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Suddenly explosive Wildcats destroy Maryland

EVANSTON-It was surprising to see Northwestern play Maryland in front of about 46,000 empty seats at Ryan Field due to coronavirus restrictions. It was disarming not to see a marching band or cheerleaders or Willie the Wildcat.

But nothing was as shocking at what happened on the gridiron, under the lights. There, the new-look Wildcats’ exploded for 537 yards of offense and ran the overwhelmed Terrapins off the field in a 43-3 victory in the season opener.

The win gave head coach Pat Fitzgerald, already the winningest coach in Northwestern history, his 100th career victory.

Northwestern fans were hopeful that new offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian and grad transfer quarterback Peyton Ramsey would breathe life into a dormant offense that averaged just 16.3 points and 297 yards per game last season. But no one could have expected what the Wildcats unleashed on the Terps.

The 43 points was the most for the Wildcats in a Big Ten game since a 45-17 beatdown of Purdue on Nov. 12, 2016. Ramsey went 23-for-30 for 212 yards and a touchdown through the air, and added 47 yards and another score on the ground. Drake Anderson led all rushers with 103 yards on just 10 carries, and had a 37-yard TD run, while Isaiah Bowser finished with 70 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.

The defense, meanwhile, shut down the Terrapins after allowing a field goal on their first drive. Maryland didn’t hit the 100-yard mark until less than two minutes remained in the third quarter, and the Wildcats picked off three passes.

The Terrapins finished with just 171 yards of total offense. Taulia Tagovailoa went 14-of-25 passing for 94 yards and three interceptions, while Jake Funk led the team with just 35 yards rushing.

But the talk of the night, deservedly so, was the offense. Northwestern rang up 336 yards and 30 points by halftime. In the first half alone, Ramsey threw for 178 yards, and the ground game chewed up 158 yards and tallied three touchdowns, to go along with three Charlie Kuhbander field goals.

While Maryland’s defense isn’t going to make anyone forget the 1985 Bears, the bottom line is that the Wildcats’ offense may have had trouble generating those offensive numbers without another team on the field last season.

Ironically, Maryland drew first blood in this one after going right down the field on its first possession. Tagovailoa completed his first three passes and Funk ripped off a 24-yard run to the NU 23-yard line.

But once the Terrapins reached the NU 12, the defense rose up and lived up to its “bend but don’t break” reputation. First, an unblocked Eku Leota knifed in to drill Isaiah Jacobs for a 5-yard loss. Then, Blake Gallagher sniffed out a middle screen and dumped Jacobs for no gain to force Maryland to settle for a 33-yard Joseph Petrino field goal.

The rest of the game was a purple wave.

Northwestern’s offense took over and looked very different than it had in all of 2019. Ramsey fired an 11-yard dart on third-and-10 to Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman for a first down and the Wildcats started running tempo.

Isaiah Bowser ran for 13 yards and Kyric McGowan for 8. Bowser ran it 7 times for 29 yards on the ground, Ramsey went 3-for-5 through the air and the Wildcats’ 14-play, 75-yard drive paid off when Bowser followed lead fullback Joe Spivak – yes, 300-pound defensive tackle Joe Spivak – in for a 1-yard TD.

The defense then snagged its first turnover of 2020 on the ensuing Maryland possession, when Alonzo Hampton jumped up to pick a Tagovailoa aerial at the NU 45. The suddenly explosive offense went to work again. Ramsey hit Malik Washington for 23 yards, then John Raine for 19. Finally, Ramsey kept it, diving for the pylon and a 12-yard touchdown run to give the Wildcats a 14-3 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

JR Pace added a leaping, twisting interception to give the Wildcats two in the first quarter after collecting just seven all of last season.

Kuhbander hit a 43-yard field goal to extend the Wildcats’ lead to 17-3 with 9:04 left in the second quarter. The Wildcats struck again, 3:21 later, when Anderson got loose on the right side, cut back and wound his way through the Terrapin defense to the left sideline, where he coasted in for a 37-yard touchdown run to make it 24-3 with 5:43 left.

They weren’t done, either. Jacobs fumbled the ensuing kickoff and true freshman Cameron Porter recovered it at the Maryland 23 to set up a Kuhbander 23-yard field goal with 3:23 left. Finally, the Wildcats went hurry-up on their final possession, generating a quick 56-yard drive to set up one more Kuhbander 3-pointer – again from 43 yards – to cap the scoring in the first half.

While all the fireworks were happening on the offensive side of the ball, the Northwestern defense was quietly dominant. They limited the Terps to just 86 yards in the first half.

Northwestern’s offense began the second half and picked up where it left off, going 75 yards on 17 plays to take 8:30 off the clock and push the lead to 37-3. The drive effectively ended any potential drama and included a 6-yard Bowser run on fourth-and-1.

The Wildcats started emptying their bench to start the fourth quarter. Safety Coco Azema came up with his first career interception to provide a fourth takeaway.

Backup quarterback Andrew Marty replaced Ramsey at quarterback on the ensuing drive and the second unit found the end zone when Evan Hull raced around the end for a 30-yard touchdown to provide the final score of the contest.

Hunter Johnson entered the game at quarterback on the Wildcats’ final possession of the game.

Northwestern (1-0) travels to Iowa (0-1) next week for a Big Ten West showdown.

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