The year after, the Wildcats had the Spartans reeling in the middle of a season that quickly was going down the drain for MSU.

Northwestern led that game 38-3 before the Spartans engineered the greatest comeback in the history of Division 1-A football, scoring 38 straight points to win 41-38.

The following year, the Wildcats gained revenge, coming to Spartan Stadium and walking all over MSU’s defense en route to a wild 48-41 overtime victory.

Last season, though, the Spartans took it to Northwestern, winning 37-20 at Ryan Field in a game about which Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald said MSU “came in and took what they wanted and we allowed them to do that.”

This season, Northwestern looks to make it five straight for the road team in the series and put another Homecoming hurt on the Spartans.

“For whatever reason, the games have been really great football games,” Fitzgerald said.

“Some have ended up on our end, some have ended up on theirs and unfortunately in both instances, the one we won, the ones we lost, they’ve been incredible games. Unfortunately, we’ve lost a couple more than we’ve won.”

The Wildcats (4-2 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) have had an up-and-down season, winning two games, then losing two, before bouncing back with two straight wins against Purdue and Miami (Ohio).

Against Purdue, the Boilermakers turned the ball over six times (five fumbles) and blew a 21-3 lead.

Against Miami, the Wildcats struggled on offense, putting up 319 yards against an 0-6 team that had lost its previous five games by an average of 29.2 points.

“We have some areas of our business that we need to improve on,” Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald said his team needs to watch out for MSU’s tight ends — junior Charlie Gantt, sophomore Brian Linthicum, freshman Dion Sims and sophomore Garrett Celek — a group that has caught 27 passes this season.

“The tight ends don’t get a lot of notoriety, but as I watch Charlie, Brian and the young freshman Sims, that’s a dynamic group,” Fitzgerald said.

But more than anything, Fitzgerald expects a physical game from the Spartans on Saturday and noted that MSU is a fun team to watch — except when you’re playing them.

“I see a team playing with a lot of confidence and a lot of swagger,” Fitzgerald said.

“MSU’s always been a physical team. They’ve prided themselves on that. They came in here last year and physically dismantled us.”