Northwestern 48, Michigan St. 41, OT

 

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Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	29	20
Total Yards	611	481
Passing	520	194
Rushing	91	287
Penalties	3-30	5-33
3rd Down Conversions	13-19	4-10
4th Down Conversions	0-1	0-1
Turnovers	0	0
Possession	35:46	24:14

Air/Ground Leaders
Northwestern Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Bacher 38/48 520 5 0 Daley 0/1 0 0 0	Michigan State Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Hoyer 17/31 194 1 0
Northwestern Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Conteh 19 70 2 24 Roberson 9 21 0 7	Michigan State Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Ringer 12 185 3 80 Thomas 6 52 0 17
Northwestern Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Peterman 9 141 1 70 Yarbrough 4 104 1 78	Michigan State Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Thomas 5 61 0 27 Ringer 6 54 0 23

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				NW	MSU
	TD	12:51	Omar Conteh 11 Yd Run (Amado Villarreal Kick) Drive: 8 plays, 80 yds, 2:09	7	0
	TD	09:06	Jehuu Caulcrick 1 Yd Run (Pat Blocked) Drive: 10 plays, 65 yds, 3:45	7	6
	TD	04:15	Omar Conteh 9 Yd Run (Pat Failed) Drive: 9 plays, 80 yds, 4:51	13	6
SECOND QUARTER				NW	MSU
	TD	14:56	Javon Ringer 4 Yd Run (Brett Swenson Kick) Drive: 11 plays, 62 yds, 4:19	13	13
	TD	00:13	Ross Lane 9 Yd Pass From C.J. Bacher (Amado Villarreal Kick) Drive: 6 plays, 30 yds, 2:13	20	13
THIRD QUARTER				NW	MSU
	TD	12:49	Jehuu Caulcrick 1 Yd Run (Brett Swenson Kick) Drive: 6 plays, 55 yds, 2:11	20	20
	TD	11:45	Jeff Yarbrough 78 Yd Pass From C.J. Bacher (Amado Villarreal Kick) Drive: 3 plays, 73 yds, 1:04	27	20
	TD	10:20	Javon Ringer 47 Yd Run (Brett Swenson Kick) Drive: 4 plays, 80 yds, 1:25	27	27
FOURTH QUARTER				NW	MSU
	TD	12:49	Ross Lane 1 Yd Pass From C.J. Bacher (Amado Villarreal Kick) Drive: 15 plays, 80 yds, 6:30	34	27
	TD	12:36	Javon Ringer 80 Yd Run (Brett Swenson Kick) Drive: 1 plays, 80 yds, :13	34	34
	TD	11:32	Eric Peterman 70 Yd Pass From C.J. Bacher (Amado Villarreal Kick) Drive: 3 plays, 73 yds, 1:04	41	34
	TD	09:57	Eric Andino 19 Yd Pass From Brian Hoyer (Brett Swenson Kick) Drive: 3 plays, 27 yds, 1:35	41	41
OVERTIME				NW	MSU
	TD		Omar Conteh 12 Yd Pass From C.J. Bacher (Amado Villarreal Kick) Drive: 3 plays, 25 yds, :00	48	41

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- C.J. Bacher threw for a school-record 520 yards and five touchdowns, including the game-winner in overtime, and Northwestern scored a wild 48-41 victory over Michigan State on Saturday.

Bacher connected with Omar Conteh on a 12-yard TD strike in overtime, and Northwestern (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten) forced Michigan State's Brian Hoyer into four straight incompletions when the Spartans had the chance to send it to a second overtime.

Bacher completed 38 of 48 passes as the Wildcats' spread offense baffled the Spartans (4-2, 0-2), who have lost two straight.

"The (offensive) line did a great job. I didn't have to worry much about pressure," Bacher said. "Our guys got open and found the holes in the defense. That makes my job pretty easy...just get them the ball."

Bacher's passing yardage broke the single game record of 513 yards set by Brett Basanez against Texas Christian in 2004.

Javon Ringer rushed 12 times for 185 yards and three touchdowns, including scoring runs of 47 and 80 yards earlier in the second half, to lead Michigan State.

Northwestern missed two opportunities to win the game late in regulation.

Amado Villarreal's 36-yard field goal attempt as time expired sailed wide left. About three minutes earlier, the Wildcats botched the snap on a field goal attempt, resulting in an incomplete pass.

But Northwestern was able to rebound in overtime and avenge a bitter loss from last season, when Michigan State rallied from 35 points down to beat Northwestern 41-38, the biggest comeback in the history of the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision.

Northwestern has won six of the last 10 meetings, but the Spartans hold a 32-16 edge in the overall series.

Northwestern running back Tyrell Sutton missed his fourth straight game with an ankle injury, depriving the Wildcats of one of their top offensive threats.