Bryant goes all in to lead Cats to Las Vegas Bowl victory

LAS VEGAS-David Braun took a long pause after he sat down for the post-game press conference deep in the bowels of Allegiant Stadium.

His Northwestern team had just won the Las Vegas Bowl over favored Utah, 14-7. The Wildcats finished with eight wins, when they were picked at the beginning of the year by the oddsmakers just up the street to win just two and a half.

The just-crowned Big Ten Coach of the Year broke into a wide grin and said the same thing that he’s opened almost every winning press conference with during this miraculous season.

“I'm speechless."

In a game that was more gutsy than glitzy, more rivets than sequins, Northwestern’s defense came up with two big fourth-down stops, and then Ben Bryant had his Willis Reed moment.

After leaving the game late in the third quarter and heading to the medical tent, Bryant re-emerged with 6:19 left in the game to lead a touchdown drive, lofting a perfect 19-yard fade to Bryce Kirtz in the end zone to seal the win.

It was the fourth straight win of the season for the Wildcats, and the fifth straight bowl victory for a program that once went 63 years without one. And, it gave Braun a final record of 8-5 in his first year at the helm.

No wonder the field was littered with purple confetti after the game.

Bryant threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns for Northwestern, but none were more important than his last two after returning to the game after an injury. First was a deep ball that AJ Henning laid out for and corralled at the Utah 19 for a 34-yard gain. Then, on the next play, came the throw to Kirtz.

After the game, Braun confirmed that Bryant had cleared protocol administered by the medical staff before he came back on the field. Then he lauded his sixth-year QB, who was playing his final college game.

“That dude is a warrior,” said Braun. “I’ve said that before and I’ll say it the rest of my life.”

But Bryant’s heroics wouldn’t have happened without the Wildcat defense taking the momentum back from Utah on the previous drive.

The Utes, who had sputtered offensively through three quarters, finally got on the board early in the fourth. Luke Bottari, who came on in relief of Bryson Barnes after he lost his helmet, threw an 18-yard swing pass to Jaylon Glover, and then Barnes came back in and connected with Munir McClain for another 18-yarder. Micah Bernard punched in a 3-yard TD to tie the game with 12:38 left in the fourth quarter.

Then disaster struck when Bryant took a hard shot and left the game. Ryan Hilinski, and not presumed No. 2 Jack Lausch, assumed the reins and looked exactly like a rusty quarterback who’d appeared in just three games all season. The Wildcats turned the ball over on downs.

Suddenly, all the momentum was on the Utes’ side. They got a first down and reached NU territory.

But that’s where Northwestern’s defense put the game back on Bryant’s shoulders. Brendan Flakes stuffed Glover on fourth-and-1 at the NU 47 to take the ball back.

“It was huge,” said Braun about the stop. He added that, on the sideline, his team's belief they were going to win never faded. “This group is truly walking in confidence.”

It would take one more stop to clinch the win, though. Utah drove to the Northwestern 38-yard line. On fourth-and-3, Barnes threw to Money Parks, but Garnett Hollis arrived with the ball to break it up, with 1:55 left. The Wildcats converted one more first down to run out the clock.

Bryant won the MVP award, but he credited Northwestern’s defense for its stellar performance. They had five sacks, limited Utah to 211 yards and came up with three takeaways, including two interceptions by Jaheem Joseph, who was playing for injured captain Coco Azema.

The game looked in the first half like a Big Ten West game that was being played further out West. It was scoreless until Bryant hit a tightly covered Cam Johnson for a 12-year touchdown pass to give the Cats a 7-0 lead with just 1:20 left in the first half.

The Wildcats had the lead at the break, but it was still a half of missed opportunities for a team that should have led by two or more scores. They outgained the Utes 185-59 and came up with two takeaways. Yet kicker Jack Olsen missed two field goals – albeit one of 51 yards – and the offense was also stopped on downs at the Utah 1.

The theme continued in the third quarter, when Rod Heard II pounced on Glover’s fumble at the Utah 38 to give the Wildcats their third takeaway of the game. But once again, the Wildcats’ offense couldn’t do anything with their gift, handing the ball off on third-and-9 and then punting it back to Utah.

The game slowed in the third quarter from a crawl to a drag. The Wildcats’ offense ran nine plays for 13 yards and no first downs, while Utah managed just four first downs and 48 total yards.

Northwestern sustained two significant injuries to the offensive line on one possession. First, Jordan Knox, who started at guard in place of Josh Priebe, was hurt. So Zachary Franks came in at right tackle and Josh Thompson moved inside to guard. Then Thompson sustained a lower-body injury, though he returned on the following drive.

The game stayed that way, two teams battling it out in an ugly yet exciting slugfest, until Utah scored, and then NU answered to decide the game in the last quarter.

Braun tried to evade the typical bowl-game celebration after the game, but defensive end Jaylen Pate pushed him back into the splash zone of the Gatorade shower. He was sticky, but happy.

“I’m ready for a shower,” he said with a laugh postgame. “But you know what? If you’re getting showered with Gatorade, those are good problems.”