Jackson Kleather didn’t need much room to settle this one. The Northwestern kicker drilled a 34-yard field goal with two seconds left Saturday in East Lansing, sending No. 25 Northwestern to a 24-21 comeback win over Michigan State.
The Wildcats twice had to survive late pressure before they could walk out with the victory. First, Matthew Smith stuffed a potential go-ahead kick, blocking Liam Boyd’s 33-yard field-goal attempt with one minute remaining in the fourth quarter. Then Northwestern went to work, piecing together an eight-play, 64-yard drive that ended with Kleather’s winner.
For Northwestern (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten), it was the kind of finish that keeps a ranking intact and stops a bad trend in its tracks. The Wildcats beat Michigan State for the first time since 2019, when Pat Fitzgerald was still their coach, and snapped a three-game skid against the Spartans. Michigan State fell to 2-5 and 0-4 in the Big Ten.
Michigan State had grabbed control in the fourth quarter after Alessio Milivojevic hit Chrishon McCray down the middle for a 53-yard touchdown that put the Spartans up 21-13 with 11:48 to play. Milivojevic finished 19 of 30 for 216 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Northwestern answered with a touchdown drive finished by Aidan Chiles on a 1-yard scoring run. Chiles then found Alex Honig in the back of the end zone for the tying 2-point conversion, knotting the game at 21 with 7:24 left.
Chiles went 18 of 27 for 226 yards, and Caleb Komolafe handled the ground work for the Wildcats with 67 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. Northwestern, ranked for the first time since 2022, kept finding just enough offense to stay within reach.
The first half played out with both sides trading blows, and Michigan State took a 14-10 lead into halftime. Northwestern got on the board first after Michael Kilbane blew up Milivojevic on a strip sack and recovered at the Spartans’ 10. But the Wildcats had to settle for a 39-yard Kleather field goal instead of seven.
Michigan State answered late in the opening quarter when Milivojevic scored on a 3-yard run to cap a 12-play, 49-yard march set up by Kenneth Williams’ 44-yard kickoff return.
Northwestern moved back in front 10-7 on Komolafe’s 10-yard touchdown run with 11:04 left in the second quarter. The Spartans reclaimed the lead just before halftime when Milivojevic connected with Bryson Williams for a 32-yard touchdown pass with 47 seconds remaining.
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Michigan States latest defeat was the kind that lingers because it came down to the smallest moments and the biggest misfires. The Spartans were right there against Northwestern before late-game coaching decisions and execution errors tilted the outcome, turning a winnable matchup into another painful reminder of how thin the margin has been for this team.
Joe Rossis defense drew the sharpest criticism for the way the final minutes unfolded, and special teams also played a role in the collapse. Alessio Milivojevic had chances to help close it out, too, but Michigan State could not turn those opportunities into the finishing touch it needed, leaving the Spartans searching for answers after a loss that felt avoidable. [Read more 🡒]
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Defensively, the same theme applies as Kenny Soares Jr. is among the names expected to matter up front, while cornerbacks Jeremiah Favorite and KJ Deriso could be asked to absorb even more responsibility on the back end. It is the sort of test that can expose how much a roster can withstand, and for Michigan State, the challenge is less about one star carrying the load than about a cluster of unsung Spartans keeping the game from tilting the wrong way. [Read more 🡒]