EVANSTON-All eyes were on Northwestern quarterback Ryan Hilinski making his first career start on Saturday.
But running back Evan Hull wound up stealing the spotlight.
Hull ran for 216 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Wildcats to a business-like 35-6 win over Ohio at Ryan Field.
Coming off of bitter loss to Duke last week, it was exactly what the Cats needed to even their record to 2-2 before opening Big Ten West play at Nebraska next Saturday. It wasn't always pretty, but the Wildcats ran for 373 yards and missed a shutout only when Ohio's Armani Rogers scored on a 55-yard run on the last play of the game.
In short, they did what a Big Ten team is supposed to do to an opponent from the Mid-American Conference.
Hull made some history in the first quarter, when he took a handoff straight up the middle, bounced it to the outside and streaked down the right sideline for a 90-yard TD, tied for the third-longest run in Northwestern history. That score was Hull’s second of the game and gave the Wildcats a 14-0 lead.
With Northwestern running all over Ohio, the Wildcats didn’t ask very much of Hilinski, who looked comfortable and in control in his first career start. For the most part, the transfer from South Carolina took what the defense gave him, dumping the ball off underneath to open receivers.
He finished the game 12-of-20 for 88 yards and didn't turn the ball over. Coming a week after Hunter Johnson's four-turnover performance, it was a welcome change for the Wildcats.
Hilinski made a couple of impressive throws to show off his arm strength, and he threw the ball away when things weren’t there. He also missed a couple targets. Unlike Johnson, Hilinski had the luxury of operating with a lead for most of the game, as well as a prolific ground game that’s always a new quarterback’s best friend.
Hilinski’s one whoops moment came in the second quarter, when a throw to Malik Washington in the flat deep in his own territory got tipped and wound up in the arms of Jett Elad at the 8-yard line. Luckily, NU averted disaster when Elad dropped what would have been a certain pick-6.
Northwestern’s defense, meanwhile, gave up some yards early but then settled down, often letting the Bobcats make mistakes to sabotage their own drives. The Wildcats had four sacks of Ohio quarterback Kurtis Rourke and generated three takeaways, while limiting Ohio to just 3-of-13 on third downs.
But the Wildcats also missed their share of open-field tackles, a recurring issue that has plagued them all season.
Rourke wound up 20-for-29 passing for 166 yards, with one interception and no touchdowns. Rogers led the Bobcats with 68 rushing yards, 55 on one play.
Ohio marched right into the red zone on the first possession of the game, but then committed a couple crucial penalties – throwing beyond the line of scrimmage and holding. Kicker Tristian Vendenberg then missed a 31-yard field goal, so after driving 61 yards and seeing Rourke go 7-for-7, the Bobcats wound up with nothing.
After Northwestern went three-and-out on its first possession, Ohio again got into Northwestern territory, but linebacker Chris Bergin stripped Rourke and Coco Azema recovered at the NU 41-yard line.
The Wildcats cashed in eight plays later when Hull bounced an handoff to the outside and outran the defense to the pylon for a 17-yard TD. Once the Wildcats got into the red zone, they ran two plays with freshman running back Anthony Tyus III at Wildcat quarterback, and then went with Hilinski taking snaps under the center and handing the ball to Hull.
The message was clear: the Wildcats wanted to pound the ball against an Ohio team that allowed 312 rushing yards the week before against Louisiana. Mission accomplished.
Hull’s 90-yarder came on the first play of the next drive to give the Wildcats a two-touchdown edge before the end of the first quarter. The game never seemed in doubt after that.
But the Wildcats had some issues deep in Ohio territory, failing to punch in a touchdown three times inside the Ohio 10-yard line.
Hilinski went 6-for-6 passing on a deep drive into Ohio territory in the second quarter, but, after earning a first down at the Ohio 6, the Wildcats short-yardage team failed to move the ball. A false start on fourth down convinced head coach Pat Fitzgerald to go for a field goal instead of the end zone, but kicker Charlie Kuhbander blew the chip-shot 24-yard kick.
Kuhbander made up for that miss when he made his second 24-yard attempt late in the second quarter to cap the first-half scoring. Once again, Northwestern had a first down at the 10 but couldn’t get into the end zone after Andrew Clair dropped a third-down pass.
It happened again early in the fourth quarter, when the Cats reached the Ohio 8 but failed to convert a third-down throw and settled for a 26-yard Kuhbander kick.
Northwestern’s defense, though, squeezed the life out of Ohio, for the most part. Only the Bobcats' first and last drives went for more than 40 yards. The Wildcats picked off two passes in the fourth quarter, courtesy of Brandon Joseph and Bryce Jackson.
Northwestern punched in two last TDs with Tyus, operating for most of the drive as a Wildcat quarterback, scoring one and seldom-used walkon Jake Arthurs getting the other.
