Northwestern pushed undefeated No. 11 Penn State to the brink, but couldn't pull off the upset in a rain-drenched 17-7 loss in Happy Valley. Head coach Pat Fitzgerald has harped on winning the turnover battle all season, and turnovers decided the outcome once again. Penn State's offense delivered on the chances their defense gave them, Northwestern didn't.
Northwestern's defense created an outstanding five turnovers, forcing four fumbles and intercepting quarterback Sean Clifford once. Penn State entered this game with one turnover on the season before Northwestern started practicing what Fitz preached.
Xander Mueller, Jeremiah Lewis, Cam Mitchell and Greyson Metz all recovered a fumble, and Bryce Gallagher laid out to snag an errant Clifford throw. Safe to say, the Nittany Lions didn't leave the game with their 9:1 turnover ratio intact.
"It was a valiant performance by our defense tonight," Fitzgerald said.
Xander Mueller leads the team with three turnovers after this game and said it was just a result of the team's hard work and execution.
"We work on [turnovers] every week in practice," Mueller said. "We executed and had a lot of guys step up to the plate."
The Wildcats gave up 360 yards and allowed only 17 points to a team that was averaging double that headed into the game. But, Northwestern's offense was unable to generate any points off of turnovers, spelling doom for the upset bid.
Five opportunities, starting on average at the PSU 47, led to zero points. Penn State did Northwestern no such favors. They forced three turnovers, all in the first half, and converted them into 14 points.
"We have to score points," Fitzgerald said. "I don't think we scored off any of our turnovers."
Without a doubt, the weather played a factor. Both offenses bogged down as most of the game was played in a driving rain. It's hard to level too much anger or blame at the Northwestern offense in that context, but it's equally hard not to think the Wildcats left an upset bid on the table because they couldn't put more than seven points on the board.
Northwestern's offense was stymied across the board for almost the entire game. Hilinski mustered only 210 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions, Evan Hull only had 11 carries for 45 yards. There was a brief swing in momentum when Hilinski connected with Jacob Gill on a 47-yard touchdown pass, and followed it up by marching down the field on a 10-play, 74-yard drive on Northwestern's next possession.
Hilinski attempted to cap it off with a sneak on fourth-and-goal from the 1 to cut the lead to just three, but his twisting dive was marked short and the Wildcats turned it over on downs. Penn State's offense took the field, and took back control of the game.
"We felt like if we got into the fourth quarter and made it a one score game [on the sneak], that we could find a way to get out of here with a win," Fitzgerald said. "Obviously a big stop by them down on the goal line. I look forward to watching the tape, but it was the turning point in the game to be honest."
This was a heartbreaking loss for the Wildcats, but Pat Fitzgerald's optimism headed into this game in the face of two devastating losses now makes sense. This team showed heart, grit, and determination, and almost pulled off a season and program-defining upset.
"We were just a few plays away, but that was a hell of a Big Ten football game," Fitzgerald said.
The Wildcats had every reason to pack it in and get rolled over by a heavily favored Penn State after losses to Southern Illinois and Miami at home. Instead, they came out and dragged the No. 11 team in the country down into a bare knuckles brawl in the mud at their house.
"We ended up a play or two short, which is disappointing because I felt our guys fought their tails off," Fitzgerald said.
The Big Ten West division remains wide open. If Northwestern can bring the team that showed up to today to play against Wisconsin next week, or any conference foe that isn't Ohio State, they will be in the mix.
