We came out in the first half a little flat an

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Just over a month after being held to single digits by an FCS team, Northwestern has solved a lot of problems offensively.Justin Jackson rushed for 188 yards and two touchdowns, and the Wildcats moved the ball almost at will after a slow start, beating Michigan State 54-40 on Saturday night to hand the Spartans their fourth straight defeat.Clayton Thorson threw for 281 yards and three TDs for the Wildcats, who rallied from an early 14-0 deficit. Michigan State (2-4, 0-3 Big Ten) is now mired in its longest losing streak in coach Mark Dantonios 10 seasons at the helm.Northwestern has won three of four since starting the season with losses to Western Michigan and Illinois State. The Wildcats managed only seven points against Illinois State, but that seems like a long time ago now that theyve scored 38 against Iowa and 54 on the defending Big Ten champions.Our guys have really been grinding, Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said. Earlier in the year we werent a very good team. ... We could either pout and feel sorry for ourselves and start to point fingers, or we could just stay on the grind and keep the pedal down.The Spartans hadnt lost four in a row since 2006, and this was the most points theyd allowed since a 56-21 loss to Wisconsin in 2003.Northwestern held Michigan State to 3 yards of offense in the second quarter.Theres no easy fix, Dantonio said.The Spartans made a change at quarterback for this game, starting redshirt freshman Brian Lewerke instead of Tyler OConnor, but Michigan States problems extend well beyond one position.The Spartans went back to OConnor in the third quarter, and he threw for 281 yards and three touchdowns, but Michigan State couldnt stop Northwestern (3-3, 2-1) with any consistency.Solomon Vault returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter to put the Wildcats up 40-31, and the Spartans never made it closer after that.Michigan State is off to its worst start after six games since 1994, when the Spartans were 2-4 and later forfeited away the wins.TAKEAWAYSNorthwestern: The Wildcats have to be encouraged by the ease with which they shrugged off an early deficit Saturday, and although the secondary was beaten for a couple long touchdowns in the second half, Northwestern will win its share of games if it can keep creating big holes for Jackson.It was a good one today, but I think were just showing what we can do, Thorson said. Passing the ball, running the ball, everything.Michigan State: Dantonio shook things up by starting Lewerke at quarterback, then watched his defense give up so many yards and points it didnt really matter who was throwing passes for Michigan State. The Spartans were a mess on defense and still dont block well enough on offense to put together many sustained drives.Its almost like everybodys at a loss for words, OConnor said. We feel like weve been saying everything that we think we need to fix and working as hard as we can to fix it, and everybody understands that we need to get better.OConnor did do his best to reclaim the quarterback spot with his work late in the game.NEW FACELewerke had attempted only four passes this season before becoming the first Michigan State freshman to start at quarterback since Stephen Reaves in 2004. Lewerke opened the scoring with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Josiah Price in the first quarter, but the offense bogged down again in the second.Dantonio was noncommittal about his quarterback situation afterward.I thought both guys obviously did some good things, and both guys obviously did some things theyd like to have back, Dantonio said. So well look at it and evaluate it.TOUGH STARTMichigan State took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter when Justin Layne scored on a 43-yard interception return. That was the last touchdown the Spartans scored for a while.We knew that they were going to try and knock us out early. Their backs are against the wall, Fitzgerald said. We basically got what we expected, and it was disappointing with our start, but I really loved the way our guys responded. We didnt flinch.UP NEXTNorthwestern: The Wildcats host Indiana next weekend.Michigan State: The Spartans play at Maryland on Saturday night. If you dont count games forfeited from 1994, the last time Michigan State lost five games in a row within one season was when the Spartans dropped their first five in 1991.---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister Fake Phillies Jerseys . The winner Saturday will remain in the elite 10-team field next year. "We talked about wanting to be disciplined and stick with our game plan and good things will come," Draisaitl said, who had two goals for the victors. Cheap Phillies Jerseys . PETERSBURG, Fla. https://www.cheapphilliesjerseys.us/ .Y. - Detroit goaltender Jonas Gustavsson has earned NHL first star of the week honours after winning in his first three appearances of the season. Philadelphia Phillies Shirts .C. -- Todd Fiddler scored a hat trick, including the overtime goal, as the Prince George Cougars survived an 8-7 win against the Kamloops Blazers in Western Hockey League play Sunday. Wholesale Phillies Jerseys . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Montreal Impact coach Marco Schallibaum thought his team deserved a better fate Saturday. Joel Lindpere and Dilly Duka scored first-half goals and the Chicago Fire held on for a 2-1 victory over the Impact. The win was the Fires second straight and improved them to .500 this season (9-9-4), stretching an unbeaten streak to four games (3-0-1) in MLS competition. Coupled with New Englands loss, Chicago climbed to sixth in the Eastern Conference. "The second half was very good, we scored and we had a lot of chances," Schallibaum said. "But we have zero points and thats very disappointing." The Impact (10-7-5) lost their second straight, falling behind Philadelphia to fourth place in the Eastern Conference. They have now lost four of their last eight matches. "Its not easy to win away and Chicago is a good team," Schallibaum said. "But we must believe until the end and make the points. We have a good position, but we need more points than today." The Impacts Felipe Martins cut the Chicago lead in half in the 57th minute, two minutes after entering the match. Martins drilled a 28-yard left-footed shot past Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson for Montreals only goal, and his fourth of the season. Montreals rally ended in the 94th minute, when Chicago forward Chris Rolfe headed Matteo Ferraris header clear of the goal. The Fire was explosive from the start, even with leading scorer Mike Magee missing the maatch with a tight right calf.dddddddddddd. Lindpere beat Montreal goalkeeper Troy Perkins in the sixth minute, his hard shot from the top of the penalty area deflecting off the Impacts Daniele Paponi for a 1-0 lead. Duka made it 2-0 in the 23rd minute, kicking a low shot past a diving Perkins after beating three defenders on a 30-yard run. Duka was being tackled by Alessandro Nesta, the last of the trio, as he shot. "It was a tale of two halves," Perkins said. "It was almost two (different) teams. We came out in the first half a little flat and they came out and pressed us and -- fortunate for them -- got two goals. The second half was the way we should have come out." Johnson made five saves, including a close-range stop on Jeb Brovskys one-hopper in the 89th minute. Both teams had leading scorers sidelined Saturday. Impact forward Marco Di Vaio (11 goals) was among seven reserves available and entered in the second half. Chicagos Magee, the leading scorer in MLS with 14 goals heading into the match, was unavailable due to a right calf tightness while fellow forward Chris Rolfe was available but didnt start. Both stepped out of league play last Wednesday. The Impact opened CONCACAF Champions League play with a 1-0 victory over San Jose while Chicago was knocked out of the U.S. Open Cup tournament by D.C. United. The Impact have the week off before resuming MLS play next Saturday at Stade Saputo against D.C. United. ' ' '