EVANSTON-The Wildcats went down an all-too-familiar road against an FCS opponent, tied with Eastern Illinois, 7-7, with 2:08 left in the second quarter.
Head coach David Braun named redshirt sophomore Jack Lausch the starter, replacing grad transfer Mike Wright, on Monday, and Lausch was just 2-for-10 for 12 yards in the air.
But as the Chicago (Ill.) Brother Rice product took the field for the two-minute drill after defensive tackle Najee Story blocked EIU's 36-yard field goal attempt, something clicked.
"I think what you saw in the first half was a first-time starter. He was a little amped up, aiming the ball a little bit," Braun said. "The two-minute drill kind of let Jack get into a rhythm and trust in his instincts."
Lausch was 5-for-7 for 48 yards on the ensuing touchdown drive, setting up a 32-yard run by Joseph Himon II to take a 14-7 lead the Wildcats would never relinquish.
In the second half, Lausch turned it up another level, completing all 11 of his passes and throwing for two touchdowns, the first and second in the air of Northwestern's 2024 season.
Lausch finished 20-for-31 for 227 yards and those two scores, as well as 62 yards rushing in his debut as starter.
Here are our takeaways from his banner day and Northwestern's second win of the season:
Northwestern may have found a long-term starter: There's no doubt the pitch speed at the batting cage will ratchet up next week for Lausch at Washington but, against the team in front of him, he was surgical in the second half. He went 11-for-11 passing, with two touchdowns and connections to eight different receivers in the game.
After every Northwestern fan feared the worst as Lausch fired a few passes well short of his receivers in the first half, the game ended with hope that the guy who closed out the first half and dominated the second can win them a lot of football games.
If Lausch can translate those successes from an FCS defense to a Big Ten defense, the Wildcats' six-year journey from transfer to transfer may finally come to an end.
"I take offense to the FCS opponent [difference]," joked Braun, a former FCS defensive coordinator himself, when asked about whether Lausch's performance could continue to the Big Ten. "But I understand what you're saying.
"At the end of the day, the rhythm, the confidence, the ability to come out in the second [half] when things weren't easy in the first half, those are things that are really encouraging. We understand what's ahead of us... I think we saw some things out of Jack that are reason for a lot of optimism moving forward."
Asterisk everything against an FCS opponent, but for the first time this season Northwestern sustained drives. It wasn't set up on a silver platter by the defense or special teams heroics.
All four touchdown drives were six or more plays and 40 or more yards. Lausch had the highest completion percentage of the season, he threw for the Wildcats' first two touchdowns, and connected with six receivers for multiple catches.
The distribution, the execution, the versatility, it all provided a glimpse of what new offensive coordinator Zach Lujan's system should look like, and it provided new hope for a season shrouded in doubt after a double overtime loss to Duke.
A Chicago starter for Chicago's Big Ten team: "Brother Rice's finest!" A.J. Henning interjected to close out his presser alongside Lausch, who said it was an "unbelievable feeling" to make his college debut so close to his hometown.
The dual-threat quarterback's elation was almost palpable as he took the podium for the first time postgame within an hour of where he played his high school ball on the south side of Chicago.
"It was awesome," Lausch said. "It was so much fun to go out and compete with my teammates. I've put in a lot of great work with these guys for awhile and to go out, have fun, get a win... I'm just happy."
That excitement may have fed into some of his jitters and incompletions in the first half.
"I think the biggest thing was taking a breath, slowing down my feet and trusting my reads downfield," he said. "I think early, my feet were a little crazy. I had guys open that I was passing up... That two-minute drive helped a lot, getting the tempo and playing fast."
That two-minute drive was capped off by a 32-yard run by fellow redshirt-sophomore running back Joseph Himon II, Lausch's old roommate.
"He's one of my best friends here," Lausch said. "Roomed together freshman year, sophomore year, we stay in the hotel together for game nights. He's a stud."
"I just love that guy," Himon said about his new quarterback.
Cam Porter was the bell cow on the ground, with 15 carries for 77 yards and a touchdown, but Himon's five carries for 49 and a score of his own put proof into why that room is a committee.
Don't tell Himon or Lausch this was just an FCS game. For Lausch, it was a dream come true.
"I grew up watching Big Ten football, dreaming about being on this stage," Lausch said. "I'm really excited to enjoy this win but then get back in the building and get better."
Defense continues to be 'lights out': After allowing just two touchdown drives in regulation time in three games, it appears that the Wildcat defense hasn't missed a step under new coordinator Tim McGarigle. In fact, they might be even more fearsome.
The Wildcats held Eastern Illinois to just 207 yards of offense, just 40 yards on the ground, and came up with clutch stop after clutch stop to buy Lausch time to settle in.
"They kept us in it when we were still looking to find things and get rolling," Lausch said. "Those guys are unbelievable. You've seen in the first three games, those guys are lights out."
It was junior safety Devin Turner that came up with an interception off a tipped pass by linebacker Xander Mueller.
"Our mentality is to dominate everyone we play against," Turner said. "Whether that's in the run game or the pass game. Our whole team is like that, it's a testament to that and our coaches."
The defense will face their toughest test yet next week in their first road game at Washington. The Huskies lost the Apple Cup rivalry game, 24-19, to Washington State and will be out for a vengeance under new head coach Jedd Fisch.
Special teams a mixed bag: Normally operating at a high level across the board, the Wildcats have positives and negatives to take away from this game in the third phase.
The good news? Kicker Jack Olsen drilled a 46-yard field goal under pressure to take a 17-7 lead. Defensive tackle Najee Story burst through EIU's field-goal protection and swatted away one of their attempts.
"Our defense bowed up," Braun said. "We talk all the time that threes won't get us beat. Something that's really neat about that block is that is the result of maximum effort."
The bad news? The Wildcats ceded a block of their own when the Panthers drove through the center of their protection and stuffed a 42-yarder try by Olsen when the game was tied. EIU also racked up 60 yards on two kick returns.
"Something I was really disappointed in for the first half was our protection on our field-goal attempt that resulted in a block," Braun said.
For a head coach that harps on special teams over and over, and who coordinated the phase himself just six years ago at Northern Iowa, expect that to be a point of emphasis at practice this week.
Deja vu all over again for Braun's 10th win: This game played out very similarly to Northwestern's 38-7 win over UTEP in Week 2 of 2023, when Braun and the Wildcats snapped the program's 12-game losing streak and got his first win as a head coach. The Wildcats and Miners were tied at 7 at that halftime, and the Wildcats rattled off a 31-0 run in the second half.
The Panthers are a tier lower than UTEP, as an FCS squad, but the principle remained the same as Northwestern scored 24 unanswered points for Braun's 10th win.
Rather than fall back into the program's worst depths -- this is a program that was 2-2 in its last four FCS matchups and hadn't won an FCS game by 20+ since 2015 -- they stayed patient and pressed their advantage when they could.
Braun's teams have been defined by that patience, drive and resiliency to bounce back. They refused to let a grueling result like last week's loss to Duke bleed over and become a habit or expectation. Braun is the 17th coach in Northwestern history to reach 10 wins, and his .625 winning percentage is tied for fourth-best all-time.
Washington isn't the team that played for a national title last year, but they're no slouch, either. They'd love to get their first Big Ten win in their first conference game.
It may have been an FCS opponent, but Braun and his team demonstrated once more why they are breaking trends and why they should never be counted out, even on the road as an underdog.
