Michigan State Football: Spartans humbled by Northwestern at home

1. Clayton Thorson is still a thorn for the Spartans defense

Entering the Week 6 trip to East Lansing, Clayton Thorson had never lost to Michigan State in two starts against Mark Dantonio’s team. No matter what happened on Saturday, he was guaranteed to graduate with a winning record against the Spartans after posting 637 yards, five touchdowns and only one pick. He also completed more than 70 percent of his attempts on 60-of-83 passing in the pair of wins. Thorson added a rushing touchdown in each game as well.

In the first half, Thorson was on fire on the road. The Wildcats veteran went 14-of-20 for 216 yards and two long touchdowns of 77 and 34 yards before the intermission. Even with an interception that resulted in a Michigan State field goal and a sack that doomed their penultimate possession of the second quarter, Thorson helped engineer the turnaround that let Northwestern take a 14-3 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Northwestern’s quarterback was just as critical to the visitor’s success in the second half. He finished the day 31-of-47 for 373 yards and three scores. Thorson was hardly perfect, finishing with two interceptions, but he found enough room to ruin Michigan State for a third straight year.