“We brought pressure,” head coach Mark Dantonio said Sunday at his weekly media briefing. “The quarterback scrambled 10 times and we had eight sacks (as a team). That means he’s on the run 18 times.”

With the defensive line coming out especially strong after halftime, recording four of its six sacks, Dantonio said the constant pressure might have worn Persa down in the second half and been a deciding factor in the victory for the Spartans (8-0 overall, 4-0 Big Ten).

Sophomore defensive end Tyler Hoover, who had nine tackles and a career-high two sacks, spent the most time in the Wildcats’ backfield chasing Persa. Hoover was rewarded Monday for his performance by being named Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week.

“(Hoover) just keeps getting better,” defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi said Saturday after the game. “He’s playing with a lot of confidence.”

Hoover was one of many players to step up in place of two interior players on the defensive line — sophomore Blake Treadwell and junior Kevin Pickelman — who were out with injuries.

Junior Johnathan Strayhorn, who played a majority of the game at defensive tackle rather than his usual defensive end position, also came through with two big sacks.

“We were real light in the defensive tackle spot, and guys made plays,” Narduzzi said. “Strayhorn has been an inside-outside guy for us all year and he did a great job.”

Running woes

While the defensive line had a big game for MSU, the front seven of Northwestern also played well, holding the Spartans to 105 yards rushing — more than 100 yards less than their previous average.

Dantonio said some of the struggles on the ground had to do with mistakes made by MSU, but the Wildcats (5-2, 1-2) also played a large part in slowing the Spartans down.

“We wanted to be more balanced,” Dantonio said. “But they overcompensated a couple times where we were running the football, and their players played hard.”

By falling behind 17-0 in the second quarter of Saturday’s game, Dantonio also said MSU was forced to throw the ball more than he desired. Fortunately for the Spartans, junior quarterback Kirk Cousins responded with 331 yards and three touchdowns to lead MSU to the win.

“We weren’t on track with a couple of things in the run game early,” offensive coordinator Don Treadwell said after the game. “We didn’t abandon it, but we needed to throw the football.”

Back on the sidelines

For the first time since suffering a heart attack the morning of Sept. 19, Dantonio spent the entirety of Saturday’s game on the MSU sideline.

After the game, Dantonio said he knew he physically was able to be on the sideline Wednesday or Thursday but didn’t make the official decision until five minutes before kickoff.

Although many were happy to see Dantonio back to his normal spot on the field rather than in the coaches’ box, he said he doesn’t believe it had any effect on his players.

“I don’t think that made much of a difference,” Dantonio said. “They’re out there playing football.”