Turning point, what's next and more from Northwestern-MSU

TURNING POINT

In the second quarter, MSU began an early drive at the 5-yard line because a holding penalty negated R.J. Shelton's kick return. Poor field position and poor protection led to a 3rd down sack on Lewerke in the Spartans' endzone for a safety, cutting MSU's lead to 17-16. Then, a bad Jake Hartbarger punt set up a Northwestern drive at the MSU 49-yard line, and Northwestern took a 19-16 lead after kicking a field goal. MSU's special teams woes led to a 5 point swing in favor of the Wildcats, and the Spartans never recovered. MSU's offense sputtered for the rest of the half, and the Spartans trailed for the rest of the night.

UNSUNG HERO

Senior wide receiver R.J. Shelton's performance may get lost in the shuffle considering the ramifications of Saturday's loss. Shelton finished with 190 yards and two touchdowns, which both came at opportune moments. His first TD occurred midway through the 3rd quarter after Tyler O'Connor replaced Brian Lewerke. O'Connor found Shelton for a 59-yard touchdown to score MSU's first points since the beginning of the second quarter. Later in the third, O'Connor found Shelton for an 86-yard TD to cut the deficit to two.

Make it stop: Northwestern 54, Michigan State 40

QUOTABLE

"All I can say is that nobody gives you a hall pass and says 'hey, you can turn that corner now, it's OK. Come on in.' You have to fight your way around that corner. And that's what we have to do. And it's disappointing for everybody. The bar has been set very high here, rightfully so. We only have one way to go. The climb up is very, very difficult. That ride down, tough to take sometime. We need to deal with it and get on with it." — MSU coach Mark Dantonio.

WHAT'S NEXT

MSU (2-4, 0-3 Big Ten) travels to College Park to take on Maryland (4-2, 1-2 Big Ten) next Saturday(7:30 p.m., BTN). The Spartans have severely under-performed expectations and will hope to take advantage of a Terrapin team that has lost consecutive games to Penn State and Minnesota.

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