wildcats were scoring at will, it seemed, and a 24-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter cast a shadow of gloom over the Spartans in Evanston.
Kirk Cousins came up clutch, though, out-scoring Northwestern 21-3 in the fourth quarter and stealing a huge win on the road to improve to 8-0 on the year. Cousins passed for 331 yards and three touchdowns, but the play of the game came from punter Aaron Bates on 4th-and-11.
Bates was known for his tremendous late-game fakes and this one kept the hope of an unbeaten season alive. This led to a touchdown and the Spartans went on to win 35-27. The fake punt was dubbed ‘Mouse Trap’ by Dantonio because the Wildcats took the cheese.
Next: 13. Wisconsin (2012)