Michigan State Football: 3 takeaways from win over Northwestern in Week 4
By Dante Pryor
Mark Dantonio becomes Michigan State football’s all-time winningest coach after handily defeating the Northwestern Wildcats in Week 4.
The Michigan State Spartans handily defeated the Northwestern Wildcats 31-10 in Evanston at noon. Brian Lewerke got back on track after a lackluster game against Arizona State last weekend. The Spartan run game wasn’t great, but it was good enough.
The defense was dominant as usual.
Northwestern couldn’t get anything going offensively, and couldn’t keep the Spartans out of the endzone in the second half.
What’d we learn from the Spartans’ win?
3. Northwestern was over-matched
Michigan State was bigger, faster, and stronger than Northwestern, and the Spartans’ talent eventually engulfed the Wildcats.
Nowhere was the Michigan State athleticism more evident than in the trenches. The Wildcats could not block Spartans defensive tackle Raequan Williams. The senior Chicago-native seemed to be in the backfield every down against the Wildcats. He was disruptive in both the run and the pass game.
The front of the Spartans limited the Wildcats to 3.1 yards per carry and 137 yards (many of them late in the game). The Northwestern receivers couldn’t get separation from one of the best secondaries in the country which made the Northwestern quarterbacks throw into tight windows all game long.