EVANSTON-There was some good and some bad in Northwestern’s lackluster 24-6 win over Indiana State on Saturday at Ryan Field.
The Wildcats started this game looking every bit like a Big Ten team playing an overmatched FCS opponent. But after taking a 14-0 lead over Indiana State in the first quarter, the offense fell apart and couldn’t get out of its own way.
Fortunately, the defense and special teams were there to pick up the slack as the Wildcats emerged with a victory to even its record at 1-1 on a sun-splashed afternoon.
The Wildcats came out roaring in this one, racking up 172 yards and scoring touchdowns on their first two drives of the game. But after that, the offense went into a deep freeze, generating just 43 yards over its next eight possessions while scoring three points and turning the ball over twice.
On the bright side, Northwestern’s defense looked like its 2020 self in limiting Indiana State to 169 total yards and pitching a shutout until just 3:32 remained in the game.
The special teams did its share of damage, too, with 166 yards in punt returns, including a 65-yarder from Brandon Joseph.
Add it all up, and it was a strange, mixed bag for Northwestern. The defense, in particular, addressed its sloppy play in its season-opening loss to Michigan State last Friday night. But the offense seemed to regress.
Hunter Johnson finished with just 66 yards passing, with one touchdown and one interception. He was also sacked twice and at times looked maybe too willing to pull the ball down and run.
Northwestern’s ground game did most of the decidedly not-heavy lifting. Evan Hull finished with 119 yards, though he had 100 midway through the second quarter.
While Northwestern’s attack may have been anemic, it was decidedly better than Indiana State’s. Anthony Thompson was 21-of-34 passing, for 132 yards, with the one score, which came in garbage time. The Sycamores managed just 31 yards on 22 carries on the ground, including three sacks for -18.
Northwestern started the game with a methodical show of force. The Wildcats went 80 yards in 11 plays, all but one of them runs, to take a 7-0 lead at the 9:48 mark. Hull was the No. 1 option, with seven carries for 51 yards, including the three-yard touchdown, but Anthony Tyus III and Andrew Clair also got carries as the Wildcats had their way with the Sycamore front.
After forcing an Indiana State punt, the Wildcats went right back down the field on their second possession, with Malik Washington scoring his first career touchdown on a 25-yard pass from Johnson.
But then, that offensive dominance disappeared in a dull slog of a second quarter that featured 73 total yards by both teams combined. Northwestern’s next four offensive possessions resulted in just 36 total yards as the Wildcats punted three times and lost a fumble.
Indiana State gift-wrapped a scoring opportunity when return man Michael Haupert fumbled a punt return to Xander Mueller at the ISU 32. But the Wildcats failed to capitalize, as Johnson and Hull fumbled an exchange to give the Sycamores the ball right back.
On the next drive, with Northwestern facing a third-and-3, Heath Stephen came steaming right through a double-team to sack Johnson for a 10-yard loss.
Northwestern got two big returns from Joseph in the third quarter to give them the ball deep in ISU territory. But the offense went backwards both times and the Wildcats scored just three points.
With No. 1 return man Bryce Kirtz sidelined with an apparent injury, Joseph returned a punt 46 yards to set up the Wildcats at the IU 27-yard line. But the offense lost two yards on three plays and had to settle for a Charlie Kuhbander 47-yard field goal to extend Northwestern’s lead to 17-0. The kick was a confidence boost for the super senior after he missed both of his field goals in last week’s loss to MSU.
Joseph then one-upped himself by returning the next punt 65 yards to the ISU 18. Again, Northwestern’s offense went in reverse, losing 10 yards on an ill-conceived reverse and another 10 on a holding call.
Head coach Pat Fitzgerald then added to the overall weirdness by electing to go for it on a fourth-and-23 at the Indiana State 31-yard line. It would have been about a 48-yard field goal attempt for Kuhbander, one series after he hit a 47-yarder, making the decision questionable.
But Fitzgerald defended his decision after the game, saying he was in “no man’s land” and a no-win situation. Johnson’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete and Northwestern had nothing to show for another drive that started in the red zone.
Northwestern’s offense finally got back into gear in the fourth quarter when Hull scored on a 13-yard run to make it 24-0. Again it was a punt return, this one a 19-yarder by a dancing Ray Niro III, to set the Cats up at the ISU 30.
Indiana State finally got on the board with the game well in hand to ruin the Wildcats’ shutout.
After the game, Fitzgerald said he was proud of the defense and disappointed in his offense. It was that kind of a day in Evanston.
