Northwestern University Athletics
Saturday, October 20
Piscataway, N.J.
11 a.m.
Northwestern
18
at
15
Rutgers
Bowser's Career Day Leads NU to 18-15 Win Over Rutgers
10/20/2018 2:17:00 PM | Football
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – First-year running back Isaiah Bowser posted career numbers with two touchdown scores, leading Northwestern (4-3, 4-1 Big Ten) to an 18-15 victory over Rutgers (1-7, 0-5 Big Ten) on Saturday afternoon at HighPoint.com Stadium, extending the Wildcats' road winning streak to six games.
With 11 victories in its last 12 Big Ten contests, Northwestern was led on the ground by Bowser who finished with a career-high 24 rushing attempts for 108 yards, including a long of 23 and two touchdowns. The 128 total yards on the ground marked the most rushing yards in a game for the 'Cats since their season-opener at Purdue where the team finished with 166 rushing yards.
Senior wide receiver Flynn Nagel continued his strong performance from last week with a team-leading eight receptions for 71 yards in the game. Sophomore wide receiver Riley Lees caught a career-long 29-yard pass, besting his previous career-long of 25 against Michigan State last season.
For the second week in a row, sophomore defensive lineman Samdup Miller led the team with eight tackles and he finished with three solo. Junior defensive end Joe Gaziano had five tackles, four solo, one sack, one tackle for loss and one quarterback hurry on the day. He now has 18 career sacks and 15 of those 18 sacks have come during Big Ten play.
After the Northwestern defense forced a three-and-out on Rutgers' opening drive, the Wildcats opened the scoring on their first possession of the game. After a series of completions from Thorson to Nagel and junior wide receiver Bennett Skowronek for nine yards and seven yards, respectively, followed by rushes by Bowser, the 'Cats had the ball on the Rutgers 20-yard line. Four plays later, Bowser rushed for a three-yard touchdown run – the first of his career – to give Northwestern an early 7-0 lead at 9:46 in the first quarter.
Rutgers got on the scoreboard when Justin Davidovicz converted a 42-yard field goal at 9:19 in the second quarter to complete a six-play, 13-yard scoring drive for the Scarlet Knights, making the score 7-3.
The home team took its first lead of the day when Isaih Pacheco rushed for a 44-yard touchdown down the sideline with 5:09 left to play in the first half, capping off a six-play, 66-yard drive for Rutgers.
With 1:38 to play in the first half, Thorson was sacked in the end zone for a loss of 11 yards, awarding Rutgers with the safety, extending the Scarlet Knights' lead to 12-7.
On Northwestern's opening drive in the second half, Thorson was sacked and then fumbled the football. Trevor Morris recovered the ball at the NU 47-yard line to give Rutgers possession. After a nine-play, 39-yard scoring drive, Davidovicz kicked his second field goal of the day, this time from the 26-yard line, extending the Scarlet's Knight's lead to 15-7 at 9:58 in the third quarter.
Northwestern responded on the following drive with three straight runs by senior running back Chad Hanaoka and a 14-yard pass from Thorson to Nagel set the 'Cats up on the Rutgers 45-yard line. Bowser rushed for back-to-back first downs, running 10 yards and then 23 to propel NU to the 12-yard line. Four plays later, sophomore placekicker Drew Luckenbaugh converted a 23-yard field goal at 5:13 in the third quarter to pull the Wildcats within five.
With just under 13 minutes left in the game, the Wildcats went for it on fourth down and one. Thorson successfully completed the quarterback sneak, rushing for four yards up the middle to the 50-yard line. Two plays later, Thorson threw a 29-yard pass to Lees down the sideline to move the 'Cats up to the Rutgers 21-yard line. Then, on the same drive, the Wildcats opted to go for it again on fourth down and four. Thorson completed a 10-yard pass to Nagel to get the first down and put the ball on the Rutgers five-yard line. Bowser rushed for a five-yard touchdown with 8:12 left to play. Thorson completed a pass to Nagel for the two-point conversion, giving the 'Cats an 18-15 advantage that it would hold for the remainder of the game.
Chicago's Big Ten team returns to action when they host Wisconsin at Ryan Field on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 11 a.m. on Family Weekend.
With 11 victories in its last 12 Big Ten contests, Northwestern was led on the ground by Bowser who finished with a career-high 24 rushing attempts for 108 yards, including a long of 23 and two touchdowns. The 128 total yards on the ground marked the most rushing yards in a game for the 'Cats since their season-opener at Purdue where the team finished with 166 rushing yards.
Senior wide receiver Flynn Nagel continued his strong performance from last week with a team-leading eight receptions for 71 yards in the game. Sophomore wide receiver Riley Lees caught a career-long 29-yard pass, besting his previous career-long of 25 against Michigan State last season.
For the second week in a row, sophomore defensive lineman Samdup Miller led the team with eight tackles and he finished with three solo. Junior defensive end Joe Gaziano had five tackles, four solo, one sack, one tackle for loss and one quarterback hurry on the day. He now has 18 career sacks and 15 of those 18 sacks have come during Big Ten play.
After the Northwestern defense forced a three-and-out on Rutgers' opening drive, the Wildcats opened the scoring on their first possession of the game. After a series of completions from Thorson to Nagel and junior wide receiver Bennett Skowronek for nine yards and seven yards, respectively, followed by rushes by Bowser, the 'Cats had the ball on the Rutgers 20-yard line. Four plays later, Bowser rushed for a three-yard touchdown run – the first of his career – to give Northwestern an early 7-0 lead at 9:46 in the first quarter.
Rutgers got on the scoreboard when Justin Davidovicz converted a 42-yard field goal at 9:19 in the second quarter to complete a six-play, 13-yard scoring drive for the Scarlet Knights, making the score 7-3.
The home team took its first lead of the day when Isaih Pacheco rushed for a 44-yard touchdown down the sideline with 5:09 left to play in the first half, capping off a six-play, 66-yard drive for Rutgers.
With 1:38 to play in the first half, Thorson was sacked in the end zone for a loss of 11 yards, awarding Rutgers with the safety, extending the Scarlet Knights' lead to 12-7.
On Northwestern's opening drive in the second half, Thorson was sacked and then fumbled the football. Trevor Morris recovered the ball at the NU 47-yard line to give Rutgers possession. After a nine-play, 39-yard scoring drive, Davidovicz kicked his second field goal of the day, this time from the 26-yard line, extending the Scarlet's Knight's lead to 15-7 at 9:58 in the third quarter.
Northwestern responded on the following drive with three straight runs by senior running back Chad Hanaoka and a 14-yard pass from Thorson to Nagel set the 'Cats up on the Rutgers 45-yard line. Bowser rushed for back-to-back first downs, running 10 yards and then 23 to propel NU to the 12-yard line. Four plays later, sophomore placekicker Drew Luckenbaugh converted a 23-yard field goal at 5:13 in the third quarter to pull the Wildcats within five.
With just under 13 minutes left in the game, the Wildcats went for it on fourth down and one. Thorson successfully completed the quarterback sneak, rushing for four yards up the middle to the 50-yard line. Two plays later, Thorson threw a 29-yard pass to Lees down the sideline to move the 'Cats up to the Rutgers 21-yard line. Then, on the same drive, the Wildcats opted to go for it again on fourth down and four. Thorson completed a 10-yard pass to Nagel to get the first down and put the ball on the Rutgers five-yard line. Bowser rushed for a five-yard touchdown with 8:12 left to play. Thorson completed a pass to Nagel for the two-point conversion, giving the 'Cats an 18-15 advantage that it would hold for the remainder of the game.
Chicago's Big Ten team returns to action when they host Wisconsin at Ryan Field on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 11 a.m. on Family Weekend.
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