Northwestern
Michigan State
No. 8 Northwestern Takes Show on the Road to MSU
11/23/2020 2:41:00 PM | Football
| NORTHWESTERN FOOTBALL: GAMEDAY INFORMATION | ||||||
| DATE | Opponent | TIME | LOCATION | Live Stats | TELEVISION | RADIO |
| Saturday, Nov. 28 | Michigan State | 2:30 p.m. CT | Spartan Stadium | Stats | ESPN | AM-720 WGN Radio |
| 2020 VIRTUAL PRESS BOX | ||||||
EVANSTON, Ill.- The No. 11/13 Northwestern Wildcats travel to East Lansing, Mich. to take on the Michigan State Spartans Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CST on ESPN and WGN 720.
After defeating No. 10 Wisconsin last week, Northwestern sits atop the Big Ten West standings and is off to its first 5-0 start since 2015 and is perfect through its first five games of conference play for the first time in nearly 25 years (1996). The Wildcats' victory over the Badgers was their first win over a Top-10 opponent since defeating No. 9 Nebraska on Nov. 5, 2011. In addition, NU's defense limited UW's offense to just seven points, which marked the first time Northwestern held an AP Top-10 side to seven points or fewer in over 50 years (1967 vs. Miami).
The last time the Wildcats reached a 6-0 mark in Big Ten play was the historic 1995 season, where NU went a perfect 8-0 in the conference while on its way to the Rose Bowl against Southern California. It has been nearly 60 years since the program started 6-0 overall (1962).
Michigan State enters Saturday's game at 1-3, with its last game against Maryland canceled due to COVID-19. Northwestern has won three straight games at Spartan Stadium dating back to 2012 and three of the last four matchups between the two programs.
STORYLINES:
Put Some Respect on Their Names: Northwestern limited Wisconsin to just seven points in the Top-20 showdown last week, who came into the game averaging 47 points per game. It marked the fourth time in five games this season that NU shut out its opponent in the second half. In addition, the Wildcats prevented the Badgers from converting any third downs in the third quarter as well as a 1-10 overall mark on third down in the final two frames.
Raking Up the Awards: Linebacker Blake Gallagher was named as the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Week following his career-high tying 14 total tackle performance against the Badgers. Defensive back Brandon Joseph picked up his second Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor in just five games played this season as well. Joseph leads the Big Ten with five interceptions, two of which came in the second quarter against Wisconsin. The Wildcats have had three players secure weekly recognition from the conference this season, with linebacker Chris Bergin named as the defensive player of the week in Week 3.
Numbers Never Lie: According to ESPN, Northwestern has the strongest strength of record in the country. The network's metrics concluded that an average Top-25 team would have just a 9% chance to record a 5-0 mark against NU's opponents this season.
