EVANSTON-Northwestern apparently didn’t learn much from its upset loss to Michigan State last season.

For the second straight year, the Wildcats came out flat, gave up a shell-shocking 75-yard touchdown in the first quarter and dug themselves a three-score hole by the second quarter.

Last year, it resulted in a 29-20 loss to the Spartans. This time, the final score was 38-21. The only difference was the venue, as this bitter lesson was administered to the Wildcats at Ryan Field.

Coming into this 2021 season opener, there were all kinds of questions about Northwestern’s offense, which featured a new quarterback, three new wide receivers and a new feature running back.

But by the halfway point of the first quarter, all of those concerns shifted to the defensive side of the ball as the Spartans put up two touchdowns and 149 yards in the first 7:16.

Michigan State built a 21-0 lead in the second quarter and pretty much coasted the rest of the way as the Wildcats never got within 10 points until late in the fourth quarter.

Most shocking, however, was how easily the Spartans moved the ball against what last year was the No. 5 scoring defense in the nation. They had 279 yards by halftime and finished with more than 500 total yards in new defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil’s Northwestern debut.

MSU's ground attack did most of the damage. Kenny Walker III, the Wake Forest transfer playing his first game as a Spartan, led the way with 264 and four touchdowns, and he averaged a dominant 11.5 yards per carry.

Northwestern’s offense, meanwhile, could never find its rhythm and repeatedly failed to cash their opportunities into points.

One bright spot for the Wildcats, however, was the play of quarterback Hunter Johnson – the main focus of most Northwestern fans’ angst going into the game. He went 30-of-43 passing for 283 yards, with three touchdowns and no turnovers.

Michigan State established control early in this one. Very early. It took all of 13 seconds for the Spartans to get on the board, as Walker turned the corner and outran everyone down the left sideline for a 75-yard touchdown on the first snap of the game.

That was the haymaker that drew blood and knocked the Wildcat defense on its heels this time; the year before, it was a 75-yard TD pass to Jalen Nailor in the first quarter.

The second time they got the ball, the Spartans went 69 yards for another TD. This time, it was their receivers making the plays: Connor Heyward made a diving grab, Jayden Reed came up with an acrobatic sideline leap and Heyward busted through two tackles to convert a third down. Walker walked in untouched from three yards out to give the Spartans a 14-0 lead before the Wildcats’ defense, which ran a lot of nickel personnel, could even catch their breath.

Johnson, meanwhile, completed passes of more than 40 yards on each of Northwestern’s first two drives: a 41-yarder to Bryce Kirtz on the first one and a 47-yarder to Stephon Robinson Jr. on the second.

But the Cats couldn’t convert either explosion play into points, as Charlie Kuhbander missed a 44-yard field goal attempt on the first drive, and the other one ended on a failed fourth down at the MSU 22-yard line.

Michigan State made it 21-0 after Payton Thorne – the mystery starter that coach Mel Tucker refused to reveal before kickoff – took over. He hit a pass for 19 yards and ran the ball for 16, with 15 more yards tacked on due to a late hit by NU linebacker Chris Bergin. Thorne finally threw a 22-yard strike to Jordon Simmons for a touchdown.

At that point, Northwestern was getting outrushed 161 to 2 and it looked like the Spartans were on their way to a blowout.

But on the Wildcats’ last drive of the half, Johnson created a spark. He hit Charlie Mangieri over the middle for a 25-yard pass and converted two fourth downs to get the Wildcats on the board. He used a quarterback sneak to convert a fourth-and-1 at the MSU 2, and then rolled out on fourth-and-goal from the 1 and hit a wide-open Trey Pugh for the touchdown.

Still trailing by two touchdowns, Northwestern looked like it was about to get back into the game on the first drive of the second half. Evan Hull busted right through the middle on the first play for a 49-yard run down to the MSU 20. But after gaining a first down at the MSU 9, the Wildcats’ stalled again, and after Johnson was sacked for a 10-yard loss on third down, Kuhbander missed a 38-yard field goal.

That turned into a turning point because the Spartans pounced on the opportunity to regain control. Thorne went 5-for-6 through the air and Walker punched in his third score of the night to make it 28-7 with 7:06 left in the third.

Northwestern, as is its custom, continued to fight. The Wildcats cut the lead to two TDs with 11:17 left in the game on a massive 16-play scoring march dominated by Johnson. He ran or threw on 13 of the 16 plays, capping the drive by hitting Pugh for a five-yard TD pass. It was the redshirt senior tight end’s second touchdown of the night, and of his career.

But Michigan State answered again as Walker broke another long run – a 50-yarder – to set up a 37-yard Matt Coghlin field goal that pushed the lead to 31-14.

The Wildcats' final points came on a 14-yard pass from Johnson to Robinson with just 2:24 to play. Michigan State then tacked on another Walker touchdown with 1:29 to play.