EVANSTON-The game wasn’t as pretty as the views of Lake Michigan, but Northwestern won its first-ever game at its temporary lakefront home on Saturday, 13-6, over a veteran and gritty Miami (Ohio) squad.

The weather was spectacular, sunny and clear. Boats were anchored along the shore beyond the east scoreboard at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. The crowd was a mostly purple sellout of 12,023. The school’s marketing department couldn’t have asked for better conditions.

Neither could head coach David Braun.

“It was awesome,” said Braun. “The stands were packed, it was a sellout, primarily purple in the stands… It’s one of the most unique settings in all of college football.”

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but the Wildcats didn’t play as well as their stadium looked. Especially the offense, which was often as disjointed as you might expect a unit with a new quarterback and new coordinator to be in its first game of the season.

But with a shutdown defense that allowed fewer than 300 yards, racked up four sacks and came up with two interceptions in the fourth quarter to seal the win, it didn’t matter that much.

And a win, after all, is a win.

Grad transfer Mike Wright, in his first start as Northwestern’s quarterback, had an up-and-down first half that included two fumbled snaps. The second one was particularly galling, coming at the Miami one-yard line, a cardinal sin that erased what looked like a sure touchdown.

Wright, outgoing and joyful after the game, had a simple way of explaining it.

“That was completely Mike Wright dropping the ball, getting too excited to score a touchdown,” he said.

Braun didn’t see a sputtering offense in the first half that managed just three points. He saw a team that just kept shooting themselves in the foot.

“Take a deep breath,” was his message at the half. “We’re moving the ball. We got things going. [It was] just self-inflicted wounds. Protect the football, keep moving the chains and things will take care of themselves.”

That’s exactly what happened in the second half.

Wright flashed his playmaking ability with a pair of plays on the first drive of the second half. First, he eluded the rush, got outside the pocket to draw in the defender, and then hit a wide-open Thomas Gordon for a 25-yard gain. The next play, he ran 13 yards for the only touchdown of the game.

That was all the defense needed, as Miami managed just a field goal in the second half.

Still, no matter the venue, it wouldn’t be a Northwestern game without some drama. Even though the Wildcats seemed to be in control for the entire game, it got tense in the closing minutes. A 45-yard field goal attempt by Jack Olsen sailed wide left with 2:56 left to leave the door open for the RedHawks.

But Robert Fitzgerald jumped a Brett Gabbert pass to Reggie Virgil and came up with the interception at the NU 35-yard line with 57 seconds left to sew up the victory.

Braun and the Wildcat players raved after the game about the new stadium, which went up in a matter of weeks this summer.

Wright, who threw for 178 yards and also led the Wildcats with 65 yards rushing, thanked all of the construction workers who helped build the structure.

Bryce Kirtz, who led Northwestern with six catches for 91 yards, said that the energy in the stadium surprised him.

“It was cool,” he said. “I didn’t expect it to be jumping as much as it was.”

Cornerback Evan Smith, who had the other interception for Northwestern in the final period off of a tipped pass, said he spent about 10 minutes before the game soaking in the atmosphere.

“It was surreal,” he said. “It was a fun environment.”

Fitzgerald appreciated the new stadium but said that once the ball was kicked off, he didn’t really noticed his surroundings.

“When you’re out there, you don’t really feel the noise,” he said. “It doesn’t matter If there are 10 people, 10,000 or 100,000, you’re just playing football.”

For Braun, the game offered the best of both worlds. His team got the win to move to 1-0, and he still has a lot of things to coach this week.

“It’s great to celebrate a victory,” he said, “but in all three phases, we feel like we have a lot of improving to do.”