EAST LANSING, Michigan — Northwestern can only be an underdog for so long.
To take the next step as a program, it has to win when it’s the favorite. And not just a favorite, but a two-touchdown, top-10 favorite against a team that hardly looked alive in its prior two contests.
The juice NU brought through the first five weeks of the season was nowhere to be found Saturday at Spartan Stadium, as the Wildcats climbed out of an early 17-0 hole but never fully put things together and fell 29-20 to Michigan State, dashing any hopes of making the College Football Playoff.