--- NORTHWESTERN FOOTBALL: GAME NOTES VS. MICHIGAN STATE --- OFFENSIVE STARTERS GAME NOTES POS No. Name Career Start FIRST QUARTER ● Sophomore linebacker Chris Bergin made his first career start in place of senior linebacker Nate QB #18 Clayton Thorson 44 Hall. ● Senior wide receiver Flynn Nagel hauled in a 16-yard reception for his first catch of the game, extending his career-long consecutive games with a catch streak to 23, the second-longest active RB #4 Solomon Vault 1 streak in the Big Ten. ● First-year running back Drake Anderson had his first rush attempt of his collegiate career. Drake SB #84 Cam Green 8 rushed for four yards on the play. Anderson is the son of Damien Anderson, who ranks second in program history with 4,485 career yards. WR #2 Flynn Nagel 28 ● Sophomore defensive back JR Pace contributed a pass break-up, his team-high fourth of the season. ● Senior quarterback Clayton Thorson threw a 77-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver WR #88 Bennett Skowronek 17 Kyric McGowan to give the Wildcats a 7-3 lead. The pass and the reception were the longest of both players’ careers. WR #8 Kyric McGowan 1 ○ The pass was the longest for Northwestern since a 90-yard connection from Dan Persa to Jeremy Ebert against Rice in 2011. LT #72 Blake Hance 39 ○ McGowan surpassed his career high for receiving yards in the game with the lone reception. The touchdown was the first of McGowan’s career. LG #59 J.B. Butler 23 ○ Thorson finished the first quarter completing 9-of-13 passes for 149 yards in a touchdown. SECOND QUARTER ● First-year wide receiver JJ Jefferson caught his first career touchdown on a 34-yard strike from C #65 Jared Thomas 9 Clayton Thorson to give the Wildcats a 14-3 lead. ○ The reception marked the first time that Northwestern has posted two-or-more touchdown RG #71 Tommy Doles 29 passes of at least 30-yards since NU’s win over Purdue on Nov. 12, 2016 (Austin Carr 33 yards & Garrett Dickerson 42 yards). RT #70 Rashawn Slater 17 ● On a 17-yard pass to Flynn Nagel, Thorson surpassed 200 yards passing for the 18th time in his career. ● After notching a season high in the first quarter, graduate punter Jake Collins established a new Defensive Starters season high with a 55-yard punt. ● Junior defensive lineman Joe Gaziano was credited with his team-high fifth quarterback hurry of the DE #97 Joe Gaziano 18 season. ● Senior safety Jared McGee intercepted his first pass of the season. The interception was the fourth of McGee’s career and his second at Spartan Stadium (Also had an interception at MSU on Oct. 15, DT #99 Jordan Thompson 29 2016). ● Senior quarterback Clayton Thorson tallied 219 passing yards in the first half. That is Thorson’s DT #92 Fred Wyatt 7 career-high in a first half and his most in any half in Big Ten competition. ● Northwestern held their opponent without a touchdown in the first half for the second time this season DE #91 Samdup Miller 18 (also, Akron on Sept. 15). THIRD QUARTER WLB #51 Blake Gallagher 5 ● Junior defensive end Joe Gaziano sacked Brian Lewerke on the Spartans’ opening drive of the second half. Gaziano has 3.5 sacks this season. He moved into a tie with Dwayne Missouri (1997-2000) for sixth in program history with 17 career sacks. MLB #42 Paddy Fisher 17 ● Sophomore wide receiver Kyric McGowan had a 29-yard kick return, the longest for Northwestern this season. SLB #28 Chris Bergin 1 ● Junior superback Cam Green had a 21-yard touchdown catch from Clayton Thorson with 15 seconds left in the quarter to give the Wildcats a 22-19 lead. CB #24 Montre Hartage 31 ○ The touchdown was Green’s third of the season and fifth of his career. ○ The touchdown pass was the third of the game for Thorson, tying his career high for the second time this season and ninth time in his career. S #41 Jared McGee 10 ○ This marked the first time that NU has posted three-or-more touchdown passes of 20-plus yards. Last was also against the Spartans on Oct. 15, 2016, also in East Lansing. S #13 JR Pace 5 ● Senior quarterback Clayton Thorson finished the quarter with 304 passing yards, already his seventh-most in a game all-time. CB #3 Trae Williams 15 FOURTH QUARTER ● Junior defensive lineman Trent Goens sacked Lewerke, moving his season total to 1.5. ● Graduate punter Jake Collins’ punt at 3:59 was downed at the two yard-line, his fifth punt downed inside the 20 in the game. ● Senior quarterback Clayton Thorson used a two-yard keeper to score a touchdown and give NU a 10-point advantage. It was his 20th rushing touchdown in his Northwestern career and his second this season. He remains third in Northwestern history in the metric, trailing only Zak Kustok (22) and Kain Colter (28). POSTGAME NOTES: ● Northwestern’s 29-19 win was their first over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 16 Michigan State on Oct. 28, 2017. The Wildcats have topped the Spartans three-straight times and have won five-straight road games, including a 2-0 mark this season. ● Dan and Susan Jones Family Head Football Coach Pat Fitzgerald now has 50 Big Ten wins. ● Senior quarterback Clayton Thorson was 31-for-47 for 373 yards with three touchdowns. His 373 passing yards were his second-most in his career (trailing only his 383-yard output this season against Akron) and were his most-ever in a Big Ten competition. ● Sophomore linebacker Blake Gallagher paced the Wildcats with 11 tackles, including seven solo. He also had one TFL. ● Senior wide receiver Flynn Nagel had a team-high 111 yards on 10 receptions, his second-most yards in a single game and his most in a Big Ten contest. ○ Saturday marked Nagel’s second 100-yard game of the season and his career; Nagel also recorded double digit receptions for the second time this season. ○ Nagel’s 36 receptions through five games are the second-most by a Wildcat since 2000 (Mark Philmore, 41, 2004) SCORING DRIVES ● 1st QTR: MSU, 2:18 -- Matt Coghlin 27-yard field goal (9 plays, 30 yards, 4:32) — MSU 3, Northwestern 0 ● 1st QTR: NU, 00:18 -- Kyric McGowan 77-yard reception from Clayton Thorson (2 plays, 75 yards, 00:41) — Northwestern 7, MSU 3 ● 2nd QTR: NU, 13:56 -- JJ Jefferson 34-yard reception from Clayton Thorson (2 plays, 51 yards, 00:39) — Northwestern 14, MSU 3 ● 2nd QTR: MSU, 2:50 -- Matt Coghlin 25-yard field goal (10 plays, 60 yards, 4:19) — Northwestern 14, MSU 6 ● 3rd QTR: MSU, 7:18 -- Felton Davis 48-yard rush (4 plays, 80 yards, 1:21) — Northwestern 14, MSU 12 ● 3rd QTR: MSU, 4:08 -- Felton Davis 3-yard reception from Brian Lewerke (6 plays, 33 yards, 2:31) — MSU 19, Northwestern 14 ● 3rd QTR: NU, 00:15 -- Cam Green 21-yard reception from Clayton Thorson (Vault 2 pt) (9 plays, 75 yards, 3:53) — Northwestern 22, MSU 19 ● 4th QTR: NU, 2:51 -- Clayton Thorson 2-yard run (3 plays, 11 yards, 0:18) — Northwestern 29, MSU 19 FOOTBALL GAME NOTES: NORTHWESTERN VS. MICHIGAN STATE (Oct. 6, 2018) CAREER HIGHS Player New Career Highs #8 Kyric McGowan Receiving yards (77), Long reception (77), Touchdowns (1), Long Kick Return (29) #12 JJ Jefferson Receptions (1), Receiving yards (28), Touchdowns (1; tied) #13 JR Pace Tackles for loss (1); Pass break-ups (2; tied) #18 Clayton Thorson Passing Touchdowns (3; tied), Long pass (77) #18 Cameron Ruiz Tackles (3), Solo tackles (2), Pass break-ups (1) #21 Drake Anderson Rush attempts (5), Rushing yards (12), Long rush (11) #24 Montre Hartage Pass break-ups (3) #28 Chris Bergin Tackles (8; tied), Solo tackles (3; tied), Quarterback hurry (1) #35 Erik Mueller Tackles (1; tied) #41 Jared McGee Interceptions (1; tied), Quarterback hurries (1; tied) #42 Paddy Fisher Pass break-ups (1; tied) #49 Jake Collins Punts inside 20 (3; tied) #72 Blake Hance Tackles (1), Solo tackles (1) #81 Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman Tackles (1), Solo tackles (1) #83 Trent Goens Solo tackles (2; tied), Tackles for loss (2; tied) #98 Earnest Brown IV Tackles (2), Solo tackles (1), Pass break-ups (1) FOOTBALL GAME NOTES: NORTHWESTERN VS. MICHIGAN STATE (Oct. 6, 2018).