Northwestern outlasts Illinois in wild shootout to reclaim the Hat
Most of America was watching other rivalry games on Saturday, but Northwestern and Illinois may have been the most entertaining matchup of the day.
The Wildcats (7-5, 5-4 Big Ten) outlasted the Illini, 45-43, in a game that saw six turnovers, two Northwestern touchdowns within nine seconds, a 55-yard Illinois pick-6, and an Illini 80-yard touchdown pass with less than a minute left. It was also, in the end, decided by a failed two-point conversion.
The 117th meeting of Northwestern and Illinois turned out to be the highest-scoring game in the history of a rivalry that dates to 1892. Eighty-eight combined points resulted in Northwestern bringing the Land of Lincoln Trophy back to Evanston for the first time since 2020.
Saturday afternoon's shootout was also the last game of the much-maligned, low-scoring Big Ten West, which is getting dissolved after this season. It turned out to be maybe the wildest game in the division’s 10-year history.
John Paddock threw two interceptions in the game but totaled 334 yards and three touchdowns passing for the Illini (5-7, 3-6). Northwestern’s Ben Bryant threw for 234 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions, including a pick-6.
Northwestern’s 45 points more than doubled its season average coming into the game. Fourteen of those points came in a nine-second span of the fourth quarter, when two Illinois special teams turnovers resulted in Northwestern touchdowns.
First, Illinois return man Isaiah Willliams muffed Hunter Renner’s punt and, after the ball bounced in and out of a few sets of hands, Ray Niro III fell on it at the Illinois 18. Bryant found Bryce Kirtz for a first down, and then the quarterback, who is not exactly known for being fleet of foot, ran it in for an eight-yard TD and a 35-31 lead with 10:04 left.
Then, on the ensuing kickoff, NU’s Braydon Brus drilled Kenari Wilcher at the 15-yard line, and Garner Wallace scooped up his fumble and scored. Suddenly, the Wildcats were up by two scores, 42-31, with 9:55 left.
If you thought at that point that NU might be able to coast home, you were sadly mistaken.
Paddock hit Washington for a short gain in the flat, and he took it 73 yards to the Northwestern 3-yard line before Rod Heard II dragged him down. Washington had a monster game for the Illini, finishing with nine catches for 218 yards and three touchdowns.
The Wildcats’ goal-line defense then stopped three plays inside the 2, but on fourth down Paddock found Washington for a one-yard TD. The Illini went for two to try and pull within a field goal, but the pass was dropped in the end zone, so NU held a 42-37 lead.
After Tyler Strain picked off a Bryant pass at his own 5-yard line, Mueller intercepted a Paddock pass at the Illinois 26-yard line that was first tipped by Devin Turner. Northwestern couldn’t do anything with the ball, but Jack Olsen’s 46-yard field goal just sneaked over the crossbar by inches to push the Wildcat lead to eight, 45-37, with just 2:55 left.
Again, the game was far from over.
Northwestern exhausted Illinois' timeouts but opted to take a delay of game and punt from the Illinois 35. Renner's boot wound up as a touchback, and the Illini were back in business with 94 yards to go and 1:14 to get it done.
Paddock hit Washington on a crossing route, and Washington took it 80 yards for a touchdown with just 55 seconds left to bring Illinois to within two points. But on the Illinois two-point try that would have tied the game, Paddock’s pass hit Carmine Bastone’s helmet and then got tipped by Xander Mueller to fall incomplete in the end zone.
An offsides call on Thomas Gordon meant Illinois got a second onside-kick attempt, but Marshall Lang fell on that one, as well, and the Wildcats sealed the win.
The flurry of scoring that got the game to nearly 90 points started early and often.
Northwestern drew first blood in the contest, after Jaheem Joseph picked off a tipped Paddock throw over the middle and returned it to the Illinois 26-yard line. That set up a 10-yard touchdown pass from Bryant to Cam Johnson, who climbed the ladder to high-point the ball in the end zone for a 7-0 Wildcat lead with 8:54 left in the first quarter.
The Illini responded by marching right back down the field until Paddock bobbled a snap on third-and-1 and lost a yard, making Illinois settle for a 42-yard Caleb Griffin field goal.
Northwestern’s ensuing drive looked dead after a third-down sack by Jer’Zhan Newton, but Strain was called for pass interference; that not only extended the drive but sparked the Wildcat offense. Bryant threw to Niro for 9 yards, and Johnson over the middle for 18. Then Anthony Tyus III took over, carrying the ball three straight times for 18, 7 and 1 yard for a touchdown to make it 14-3 early in the second quarter.
But once again, as would be the theme all afternoon, Illinois counter-punched. They converted a fourth-and-1 at the NU 33-yard line and then capped their nine-play drive with a nine-yard touchdown pass from Paddock to Washington, who went up over Theran Johnson in the corner to close the gap to 14-10.
Illinois then had a first-and-goal at the NU 9-yard line, but Reggie Love III was dumped for a one-yard loss, and then Jaylen Pate sacked Paddock for a nine-yard loss. Again, the Illini had to settle for a Griffin field goal, this one a chip shot from 24 yards out, to make it 14-13.
That’s when Northwestern made its own big mistake. Bryant badly overthrew a fade route down the sideline, and Miles Scott picked it off and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown to give Illinois its first lead at 20-14.
You might assume that, after just giving up a pick-6, Northwestern would just run out the clock at its own 25 with 1:09 left. Nope, the Wildcats let Bryant rip it.
He went 5-for-5 through the air, the big strike coming on a 20-yarder to Johnson to the Illinois 1. Tyus got the call but fumbled the ball as he crossed the goal line. No problem: guard Dom D’Antonio somehow came up with the football in the end zone to give the Wildcats the touchdown and a 21-20 lead with just eight seconds left in the half.
Bryant picked up in the second half right where he left off in the first. He went 5-for-5 again to lead an 89-yard touchdown drive. The big strikes were a 42-yarder down the sideline to Johnson, and then a five-yard fade to Henning for the touchdown.
At that point, Northwestern led 28-20 and looked to be in control. But that’s when the Illinois offense regained some momentum. The Illini scored on another Griffin field goal, and then marched 73 yards for the touchdown that came on a pass from wide receiver Williams to wide receiver Pat Bryant. After Tip Reimer caught the two-point conversion pass, the Illini had a 31-28 lead.
That’s when back-to-back Illinois special teams miscues altered the game once again.
Cam Porter ran for 69 yards to lead Northwestern, while Johnson wound up with seven catches for 124 yards and a TD. Love led Illinois with 106 rushing yards
The win gave Northwestern a seventh win to cap a season in which the over/under for wins this season was set by Las Vegas at 2.5. It also means the Wildcats finished in second place in the West, behind only Iowa.
The loss also means that Illinois failed to clinch its all-important sixth win and will stay home for the holidays.