Northwestern Makes Every Second Count for Victory

EVANSTON, Ill. —  Standing in the huddle with 16 seconds left, Northwestern trailing after two quick scores by Michigan State, quarterback Zak Kustok looked at his teammates.

“Zak said, ‘You know we’re going to get this,”’ guard Jeff Roehl said. “I said, ‘I know, but it’s going to be interesting to see how.”’

Interesting doesn’t begin to describe it. David Wasielewski kicked a 47-yard field goal as time expired Saturday, and No. 16 Northwestern escaped with a 27-26 victory over No. 23 Michigan State in the Big Ten opener for both.

It was another stunning victory for the Wildcats, who are making a habit of winning games that go down to the final seconds. They did it last year at Minnesota, winning on a 45-yard tipped pass on the last play. They also did it against Michigan last season, beating the Wolverines with 20 seconds left.

“We’ve been in this situation before, so we have a lot of confidence we can come out on top,” Kustok said. “No matter how much time is left, no matter how much we’re down, we always believe we have an opportunity to win it.”

As Wasielewski’s kick sailed through the uprights, the Northwestern players poured onto the field in celebration and the Spartans collapsed in disbelief.

The Wildcats are 3-0 for the first time since 1962. It was a bitter defeat for the Spartans (2-1), who scored twice on returns in the last 4:42.

“I wanted to cry,” said Herb Haygood, who gave the Spartans a 26-24 lead on an 84-yard kickoff return with 18 seconds left.

After sloppy play most of the game, the Spartans looked like they’d snatched this one from the Wildcats when Haygood scored.

But Michigan State’s point-after attempt was blocked, and Northwestern got the ball back with 16 seconds left.

The Wildcats called “Victory Right,” the same play that won last year’s game against Minnesota. Kunle Patrick tipped the ball--as planned--and Jon Schweighardt grabbed it for a 54-yard gain that brought Northwestern to the Michigan State 33 with eight seconds left.

After a timeout, Kustok ran for three yards. Northwestern called another timeout with five seconds left, and the Wildcats got ready for their field-goal attempt.

Wasielewski also made a 44-yarder, but missed two other field-goal attempts.