Cats come back to win third straight

EVANSTON-They say good things come in threes. That was certainly the case for Northwestern on Saturday.

The Wildcats moved to 3-0 with a hard-fought 21-13 win over Nebraska on an uncharacteristically warm and sunny November day at Ryan Field. That matches their win total for all of 2019. It’s also the first 3-0 Big Ten start of head coach Pat Fitzgerald’s career, and the first for the program in 20 years.

That 2000 Wildcat team won a share of the Big Ten championship that season. This one has to be considered the favorite to win the Big Ten West at this early juncture as the only squad in the division with a 3-0 record.

But it wasn’t easy as Northwestern had to rally in the second half for the second straight week.

The Wildcats trailed 13-7 at the half but came from behind for the win behind two touchdown passes from Peyton Ramsey and two well-timed interceptions to end Nebraska scoring drives deep in NU territory.

Even the last minute was frantic as Nebraska made it to the Northwestern 14-yard line before a Luke McCaffrey fourth-down pass fell incomplete to end the drama.

The Wildcat defense pitched a shutout in the second half for the third time this season and has yet to be scored upon after halftime. The Huskers gained 442 total yards and made six trips into Northwestern’s red zone but came away with just a touchdown and two field goals.

Ramsey overcame two interceptions in the first half to finish 16 of 27 for 169 yards, with two TDs and two interceptions. He went an impressive 11 for 15 for 118 yards and both scores after halftime.

Drake Anderson, starting for the injured Isaiah Bowser, led the Wildcats with 89 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Brandon Joseph and Chris Bergin both came up with interceptions to erase Husker scoring chances.

Nebraska's two quarterbacks, Adrian Martinez and McCaffrey, combined to go 24 of 43 passing for 218 yards with two interceptions. Martinez also led all rushers with 102 yards on the ground.

Next man up is a familiar refrain in football, and it was demonstrated by both teams in the first half.

With Bowser out with a nagging injury, Anderson ripped off a 41-yard touchdown run on the Wildcats’ first drive to stake them to a 7-0 lead. On the Nebraska side, backup safety Myles Farmer picked off two passes in the first half while playing for starter Deontai Williams, who was benched for the first half for targeting in the Huskers’ last game against Ohio State.

The news that Bowser, Northwestern’s leading rusher, would not play was a game-day decision and seemed like a blow to the Wildcats’ chances. But Anderson quickly allayed those concerns by running three times for 56 yards on the Wildcats’ opening drive. Peyton Ramsey went 3-for-3 for 23 yards through the air on the seven-play, 80-yard drive, and Northwestern’s offense looked like a well-oiled machine.

It turned out to be fools’ gold as the Wildcats’ next six possessions of the half resulted in a total of 54 yards and two Ramsey interceptions.

The Huskers, meanwhile, racked up 226 yards in the half and, when they didn’t shoot themselves in the foot with penalties or miscues, gave Northwestern’s defense fits. They reached the NU red zone on three consecutive drives but had just six points to show for it, as kicker Connor Culp hit 38- and 36-yard field goals, but then missed a 38-yarder. They were also flagged five times in the first half, including three times on their opening possession.

With Nebraska trailing 7-6 with less than two minutes left in the half, Farmer, who intercepted a tipped pass earlier in the second quarter, made the biggest play of the game for the Huskers. He stepped in front a telegraphed Ramsey throw to the sideline on the NU 40 and returned it all the way to the 3-yard line. Dedrick Mills ran it in on the next play to give Nebraska a 13-7 lead with 1:32 left in the half.

Ramsey, who was sacked once and hurried nine times in the game, completed just 6 of 13 passes for 51 yards in the first half, along with those two picks and a fumble he recovered himself.

Ramsey quickly atoned for his lackluster first half on the first drive of the third quarter. He ran or threw on seven of NU's 10 plays, accounting for 48 of the 61 yards, as the Wildcats retook the lead, 14-13. Ramsey notched the touchdown on a 2-yard pass to Raine, the grad transfer’s first as a Wildcat.

The Huskers had a golden scoring opportunity thwarted near the end of the third quarter. Starting at their own 8, they drove to the NU 25, thanks to 19- and 20-yard runs by Martinez and a big holding call against Greg Newsome.

But Joseph leaped to pick off Martinez’s throw into the end zone to end the threat. It was the redshirt freshman’s third pick over the last two weeks and sent the game into the fourth quarter with Northwestern leading 14-13.

The Wildcats pinned Nebraska deep in its own end, and a nifty 36-yard punt return by Riley Lees gave them the ball at the Husker 44-yard line. A Ramsey screen to Evan Hull picked up 21, then a third-down pass to Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman netted 15. Finally, Ramsey hit Lees over the middle, and he used a spin move and dove into the end zone for a 10-yard TD and a 21-13 Wildcat lead.

But Nebraska wasn’t done yet. Behind McCaffrey, the Huskers drove all the way down to the NU 4-yard line, greatly aided by two pass interference calls near the goal line against the Wildcats’ Newsome and JR Pace.

On second-and-goal, McCaffrey’s pass was deflected into the air and Bergin came down with it to smother Nebraska’s best chance at tying the score. It was Northwestern’s eighth interception of the season, surpassing their total of seven for all of 2019.

Nebraska got the ball one more time down but couldn’t dent the goal line.

Northwestern plays 2-0 Purdue next week in a game that could have a big impact in the Big Ten West race.