EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern snapped its home and overall losing streaks in a 38-7 win over UTEP. The game started slow, heading into halftime tied at seven, before the Wildcats ground the Miners down and ran away with it in the second half.
Northwestern hit UTEP from all over, and no one person flies off the stat sheet. Three different quarterbacks scored. Starter Ben Bryant threw and ran for a touchdown before leaving with an upper body injury, Ryan Hilinski threw for a touchdown on a screen, and presumed fourth-stringer Jack Lausch ran for the Wildcats' opening score.
This marked the first win for interim head coach David Braun and the first win for a Northwestern program desperately in need of good news.
Here are our takeaways from Northwestern's blowout win over UTEP:
Braun was grateful for support in first win
The first home game of the season is always difficult to sell as students are yet to arrive on campus and non-conference opponents are often harder to market, so Ryan Field was probably about 40-50% full. That didn't matter to interim head coach David Braun.
"I really want to thank everyone who came out today," he said. "Our band being there, parents, supporters, fans, for our guys to walk off the bus and go through that Wildcat Walk...
"The energy that was around Ryan Field, we talked all camp about how critical it was to for us to be able to protect Ryan Field, to protect our home field advantage. We got off to a great start today and so much credit goes to our guys for responding to the challenge."
Braun's first game as a head coach ended with a shocking 24-7 loss at Rutgers. He bounced back in a big way to pick up his first win, and made sure people knew who truly deserved the credit.
"This is our win," Braun said. "It means so much to me because it was with an incredible group of people and I really appreciate the way they've handled all of this."
Braun was asked postgame if the team needed this win after going through a difficult summer in the aftermath of the hazing investigation, and defaulted to a standard answer before letting relief break through.
"I don't know if we needed [a win], what we need is continued support and we need one another. That's what we've leaned on," he said. "But my gosh does it feel good to see those guys have big smiles on their faces and celebrate. I'm just so happy for our players. It's a special day."
Cam Porter played a major role, Himon flashed speed
After a baffling six-carry game at Rutgers, Northwestern fed Cam Porter vs. UTEP and reaped the rewards. He got 17 carries and rattled off 90 yards, setting the tone all day for the resurgent offense.
"The way you saw Cam Porter run today, he embodied what a Big Ten running back should look like,” Braun said.
But in a stunning turn, Porter almost didn’t end up with the most yards from scrimmage in Northwestern’s backfield. Sophomore Joseph Himon II took a third-quarter screen pass 85 yards for a touchdown, showing off his versatility and speed.
Expect Porter to get plenty of carries against Duke as he’s still in the hunt for his first touchdown, but keep an eye out for Himon to get more targets soon.
Northwestern's offensive line shuffle could staunch the bleeding
Early on, the offensive line was once again a major limitation on Northwestern's offense. UTEP sacked Ben Bryant twice in the first half and got consistent pressure to cause throwaways or losses. In the second half, the Wildcats swapped senior right tackle Zachary Franks for junior Josh Thompson, and the unit seemed to gel a little bit better.
Plenty of credit goes to Porter for grinding down the UTEP defense, but the line showed signs of cohesion and push for the first time this season. Expect Thompson at right tackle for Duke, where they'll have a serious stress test of their second-half success.
A day of firsts for the defense
When I talked to safety Devin Turner earlier this week, he said Northwestern's goal is to force two turnovers a game. Last week, the Wildcats recovered a muffed punt but the defense didn't create any opportunities for their offense. This week, they broke that seal in spades.
Two-time captain linebacker Bryce Gallagher started things off with an interception, his running mate Xander Mueller got a pick to end UTEP's first drive of the second half and set up Northwestern's third touchdown, and senior defensive back Joe DeHaan closed out the game with the game's third interception to end UTEP's final drive and let the Wildcats bleed out the rest of the clock.
The pass rush joined in on the party too, with sophomore defensive end Anto Saka being the first Wildcat to get to the quarterback this year. He was joined later in the game by Mueller, defensive back Rod Heard and defensive end Aidan Hubbard.
There were plenty of firsts, but most importantly this was the first time that Northwestern's defense has set the tone in a long time.
Quarterback room's depth was on display
Starting quarterback Ben Bryant's stat line won't jump off the screen, but he played a great game and built the foundation of the blow out before leaving with an upper body injury with the Wildcats up 21-7. He finished 11-for-17 for 116 yards and two touchdowns, one through the air and the other on the ground.
Backup Brendan Sullivan was listed as questionable and did not play, but third and fourth string quarterbacks Ryan Hilinski and Jack Lausch put on a show. Lausch was the first player to score in this one, scampering in from six yards out on a trick play to close out Northwestern's opening drive. He finished with four carries for 53 yards and a touchdown, to go with 1-for-2 passing for six yards.
Hilinski took the snap-to-snap reins after Bryant's injury and immediately made an impact. He dumped off the screen pass to Himon II who seemed to find speed boosts in the Ryan Field grass as he jetted for an 85-yard touchdown that extended the lead to 28-7. Lausch said after the game that the atmosphere in that room was special in a game when so many players could contribute.
"I think it's awesome," he said. "We have a great room, everyone appreciates each other. It's a cool way to show we can score in a lot of different ways."
The Wildcats have a kicker
In the game's final minutes, kicker Jack Olsen knocked one in from 40 yards to extend Northwestern's lead to 31. This doesn't seem like much, but it actually marks the longest make by a Wildcat kicker in two seasons. Not since Charlie Kuhbander split the uprights from 47 yards against Indiana State in Week 2 of 2021 has someone made a kick from that distance for the purple and white.
Olsen's not Justin Tucker or Sebastian Janikowksi, don't expect 50-yarders with ease anytime soon, but it's nice to see that Northwestern has fourth down options beyond the opponent’s 10.
