Michigan State beats up Northwestern for 10th win of season

EVANSTON, Ill. -- All week long Michigan State vowed to look straight ahead at Northwestern instead of a week down the road to the Big Ten championship game. The Spartans were true to their word, beating Northwestern 31-17 on Saturday in a competitive tuneup. With a spot in next Saturday's title game secured, Michigan State wasn't about to coast in the regular season finale. Michigan State (10-2, 7-1) wanted 10 wins and even though the Spartans had already clinched the Legends Division by virtue of a tiebreaker over Michigan, they wanted to ensure the best record in their division. All of it was accomplished on a drizzly day at Ryan Field. "We wanted to have momentum going into next week," Spartans coach Mark Dantonio said.