EVANSTON-Northwestern got a 23-20 win over Howard on Saturday at Ryan Field, but it was far from the kind of win you’d expect from a Big Ten team playing an HBCU from the FCS ranks.

The Wildcats dominated the first half, but the Bison outscored them 20-7 in the second half and outgained them 352 to 312 for the game. Their score with 2:32 left made the Wildcats recover an onside kick to secure the win.

In other words, this was far from an easy ride for Northwestern, which experienced several bumps in the road.

The offense, directed by backup quarterback Brendan Sullivan, was both scintillating and aggravating, generating some impressive touchdown marches, as well as producing four three-and-outs and allowing four sacks, as many as Howard had in their first four games of the season.

The Wildcat defense absolutely dominated for a half but then got pushed around in the second as Howard’s offense found some rhythm and scored three touchdowns.

It was far from the methodical, consistent performance the Wildcats were looking for against a lower-division opponent.

But the end result is all that matters, and the win enables the Wildcats to go into their bye week with a 3-3 record, better than virtually anyone expected at the halfway point of the season. Northwestern may even be poised to make a run over the final half of the season in a very wobbly Big Ten West division.

On the first drive of the game, Sullivan, playing for the injured Ben Bryant, led the Wildcats through Howard like a Big Ten offense playing against an FCS defense should. Sullivan went 2-for-2 passing for 22 yards on the drive, which was capped by his 35-yard run down the right sideline on a keeper for a touchdown.

They then closed the half with an impressive 14-play touchdown drive that covered 77 yards, generated six first downs and ate 5:31 off the clock to give the Cats a 16-0 lead at the break. Sixty-two of the yards came on the ground, but Sullivan topped it off with a four-yard TD strike to Bryce Kirtz with just 23 seconds left in the first half.

Between those two bookend drives, however, the Wildcats offense struggled to do much of anything. On four possessions, they ran 19 plays for 25 total yards, as Sullivan completed just 2-for-5 for 25 yards and was sacked three times.

Fortunately, Northwestern’s defense came to play. While the offense vacillated, they were as steady as a metronome, limiting Howard to just 93 yards and four first downs in the half.

The defense even got in on the scoring. On Howard's second drive, Xander Mueller put pressure on Howard QB Quinton Williams, who was throwing out of his own end zone. Williams got rid of the ball but was called for intentional grounding, giving Northwestern a safety and Mueller a sack.

Howard pieced together one sustained drive in the first half, reaching the Wildcats 20. But on fourth-and-2, Mueller made another big play, knifing in to dump Eden James for a three-yard loss to snuff the drive and give the Wildcats the ball.

The Wildcats looked to be in control at halftime, but the tables turned quickly in the third quarter as Howard’s offense began to move the ball.

Howard marched 74 yards on a whopping 17 plays for a touchdown on their first possession of the third quarter to cut the Wildcat lead to 16-7. Williams did most of the damage through the air, completing 6 of 10 passes for 57 yards as the Bison converted six first downs, two more than they had in the entire first half, and ate up 7:49. (In a curious call, the Bison opted to kick the extra point, even though a two-point conversion could have made it a one-score game.)

The Bison’s momentum proved to be short-lived, as Northwestern quickly answered with a 35-yard scoring strike from Sullivan to Cam Johnson to increase the lead to 23-7.

Howard’s offense mounted another drive of double-digit plays, reaching the Northwestern 9-yard line. But there, the defense rose up. Richie Hagarty sacked Williams for an eight-yard loss on third down, and then a blitz by Mueller, for the second time in the game, forced Williams to intentionally ground the ball on fourth down to turn the ball back over to the Wildcats.

Just when the Wildcats thought they could breathe easier, Howard running back Eden James, the son of former NFL great Edgerrin James, broke through the middle and sprinted down the right sideline for a 64-yard touchdown run. The Bison had a chance to cut the lead to one score, but Williams’ pass on the two-point conversion attempt fell incomplete, so NU’s lead was cut to 23-13.

Howard wasn’t done yet, however. They drove 63 yards and scored yet another touchdown on Jarret Hunter’s one-yard touchdown run to produce the final margin and force the Wildcats’ Rod Heard II to recover an onside kick for the victory.

Sullivan finished 13-of-18 passing for 131 yards and two touchdowns, while Cam Porter led the Wildcats with 78 yards rushing.