Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
1-1 , 1-0
Duke
2-0 , 0-0
'Cats Second Half Rally Falls Short Against Duke
9/10/2022 3:47:00 PM | Football
EVANSTON, Ill. - Trailing by 21 points in the first half, Northwestern (1-1) rallied to within one score in the fourth quarter but could not complete the comeback, falling 31-23 to Duke (2-0) at Ryan Field on Saturday afternoon. Running back Evan Hull turned in a career performance, catching 14 passes out of the backfield for 213 yards and a score, while also rushing 17 times for 65 yards and a touchdown. His 213 receiving yards rank fourth-most in a single game in program history. His 14 receptions are tied for the fourth-most in school history and the most since Zeke Markshausen totaled 16 in 2009 vs. Michigan State.
Quarterback Ryan Hilinski went 36-for-60 on the way to a career-high 435 passing yards with two-touchdowns. He helped lead the offense to a 511 yard performance.
Tight end Thomas Gordon set career-highs of five receptions for 78 yards.
Garnett Hollis Jr. led the Northwestern defensive effort, recording five tackles and one interception. Adetomiwa Adebawore added seven tackles, 1.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, and one forced fumble.
How It Happened
Northwestern responded to an early 21-0 Duke lead with a second quarter touchdown on a Hull six-yard rush to narrow the deficit to 21-7. A 34-yard field goal by Adam Stage cut the deficit to 21-10 at halftime.
Northwestern got on the scoreboard again with 1:50 left in the third quarter to narrow the deficit to 21-16 as Hull scored on a 39-yard reception. Duke scored to increase its lead to 28-16 before Donny Navarro scored ono a 14-yard catch to make it a 28-23 game. Duke tackled on an 18-yard field goal with 2:13 left to play.
The Wildcats drove 75 yards on seven plays, but fumbled into the end zone on their final drive.
» Northwestern outgained Duke 511-461, including a 435-240 advantage through the air.
» Northwestern converted 5 of 17 third downs while Duke was successful on 4 of 10.
» Defensive back Jaheem Joseph led the 'Cats with nine tackles.
» Northwestern went 4-for-6 on fourth down, converting on 66.7 percent of attempts.
» Northwestern forced one red zone turnover in the contest.
» Riley Leonard led the Duke passing attack, completing 13 of his 24 attempts for 240 yards and one touchdown with one interception.
» Jalon Calhoun was Duke's leading receiver with 108 yards.
Northwestern remains home next weekend when it hosts Southern Illinois at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 17, on BTN.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
Team Stats
DUK 7, Nwu 0
DUK - Coleman,Jaylen 16 yd run (Ham,Charlie kick), 6 plays, 77 yards, TOP 02:44
DUK 14, Nwu 0
DUK - Waters,Jordan 42 yd run (Ham,Charlie kick), 5 plays, 80 yards, TOP 02:00
DUK 21, Nwu 0
DUK - Waters,Jordan 3 yd run (Ham,Charlie kick), 5 plays, 90 yards, TOP 01:54
DUK 21, Nwu 7
Nwu - Hull,Evan 6 yd run (Stage,Adam kick), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:09
DUK 21, Nwu 10
Nwu - Stage,Adam 34 yd field goal 13 plays, 57 yards, TOP 04:59
DUK 21, Nwu 16
Nwu - Hull,Evan 39 yd pass from Hilinski,Ryan () 8 plays, 79 yards, TOP 02:10
DUK 28, Nwu 16
DUK - Moore,Jordan 8 yd pass from Leonard,Riley (Ham,Charlie kick) 8 plays, 77 yards, TOP 03:10
DUK 28, Nwu 23
Nwu - Navarro,Donny 14 yd pass from Hilinski,Ryan (Stage,Adam kick) 10 plays, 80 yards, TOP 01:55
DUK 31, Nwu 23
DUK - Ham,Charlie 18 yd field goal 7 plays, 33 yards, TOP 02:13
