Northwestern University Athletics
Postgame Notes: Northwestern 24, Western Illinois 7
9/20/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Northwestern Postgame Notes
Western Illinois at Northwestern • Sept. 20, 2014
Ryan Field • Evanston, Ill.
Attendance: 32,016
Northwestern Team Notes
• Northwestern has now won eight straight meetings with FCS foes, doing so by a combined score of 283-80.
• Western Illinois is the latest Wildcat victim and the fourth different school from the Missouri Valley Football Conference to visit Ryan Field since 2008, following Southern Illinois (2008), Illinois State (2010) and South Dakota (2011).
• Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald improved to 28-7 all-time in regular-season nonconference games (FBS or FCS).
• NU lost two fumbles today, breaking the streak of six straight games without turning the ball over via fumble dating to last year's Oct. 26 game at Iowa.
• Northwestern failed in a red zone conversion for the first time today in 2014. The Wildcats are 7-of-8 in red zone appearances this season were and 3-of-4 today.
Northwestern Individual Notes
• With 117 passing yards, QB Trevor Siemian moved into ninth place on the Northwestern career passing yardage list with 4,333, passing Mike Kafka (2006-09, 4,265 yards) and Maurie Daigneau (1969-71, 4,237)
• RB Treyvon Green's 25-yard run in the first quarter represents NU's longest run from scrimmage this season.
• RB Justin Jackson led all ball-carriers today with 92 yards on 21 attempts. Both marks are career highs.
• With RB Solomon Vault adding 31 yards, true freshman (Jackson and Vault) were responsible for 123 of Northwestern's 166 yards on the ground.
• In addition, Jackson and Vault each have two rushing touchdowns in 2014, which accounts for all Wildcat scores on the ground this season.
• Jackson's 21-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was his longest run from scrimmage and his second career TD.
• Vault's first-quarter touchdown run of one yard was his first career score. His second came in the second quarter, a dash of 11 yards.
• The 15 Northwestern receptions today went to 10 different receivers. WR Jayme Taylor, who caught his first career pass against Northern Illinois in NU's last game, led all Wildcats with three receptions.
• True freshman SB Garrett Dickerson recorded his first career reception today, a 21-yard toss from Trevor Siemian. It was the longest NU pass play of the day.
• Junior SB Dan Vitale has at least one catch in 16 straight games, the longest current streak among active playing Wildcats. Vitale caught two passes today for 15 yards.
• CB Nick Van Hoose's third-quarter interception was his first this year and his fourth as a Wildcat. He finished the game with three pass breakups, matching his single-game high set in 2012 against Minnesota.
• DL Ifeadi Odenigbo forced three fumbles today, all recovered by Northwestern. Odenigbo is the first player in FBS football this season to notch three forced fumbles in the same game. The feat was achieved only once all of last season, by Buffalo's Khalil Mack vs. Miami (Ohio) on Nov. 19, 2013.
• Two of Odenigbo's forced fumbles came on his two game-leading quarterback sacks. He has 7.5 career sacks, second on the team to only to DL Dean Lowry's 8.0 (Lowry had one sack today).
• Of his 15 career tackles, Odenigbo has 8.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.
• LB Chi Chi Ariguzo led all players with 12 tackles today. His fumble recovery gives him six in his career, now tying him for fourth among all Wildcats with Dominique Price, Daryl Newell and Chris Martin.
• DB Matthew Harris led all players with a career-high seven solo tackles. His 10 total stops is also a career high and ranked second among Wildcats today.
• DL Max Chapman tied Odenigbo for the team lead with two tackles for loss today, giving Chapman three in his career. Chapman also recorded a blocked field goal, the first by an NU player in almost exactly a year to the day (Tyler Scott vs. Maine, Sept. 21, 2013).
• CB Keith Watkins's punt block was his career first and the first for Northwestern since Tyris Jones blocked an Iowa punt on Oct. 27, 2012.
• P Chris Gradone's 55-yard punt in the second quarter is his longest this season. Six of his seven boots landed within Western's 20-yard line.
• Gradone's 44.1-yards per punt average today is a career single-game best.
