Takeaways: Northwestern 28 Illinois 10

Northwestern beat Illinois 28-10 on Saturday to claim its sixth straight Land of Lincoln Trophy over their in-state rivals.

Here are our five takeaways:

Northwestern ran for an abysmal 167 yards combined in their last three games leading into Saturday. After Drake Anderson fumbled on Northwestern's first snap of the game, Cam Porter took over as the lead back for the Cats and turned in a outstanding performance.

Porter finished with 24 carries, three times more than he had in his entire career entering today, for 142 yards and a pair of scores. A 220-pound true freshman, Porter brought toughness to a Northwestern running game that had been lacking it.

Porter first showcased his downhill running style on a 31-yard run where he broke multiple tackles to set up Northwestern's first touchdown. He finished off the next two touchdown drives, both out of the Wildcat formation. The first was from a yard out and the second one he took around the left edge from 18 yards out.

Amazingly, Porter, who didn't carry the ball after the third quarter, wasn't even the Wildcats' leading rusher. That would be Evan Hull. The redshirt freshman flashed his big-play ability by ripping off a touchdown run of 32 yards and a 50-yard run in the fourth quarter, Northwestern's longest play of the season. Hull finished the day with 13 carries for 149 yards and the aforementioned score.

Peyton Ramsey chipped in 47 yards on nine carries and Kyric McGowan added 34 yards on a pair of jet sweeps. For a team that couldn't crack 150 rushing yards since the season opener, 411 yards on 7.1 yards per carry was quite the reversal, and something Northwestern hopes to keep going into Indianapolis next week for the Big Ten championship game.

Ramsey played by far his worst game as a Wildcat against Michigan State in his last time out. He completed less than 50% of his passes threw a pair of interceptions. He seemed to force the ball and almost threw a couple additional picks.

Ramsey didn't even crack 100 yards passing against the Illini, but he got back to making smart plays and doing what Northwestern needed, when they needed it. Besides, in the windy and wet conditions at Ryan Field, his 7-of-12 passing for 82 yards and a touchdown was impressive.

All but 10 of Ramsey's passing yards went to fellow senior McGowan. He hit a wide open Charlie Mangieri for Northwestern's first touchdown of the game from two yards out. He also tacked on a season-high 47 yards on the ground.

Maybe Ramsey's best play of the day came on Northwestern's mauling 17-play touchdown drive right before halftime. Northwestern faced a fourth-and-8 from the Illinois 39-yard line. Porter had done almost all the work on the drive to this point, but Ramsey stepped up when his team needed him, calmly hung in the pocket and waited until McGowan came open over the middle. He put the ball right on McGowan's No. 8 for a 17-yard gain and a first down. Having an effective running game again helped Ramsey get back to being a game-manager, which is what he excels at.

Northwestern's defense has been their backbone all season, but they faltered a little against Michigan State, allowing a season-high 23 points and for the Spartans to convert 10 of 21 third-down attempts.

The Wildcats got back to doing what they do best against Illinois. Led by their Irish law firm of linebackers, the Cats starting defense allowed Illinois to score only three points and convert just three of 12 third downs.

The three aforementioned Irishmen -- Blake Gallagher, Paddy Fisher and Chris Bergin -- combined for 17 tackles and attacked the line of scrimmage to shut down Illinois' rushing attack after the first quarter. Defensive linemen like Earnest Brown IV and Adetomiwa Adebawore made key stops in the running game, but more importantly they didn't get too far up field on pass plays to allow escape lanes for Illinois' quarterbacks.

This was something that both Fisher and Brown said the defense focused on during the extra week of preparation. That work seemed to pay off.

After the loss to Michigan State, head coach Pat Fitzgerald had to answer multiple questions about his fourth-down decision making that put the Wildcats in an early hole. He vowed to stay aggressive, that's exactly what he did against the Illini.

The Wildcats were five-for-seven on fourth-down attempts against Illinois, and one of those misses was in the fourth quarter on a play where Andrew Marty could've gotten the first down easily if he had pulled the ball and kept it himself instead of giving it to Evan Hull. All in all, it was a very successful day.

On Northwestern's 17-play touchdown drive at the end of the first half, they converted a trio of fourth downs. Porter and Ramsey were each able to pick up a fourth-and-1, and Ramsey and McGowan connected for 17 on a fourth-and-8. Hull also picked up a fourth-down conversion when he broke loose for a 32-yard TD on a fourth-and-4. Marty picked up another fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter.

After going for it twice early on fourth down last week and ending up with a negative yardage run from Isaiah Bowser and an interception, Fitzgerald wasn't deterred and it paid off.

Rivalries are a huge part of college sports. Beating your rivals can make or break how your job security as a coach. Even though Illinois' linebacker Milo Eifler called Northwestern the Illini's "little brother" this week, Northwestern did what it had to do to keep the Land of Lincoln Trophy in Evanston, where it's resided since 2014.

For a second year in a row, Northwestern did it with a ground-based attack; last year, they ran for 378, this year for 411.

Fitzgerald is now 11-4 against Illinois and 6-1 at home. Illinois coach Lovie Smith, on the other hand, has yet to beat Northwestern in five tries. Illinois now leads the all-time series by just one game, the closest it's been since the 1970s.

This current streak started in a half-filled Soldier Field in 2015, and on Saturday, it continued at an empty Ryan Field. The Wildcats always seems to bring their best when they play Illinois, and it's meant The Hat has taken up residence in Evanston.