EAST LANSING, Mich. _ A screen pass to Alante Thomas. Minus-6 yards.
A drop back by Brian Lewerke ... sack. Minus-4 yards.
A holding penalty on a Lewerke scramble under duress. Minus-5 yards.
An attempted screen pass from in Michigan State's own end zone. Incomplete.
That fourth-quarter drive, which came after a missed Northwestern field-goal attempt, summed up the problems on offense for the 20th-ranked Spartans on Saturday.
MSU got another chance, and more problems forced a turnover on downs at its own 11-yard line. The Wildcats took advantage for a 29-19 victory, delivering the Spartans a crushing defeat to its preseason goals of a Big Ten championship and College Football Playoff berth.
Then on the Spartans' final drive, they went 74 yards to the Wildcats 1. The drive fizzled there.
It was the second time in three years MSU (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) opened league play with a home loss. And it was the third straight win in the series by Northwestern (2-3, 2-1), which had lost three straight games.
Next up for MSU: A difficult road trip to Penn State next Saturday.
It was not just the play-calling that proved problematic for the Spartans.
Running backs could not make moves in the open field. Backup offensive linemen whiffed on blocks. Tight ends dropped passes. And Lewerke's throws sailed wide, and he threw his sixth interception of the season.
Outside of two big plays by Felton Davis III _ a double-reverse run for a 48-yard score and a 3-yard TD catch from Lewerke that gave MSU a brief lead _ the Spartans generated nothing but 425 empty offensive yards. And 74 of those came at the end of the game on the final drive.
The Spartans' pass coverage struggled against Northwestern QB Clayton Thorson, who went 31-for-47 for 373 yards, three TDs and two interceptions.
This time, though, it was Thorson's deep ball that burned the defense. The first was a 77-yard scoring pass to Kyric McGowan as MSU safety David Dowell missed his assignment and left the receiver all alone on the left sideline.
The second came one play after Josh Butler's injury and pass interference penalty. Thorson threw at his replacement, and Tre Person got beat and had to retreat in coverage without turning his head. He caught up to Northwestern's JJ Jefferson, but the receiver made a diving catch at the goal line for a 34-yard TD.
Thorson threw a 21-yard TD pass to Cameron Green late in the third quarter to give the Wildcats the lead for good and converted the two-point conversion to lead 22-19, then scored on a 2-yard sneak with 2:51 to play.
The Wildcats had 20 yards rushing on eight attempts.
Sophomore kicker Matt Coghlin's two first-half field goals, from 27 and 25 yards out, broke the MSU record for consecutive field goals. He now has 16 straight, topping Brett Swenson's previous mark.
Both kicks came after MSU failed to score touchdowns despite getting inside the Northwestern 10-yard line. And it was all of the Spartans' offense as they fell behind 14-6 at halftime.
