With the win, WMU will be favored to win the rest of the games on its schedule.
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In a back-and-forth second half, the Broncos came out on top.
When Northwestern paid Western Michigan for an early season home game, they were hoping for an easy win.
In the first drive, Clayton Thorson was sharp.
Let’s explain what happened here: Northwestern had the ball trailing Western Michigan, 22-21, and was a few yards away from the end zone with about three minutes left.
Offenses are granted four downs in college football, so Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck figured he might as well use them all. But the Broncos answered with a 16-play, 63-yard drive that was concluded by Hampton’s 29-yard field for a 16-14 lead with 17 seconds left in the third quarter.
On the ensuing possession, Northwestern drove down the field before Thorson was hit by linebacker Robert Spillane and fumbled.
“I would remind [people] that the sky’s not falling, ” NU coach Pat Fitzgerald said. The drive saw mostly double-digit yardage plays to make it 13-7 Western Michigan.
After the defense forced a Western Michigan three-and-out, Jackson took a 46-yard outside handoff to the house for a touchdown.
The scoring continued into the fourth.
Jackson’s 1-yard run with 12:13 left in the game put Northwestern back ahead at 21-16.
The Wildcats will try to shake off their Western Michigan disappointment against Illinois State next week.
The outcome essentially came down to two close plays at each goal line in the final minutes.
Then Thorson lost the ball.
Broncos defensive back Davontae Ginwright picked up the bouncing football as it headed out of bounds … and for some reason, threw it back into the end zone. The referees reviewed the play and deemed it a Western Michigan touchback, even though the ball appeared to be out of Ginwright’s hands.
Thorson (15-for-23, 196 yards) started off looking crisp, but the offensive line didn’t give him much of a chance. They kept their oar in the water the whole time. The pass-blocking technique was weak all day, but run blocking-especially on the outside-was effective. After Bogan was stuffed on third-and-goal, the Broncos called a timeout.
The defense also struggled on key plays.
The Broncos found a way, and it came in the form of multiple successful fourth-down conversions.
Fleck did not have to think about his decision very much. Western Michigan tallied 200 rushing yards on the day.
An essential part of last year’s 10-win run was the opening upset win against Stanford. Simply put, Northwestern got beat in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
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Northwestern will look to rebound next Saturday when they play Illinois State. “That Michigan team beat us today”.
