Spartans Fall on Last-Second Field Goal to No. 25 Northwestern, 24-21

Saturday, October 17

East Lansing, Mich.

12 PM

Michigan State University

2-5 , 0-4

Northwestern

5-1 , 2-1

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Northwestern	3	7	3	11	24
Michigan St.	7	7	0	7	21

Ben Roberts, Dion Crawford and defense vs Northwestern

Photo by: Matthew Mitchell/MSU Athletic Communications

Spartans Fall on Last-Second Field Goal to No. 25 Northwestern, 24-21

10/17/2026 3:54:00 PM | Football

Box Score Final Game Book Post-Game Quotes Post-Game Notes

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State had a field goal blocked with a minute left before No. 25 Northwestern moved downfield and hit a 34-yard game-winning field goal with two seconds remaining in a 24-21 loss at Spartan Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Michigan State falls to 2-5 overall and 0-4 in the Big Ten, while Northwestern improves to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in league play.

"Obviously, a disappointing loss when we had every opportunity to win that football game," said MSU head coach Pat Fitzgerald. "When we look back and watch the tape tomorrow, you're going to see missed opportunities that we left out there in all three phases. Credit to Northwestern - they made the plays that needed to be made down the stretch to find a way to get the win."

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Alessio Milivojevic completed 19-of-30 passes for 216 yards and two touchdowns, with redshirt senior wide receiver Chrishon McCray catching three passes for 64 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown, and graduate senior running back Jaziun Patterson had 15 carries for 72 yards. Redshirt freshman wide receiver Bryson Williams caught a 32-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter for his first career touchdown.

Senior linebacker Dion Crawford led Michigan State with 14 tackles, including 1.5 for loss and a breakup, while senior linebacker Cam Stodghill had 11 tackles, including 1.5 for loss and two pass breakups.

SCORING SUMMARY

Northwestern took an early 3-0 lead with a 39-yard field goal midway through the first quarter, but the Spartan defense actually held the Wildcats to minus-10 yards on the drive with two sacks following an MSU fumble that originally gave NU the ball on the 10-yard line.

The Spartans responded with a 44-yard kickoff return by Kenneth Williams that sparked a 12-play, 49-yard touchdown down drive capped by a 3-yard TD run by Milivojevic on a fourth-and-1.

Northwestern reclaimed the lead at 10-7 following a 10-yard touchdown run by Caleb Komolafe with 11:04 left in the second quarter.

The Wildcats were looking to extend their advantage with a 41-yard field goal with under three minutes remaining in the first half, but Eli Coenen blocked the kick. On the ensuing possession, MSU went 77 yards in just 2:01 and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 32-yard pass from Milivojevic to Bryson Williams to make it 14-10 at the half.

NU trimmed the Spartan lead to 14-13 on Jackson Kleather's 37-yard field goal, his second of the game, at the 4:24 mark in the third.

Following a season-long 41-yard punt return by McCray that gave MSU the ball on its own 48-yard line, Milivojevic found McCray for a season-long 53-yard touchdown pass two plays later that put the Spartans on top, 21-13, with 11:48 left in the game.

Northwestern tied it at 21 with 7:24 remaining as Aidan Chiles scored on a 1-yard TD run and then found Alex Honig in the end zone for the 2-point conversion.

The Spartans stopped a fake Northwestern punt on fourth-and-8, and took over on the Wildcat 28-yard line with 3:29 left. The Spartans rushed the ball five times to the Wildcats' 15-yard line before a 33-yard field goal attempt from Liam Boyd was blocked with one minute left.

Northwestern took over and Chiles completed three passes for 50 yards and a 14-yard rush moved the ball to the MSU 16-yard line, where Kleather connected on a 34-yard field goal with two seconds left to give the Wildcats a 24-21 lead and the victory.

UP NEXT
Michigan State travels to UCLA to face the Bruins Saturday, Oct. 24 in the Rose Bowl. The game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT and will be televised on CBS.