Northwestern Wins at the Buzzer, 24-21 over Michigan State
Two seconds. That is what Jackson Kleather left on the clock after his 34-yard field goal gave Northwestern a 24-21 win over Michigan State, the third kick of his day and the one that counted most.
The Wildcats needed it because they had been eight points down. Michigan State's Alessio Milivojevic had thrown a 53-yard touchdown pass to Chrishon McCray with 11:48 left in the fourth, and the score was 21-13. Northwestern answered with an Aidan Chiles one-yard run, then Chiles threw to Alex Honig for the two-point conversion, which tied it at 21-21 with 7:24 to go. After that, nobody scored until the Kleather kick.
The early going traded punches. Northwestern kicked a field goal, Milivojevic ran one in from three yards, Caleb Komolafe answered from 10, and Milivojevic found Bryson Williams for 32 yards just before the half to make it 14-10. A Kleather field goal in the third quarter cut it to 14-13, so Michigan State carried a one-point lead into the fourth. Northwestern outgained them 360 yards to 305, and the Spartans lost a fumble (Milivojevic's) while the Wildcats turned it over zero times. Kleather alone supplied nine of Northwestern's 24 points, from 39, 37 and 34 yards.
Northwestern moves to 5-1. Michigan State drops to 2-5, despite a quarterback who accounted for all three of its touchdowns.
That quarterback, Milivojevic, was the best fantasy play on the field with 28.3 points, ahead of Komolafe and Chiles. Chiles, who had been averaging 26.9 a game, finished with 17.5 and no touchdown pass. He will take the win.