WildcatReport's Tim Chapman, a former high school football head coach, breaks down the Wildcats’ come-from-behind win over Iowa that improved their record to 2-0.

Peyton Ramsey was once again a key to Northwestern’s victory. The stat sheet won’t clarify that, but watch the film and you’ll see all the little things that Ramsey did to give the Wildcats’ offense a chance.

The Halloween birthday boy finished 11-of-18 passing on Saturday, with no touchdowns and an interception on a proactive, but ill-advised force on third down. He also ran nine times for 47 yards, with jaunts of 21 and 11 yards.

Most impressive for this silent assassin was his work on third- and fourth-down. Ramsey helped convert six third-downs -- two with his feet and four through the air -- with yards to spare. He also conducted two fourth-down conversion, once by audibling for a Jesse Brown run to the right, and the other by throwing a 12-yard strike to Kyric McGowan.

In addition, the future educator and coach helped the Purple to go 3-for-3 in red-zone scoring opportunities, all of them touchdowns. Through two games, No. 12 has been a very welcomed addition to the group of 11on offense.

Ethan Wiederkehr had a tough day in pass pro. The right side of the O-Line showed some force in the run game, as the majority of Northwestern’s (power) runs went behind RG Wiederkeher and RT Gunnar Vogel, against a perennially tough Iowa run defense.

But against the pass rush, the redshirt junior and first-year starter at guard got beat often. Iowa sacked Ramsey three times, and all came off the right side through No. 76.

To be fair, it was against a strong Iowa pass rush led by Dayvion Nixon, who’s currently second in the conference in sacks and first in tackles for loss. Still, this area has to get cleaned up before next week, when they face a Nebraska team that got into the Ohio State backfield several times.

This Northwestern pass defense is good. They had three interceptions last week and stole three more on Saturday, and we didn’t even see the just activated Greg Newsome -- well, until his untimely celebration after the Blake Gallagher interception.

The back seven, combined with the three-/four-man pass rush, limited Spencer Petras -- Iowa’s big-armed and moxie quarterback -- to just a 52% completion rate (24 incompletions), while throwing for just one touchdown. They only sacked him once, but hurried him six or seven times and made throwing the ball difficult, especially once they crossed midfield.

Through two weeks, the Wildcats lead the Big Ten in INTs, and are second in pass-efficiency defense. They’re playing about six deep -- three corners and three safeties -- in the secondary and should get Newsome back to full health this week. That's a good sign, looking ahead.

Did Mick McCall call the offense in the first half? On the afternoon of Halloween, it was scary to see shades of 2014-19 from the Wildcats.

We saw a vanilla pattern of play calls that made Sean Hannity look liberal: inside run, inside run, outside stretch, punt. Even with the “Bowser Ball” Wildcat package, it was entirely predictable and highly ineffective.

We thought that they were setting things up for a jump pass later in the game, but even then, the theory of getting an extra hat on the defense is almost moot because it allows them to bring an extra hat (or two) into the box upon seeing this.

Fortunately, things opened up a little bit in the second half, and Ramsey, McGowan and Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman were connecting when needed to get the lead and keep the ball moving.

With all due respect to the former offensive coordinator, let’s see Mike Bajakian's offense continue to evolve.

Where was TE John Raine? The Wildcats’ leading receiver from week one wasn’t even targeted on Saturday. He was out there, contributing to blocking in the run game, but he was literally non-existent in the passing game.

It can be partially chalked up to Iowa’s “Cash” package, where they played with an extra safety to help cover the intermediate passing game, which they shut down pretty well. But in the times that Ramsey went back to pass, it seemed as though his primary reads were exclusively downfield, and the pressure up front deterred him from his TE check-downs.

It will be interesting to see how the offensive magician, Bajakian, adjusts for this and works to get him back into the game plan against Nebraska next week.

2019 was an anomaly. Winning just three games, with such poor offensive execution is not what we should ever expect from this program -- not under head coach Pat Fitzgerald, anyway.

Fitz appears to have this team locked in on accomplishing their first goal: winning the Big Ten West. Not only are they focused, but they really seem bonded with each other and enjoying the good when they earn it.

The supportive brotherhood that’s evident before, during and in celebrations after the games makes us believe that this team is linked and determined.

Oh, and they’re currently 2-0, atop the Big Ten West. They've already got more Big Ten wins than they did all of last season.

Offensive game ball: WR Kyric McGowan

McGowan provided the most offensive value Saturday, as he led the Wildcats in receiving and yards-per-carry on offense. But most importantly, four of his catches resulted in first downs: one on first down for a quick move of the chains, while two came on third down, and another on fourth. He showed great body positioning on the third and fourth down catches, turning to the quarterback and shielding the defender with his back, to ensure that either he was going to catch it, or his opponent would have to come through him, drawing a penalty and accomplishing the same result. We’re starting to see Bajakian use McGowan the way we expected, similar to how Zay Flowers fit in at Boston College last year. They’re getting him out on the edge, and even a little as a motion decoy to open things up for middle runs. No. 8 also scored the Wildcats’ first touchdown, nice redemption after mishandling the punt early in the first quarter that led to an Iowa score.

Defensive game ball: WLB Blake Gallagher

We were very close to awarding this to the entire LB corps, as Gallagher, Chris Bergin and Paddy Fisher combined to make 34 tackles and 2.5 TFL, as well as helping bracket and shut down the Iowa passing offense after they got out to an early 17-0 lead in the first quarter. But Gallagher stood out just a little more. In addition to his 11 tackles and 1.5 TFL, “Gally” punctuated a great day by snagging the game-clinching INT at the end of the game. Though it may not be evident to the rest of the media, it’s clear to Northwestern fans that No. 51 is as good as any pure linebacker in the Big Ten conference.

Special Teams game ball: P Derek Adams and PK Charlie Kuhbander

Against our preference, we have to honor co-recipients this week. Both had to handle some pretty windy conditions in Kinnick Stadium. Adams had to punt six times, keeping to his career average of 41.7 yards per punt, with three of his kicks ending up inside the 20 and giving the Wildcats’ defense a distinct advantage in field position. Most importantly was the athleticism he showed to catch a high snap and get the kick away on his final punt that could have been absolutely disastrous if he didn’t. Kuhbander registered a touchback on three of his four kick-offs and hit on all three extra points -- the last one, of course, proved to be the game-winner. And if you don’t think that’s a big deal, go talk to Minnesota.

Wildcat Warrior: RB Jesse Brown.

Brown led the team in touchdowns with two, was second among RBs with 29 rushing yards and was the only NU back not to lose yardage on Saturday. He seemed to get the offense going with his gritty runs late in the first quarter. He also made the crucial block that allowed McGowan to get into the end zone on the Cats first score. Brown finished with 10 carries (second-most of all RBs) and though he ran for no more than five yards on any carry, it was the way that he ran the ball, and the situations in which he was called on -- down 17-0 and on third- and fourth-down -- and the way that he responded to the call when his team needed him that earned him our Warrior of the week.

The wave to the Stead Family Children’s Hospital. Winning on the road against a division rival feels good, but there was nothing better Saturday than seeing the smiles on the faces of the beautiful children, their families and caregivers when the entire stadium conducted their traditional wave after the first quarter. In the trying times we’re in, we should always be reminded of the most important things: health and happiness, in its purest form. Much like the ESPN broadcast team, we couldn’t help but feel both choked up and warmth. Even Fitzgerald said it was what he looked forward to the most about this game. Every time it happens, we’re reminded why this is maybe the best moment every college football Saturday.

Tim Chapman is a teacher and former Michigan high school football coach who is currently working on a book titled "ChampioN Underdog" about the 1995 Northwestern Rose Bowl team. Follow him via Twitter: @Champion_Lit. Email him at nufbhistorian@gmail.com.