The Northwestern Wildcats are looking to add another win to a very successful season on Saturday, as they play host to the Purdue Boilermakers. Northwestern has won three of four against Purdue, including a 38-14 win in West Lafayette, Indiana, last season….
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After that interception, Northwestern replaced Thorson with Zack Oliver at quarterback, and the senior’s first two passes went for 13- and 37-yard gains inside the Purdue 30-yard line.
Now, Purdue takes to the road for a Saturday game at No. 24 Northwestern (7-2, 3-2), wondering why it continues to follow each competitive performance with a poor one.
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) Justin Jackson didn’t care how close the score was against struggling Purdue.
The Wildcats got everything it could handle from Purdue but pulled away to move to 8 – 2, 4 – 2 in the Big Ten.
The Wildcats faced third-and-14 at the Purdue 37 when quarterback Clayton Thorson broke off back-to-back 16-yard runs to put the ball on the 5.
That lifted Northwestern to its third straight win – the Wildcats beat both Nebraska and Penn State by two points in their last two games.
Purdue (2-8, 1-5) dropped its second straight and remained winless against ranked teams since 2011.
On the offensive: Justin Jackson is coming off a career-high 186-yard rushing game.
When Purdue fell behind 20-0 in the second quarter against IL, Hazell said he noticed along the sidelines that a few of his players had glazed looks in their eyes. The Wildcats moved 40 yards on five plays to set up Long’s 1-yard plunge as Northwestern made it 14-7.
Oliver, who is a redshirt freshman, completed his first two passes for 50 yards. Markell Jones continued his impressive season with 84 yards rushing against IL; his 634 yards on the ground and seven rushing touchdowns rank him ninth and tied for fifth, respectively, nationally among freshmen running backs. Quarterback David Blough fooled Northwestern corner Nick VanHoose with a pump fake, and then hit Domonique young streaking down the right sideline for a 68 yard score.
But Purdue drove 71 yards for a touchdown to start the second half, with Jones scoring on a 2-yard run.
The Boilermakers missed a field goal attempt that would’ve broken the tie, but Thorson gave them another scoring chance with an interception in Northwestern territory.
We have sent a confirmation email to {* emailAddressData *}. But again, the Boilermakers went nowhere.
Senior safety Traveon Henry led NU’s pass defense with two pass break-ups and one interception. I’m just real grateful for it.
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