No. 19 Wildcats Win Land of Lincoln Trophy, Top Illinois, 24-16

11/24/2018 5:32:00 PM | Football

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EVANSTON, Ill – Three different Wildcats scored touchdowns to lead Northwestern (8-4, 8-1 Big Ten) to a perfect season versus West Division foes with an 24-16 win over Illinois (4-8, 2-7 Big Ten) on Senior Day at Ryan Field on Saturday afternoon.

» THROUGH THE LENS

The win over the Illini gave the 'Cats their 11th-straight victory versus West Division foes and Northwestern earned its 15th win in its last 16 Big Ten games, matching the best 16-game conference stretch in program history.

Senior quarterback Clayton Thorson rushed for his eighth touchdown of the season and finished his final regular season game as a Wildcat 12-of-18 with 110 yards and two passing touchdowns.

First-year running back Isaiah Bowser rushed for his fourth 100-yard game of the 2018 campaign by the second quarter and he finished with a career-high 166 yards in the contest, surpassing his previous best of 165 at Iowa earlier this season.

Junior wide receiver Bennett Skowronek posted his third touchdown of the season in the first quarter and sophomore wide receiver Riley Lees caught his second touchdown pass of the season in the second quarter.

On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore linebacker Blake Gallagher led the team with 13 tackles, including eight solo, while also tallying two tackles for loss and one quarterback hurry. His 13 tackles tied a career high that he set against Duke earlier this season.

Sophomore linebacker Paddy Fisher came up with a clutch interception in the fourth quarter — his first since the 'Cats played Illinois last season.

Bowser got things rolling for Northwestern on its first play from scrimmage in the game when he found a hole among the Illinois defenders and ran a career-long 55 yards down the sideline to move the 'Cats up to the Illinois 37-yard line. After Thorson handed the ball off to Bowser three more times, Thorson threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Skowronek at 5:53 in the first quarter to complete a 92-yard scoring drive and put the Wildcats up, 7-0.

In the second quarter, Thorson successfully completed a quarterback sneak with a one-yard touchdown rush at 3:43 left in the half to pull Northwestern ahead, 14-6.

On the Wildcats' next possession, senior running back Chad Hanaoka rushed for a career-long 14 yards to pick up the first down on second-and-one and give the 'Cats the ball on their own 43-yard line. On the next play, sophomore wide receiver Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman made a leaping 25-yard catch down the sideline to move the 'Cats into Illinois territory. Lees followed with an 11-yard catch to give the 'Cats the ball at the Illinois six-yard line. Thorson completed a five-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Lees with 17 seconds left in the first half to give Northwestern a 21-6 lead heading into the locker room.

Graduate kicker Jake Collins converted a 25-yard field goal at 10:03 in the third, extending the Wildcats' lead to 24-6.

A 24-yard rush by Reggie Corbin and an 18-yard pass from AJ Bush to Tony Adams gave the Illini the ball at the Northwestern 15-yard line. Ricky Smalling completed the eight-play, 81-yard scoring drive for Illinois when he made a diving, juggling touchdown catch in the corner of the endzone with 7:57 left in the game, making it 24-16.

With Illinois threatening after a 28-yard pass from Bush to Dominic Stampley gave Illini the ball at the Northwestern 17-yard-line, Fisher intercepted Bush's pass and returned the ball 12 yards to give the 'Cats the ball at their own 20-yard line. A 29-yard run by junior running back John Moten IV gave the 'Cats the first down they needed to run out the clock and close out the regular season with a victory.

Chicago's Big Ten Team will return to action when it travels to Indianapolis, Indiana, to take on Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium at 7 p.m. CT.

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