WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.-Cole Freeman was the talk of the game for Northwestern on Saturday. Not bad for a fourth-string walkon whose last game came in the 2020 New Jersey state playoffs.

Very few Northwestern fans expected Freeman, who got the first snaps of his career last week against Minnesota, to get his first start against Purdue. Many likely didn’t know who he was.

But with Brendan Sullivan and Ryan Hilinski out for the season with injuries, Freeman got the start and made enough plays to keep Northwestern in the game until late in the fourth quarter before they fell to their 10th straight loss, 17-9, to Purdue.

"Really gritty, really tough,” said head coach Pat Fitzgerald of Freeman’s performance. “A ton of lessons learned in his first college experience, but there were a lot of things he did today to give us a chance to win the game and I’m really proud of him."

Fitzgerald said that he gave Freeman the start over No. 3 Carl Richardson and true freshman Jack Lausch, a couple of scholarship players, because Freeman gave them the best opportunity to win “from an execution standpoint.”

Freeman’s execution, as expected, was up-and-down. He completed less than half his passes and threw for just 78 yards, and ran for 18 more.

He also turned the ball over twice, on one interception and one fumble, on consecutive possessions in the third quarter. But Northwestern’s defense bailed him out both times with stops that kept Purdue off the scoreboard.

Freeman’s miscues prompted Fitzgerald to go with running back Cam Porter as the wildcat QB for one series before going back to Freeman – who promptly committed another fumble that was recovered by the Wildcats.

Yet Northwestern had the ball and a shot to tie in the closing minutes, in Purdue territory. Freeman converted one fourth down on the Wildcats’ last-ditch drive with a four-yard run on a read-option on fourth-and-3.

Then, on fourth-and-4 at the Purdue 43, he dropped back to pass but couldn’t find anyone open. He tried to run for daylight but was sacked by Jack Sullivan for a four-yard loss.

Freeman, who learned he would make the start on Monday, said that the fact that Fitzgerald and offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian put the ball in his hands in those situations meant a lot.

“It makes me more confident in myself that I have the support of the coaches in their play calls,” he said. “They did give me opportunities to help this team today, and I really appreciate that from them.”

You can forgive Freeman for being rusty. His last start was for Summit (N.J.) Delbarton School in a 37-6 over St. Joseph’s on Nov. 14, 2020. The Green Wave were 6-0 at the time and were set to play Bergen Catholic in the next round of the playoffs, but the game, said Freeman, was canceled five minutes before kickoff due to COVID.

So Freeman relished the opportunity to play that he was given today.

“It felt good to get out there and play football again. It’s definitely been awhile,” said Freeman, a 6-foot, 205-pound sophomore. “I wish I could have done more. I feel like there’s definitely some things I need to go watch the film on and fix for next week. But I’m excited to learn from it and move on, and get a win next week.”

The Wildcats, who haven’t won a game since the season opener against Nebraska on Aug. 26, would like nothing more than to taste victory again. They’ll get a shot next week against their arch-rivals, Illinois, for the Land of Lincoln Trophy. Freeman will likely be the guy leading them behind center.

Freeman getting the starting nod today and leading “his brothers” on the field was almost a surreal experience for a player that was the No. 4 QB last week against Minnesota. He said that the entire ordeal taught him a valuable lesson.

“It’s an emotional moment,” he said. “I worked hard for this and I appreciate the opportunity to get this, to get on the field.

“It’s a lesson to just work hard every day, tunnel vision, and just try to improve each and every opportunity you get because you never know when your time’s coming.”