EVANSTON-Northwestern sent Ryan Field off in style, and the fans even stormed the field after the Wildcats beat Purdue 23-15.
But as was so often the case in the 97-year-old stadium on Central Street in Evanston, it wasn’t easy.
Northwestern (6-5, 4-4 Big Ten) scored touchdowns on two straight possessions to take a commanding 23-7 lead early in the fourth quarter. But Purdue scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion to make it a one-score game, and then got the ball back.
The Boilermakers (3-8, 2-6) drove to the Northwestern 34-yard line when, on a third-and-3, Xander Mueller picked off a Ryan Browne pass in the flat to sew up the victory.
It was the crucial sixth win of the season for the Wildcats, and it clinched bowl eligibility for a team that had an over-under of 2.5 wins to start the season. And it happened in the official debut of David Braun, who had his interim tag removed and signed a five-year contract to be the school's 30th head coach on Thursday.
All in all, it was a big day for the program. The end of one era and the start of another.
Ben Bryant threw for 230 yards, with one touchdown and one interception, and Cam Porter ran for 95 yards and two more TDs as the Wildcats posted their second straight win for the first time all season. They won five of their six games at Ryan Field, which opened in 1926 and is scheduled to be razed and rebuilt over the next two years – assuming that the Evanston City Council approves the plan in a Monday vote, as expected.
Northwestern held just a 9-7 lead late in the third quarter when an offense that had been mostly sleepwalking since the opening drive of the game snapped out of its funk. On a second down near midfield, Purdue blitzed cornerback Markevious Brown and Bryant threw a quick hot route to Cam Johnson in the vacated area. Johnson made a jump cut to get past safety Dillon Thienemann, and he was gone, 52 yards for a score and a 16-7 Wildcat lead.
On their next possession, Bryant hit Johnson on a go route down the sideline for 31 yards. Then, four plays later, Porter ran through a gaping hole up the middle and sprinted 34 yards for the touchdown to make it 23-7 with 12:08 left in the fourth quarter.
Purdue wouldn’t let the Wildcats breathe easy, though. Tyrone Tracy, who ran for a game-high 160 yards and a touchdown, busted one straight up the middle for 57 yards before Hollis made a great effort play to run him down at the NU 7-yard line. The Boilers were stopped on the next three plays before Devon Mockobee finally broke the plane for a touchdown, and Deion Burks ran it in the two-point conversion to cut the Wildcat lead to one score at 23-15.
After a Northwestern three-and-out, Wildcat fans chewed their nails until Mueller came up with the interception to seal the game.
Northwestern drew first blood with a lightning-quick opening drive that covered 53 yards in less than two minutes and was capped by a Porter 7-yard touchdown run. The big blow was a spectacular throw by Bryant to a streaking AJ Henning for 35 yards down the sideline. It was a flawless first drive, until a botched snap on the extra point left the Cats with just a 6-0 lead.
The Wildcat pass rush took care of business on the other side of the ball. Anto Saka’s sack of Bennett Meredith on third down forced a punt on the Boilers’ first drive, and then Carmine Bastone’s strip sack of Ryan Browne – the second member of Purdue’s QB rotation – caused a 20-yard loss that ultimately resulted in a missed 44-yard field goal attempt by Ben Freehill.
The Wildcats finished the game with three sacks, while Purdue dropped Bryant five times.
Purdue eventually managed to get Tracy and the ground game going. They drove deep into Northwestern territory twice, only to be stoned by the Wildcats’ short-yardage defense to turn the ball over on downs both times – with a little help from officials’ spots.
The first time, the Boilers reached the NU 13-yard line for a first down before things backfired on them. An official review overturned the first-down call, so the Boilers faced a third-and-1. They sent Tracy into the line twice, and the Cats stuffed him both times – first for a loss of one, and then for no gain – to give the Wildcats the ball.
Northwestern’s offense punted the ball back to Purdue, however, and the Boilers marched right back into the red zone. They converted a third-and-1 at the NU 9 this time around, and then Browne scrambled in for the touchdown after getting flushed out of the pocket.
Or so we thought. The officials ruled that Browne was down inside the 1, leaving the Boilers with a second-and-goal. A pass to Burks lost a yard. A run up the middle by Tracy got them back to the 1. Facing a fourth-and-1, the Boilers went to Tracy again, and he was drilled by Rod Heard II and PJ Spencer for no gain. Northwestern ball.
Purdue got into Northwestern territory a third time in the half, but a fumble by Meredith was recovered by Richie Hagarty.
It looked Purdue would run out the clock in the first half before Browne, throwing out of his own end zone, threw a pick right into the hands of Hollis at the Purdue 20. Northwestern, though, couldn’t take advantage of the gift as Bryant got sacked for the fifth time of the half, and Jack Olsen’s 38-yard field goal try was wide right.
The third quarter began with three straight punts until Purdue made a big mistake. TJ Sheffield let Hunter Renner’s punt go through his hands, and Greyson Metz recovered his fumble at the Purdue 21-yard line.
Northwestern couldn’t generate a first down, but Olsen hit a 30-yard field goal to give the Cats a 9-0 lead halfway through the third.
The Wildcats had a two-score lead and were still pitching a shutout when Purdue finally got on the board. The Boilers went 72 yards in nine plays, the big ones coming on a 25-yard pass to Mockobee and a 20-yard touchdown run by Tracy to make it 9-7 with 3:59 left in the third.
Purdue won the yardage battle, 443-329, but had four turnovers and turned the ball over on downs three times.
The win moved Northwestern into second place in the Big Ten West. The Wildcats close their regular season at Illinois next week.
