Northwestern
4-4 , 2-3
Maryland
5-3 , 2-3
Resilient Wildcats Defeat Maryland, 33-27
10/28/2023 3:17:00 PM | Football
Sullivan leads 'Cats with two touchdowns, 265 yards passing in victory
EVANSTON, Ill. (October 28, 2023) - Brendan Sullivan passed for a career-high 265 yards and two touchdowns, while the Wildcat defensive unit racked up six sacks as Northwestern improved to 4-4 by defeating Maryland, 33-27, this afternoon at Ryan Field.
Shellshocked. ?? pic.twitter.com/ku4AZ2qgwZ
— Northwestern Football (@NUFBFamily) October 28, 2023
Sullivan finished his day by going 16-for-23 en route to a career-best showing. The Wildcat signal caller also chipped in 56 yards on the ground, a total bolstered by an 18-yard scamper in the fourth quarter.
Cam Porter posted his second career multi-touchdown game, his first since 2020 against Illinois, scoring on 1-yard rush and a 3-yard reception.
Jack Olsen impressed in the kicking game, hammering a career-high four field goals, a quartet of kicks that included career-long 47-yarder in the third quarter.
Joseph Himon II led the 'Cats with 63 yards receiving, 57 of which came on a screen pass in the fourth quarter. A.J. Henning reeled in five catches for 52 yards, while Bryce Kirtz added 51 yards and a touchdown.
Bryce Gallagher led the Northwestern defensive unit with another impressive defensive effort, collecting six tackles, 1.0 tackles for loss, one sack, one forced fumble, and one recovered fumble. Aidan Hubbard added five tackles, 3.0 TFL, and 3.0 sacks, which are tied for the second-most in a game in program history, while Coco Azema logged four tackles and the game-sealing interception.
How It Happened
After seeing Maryland race out to a 7-0 lead, Gallagher provided a spark, coming up with a strip sack of Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa that set the Wildcats up at the Maryland 12-yard line. Three plays later, Porter battled over the goal line from one yard out to tie the score at 7-7 with just over six minutes gone in the first quarter.
Northwestern took its first lead of the afternoon following one of its top drives of 2023, a march that began at its own three-yard line. Sullivan connected with Marshall Lang for 25 yards to get the 'Cats out of the shadow of their own endzone before finding Thomas Gordon for an 18-yard catch and run that put Northwestern in the red zone. Facing 3rd-and-goal from the three-yard line, Sullivan narrowly evaded pressure before floating a pass to an unmarked Porter, who went in untouched to cap a 10-play, 97-yard drive spanning 5:30 that gave Northwestern a 21-14 lead at the 12:17 mark of the second quarter.
Maryland looked to mount a quick response, driving down inside the Northwestern 10-yard line. After a Tagovailoa quarterback keeper set the Terrapins up with 2nd-and-goal from the one-yard line, the Wildcat defense refused to break, stopping Maryland on three consecutive plays, highlighted by a Xander Mueller pass breakup on fourth-and-goal that forced a turnover on downs.
Feeding off the stop by its defense, Northwestern's offensive unit put together another impressive drive that covered 84 yards over 4:57. Sullivan provided more fireworks through the air, linking up with Cam Johnson for 34 yards to put the 'Cats on the edge of the Maryland red zone. Olsen went on to boot home a 33-yard field goal, stretching Northwestern's lead to 24-14 with just over a minute to go in the half. Jack Howes added a field goal for the visitors in the closing minute, as Northwestern took a 24-17 edge into halftime.
Azema got Northwestern off to a red-hot start in the second half, ripping off a 61-yard return on the opening kickoff to set the 'Cats up deep in Maryland territory. Olson stretched the gap back to double digits three plays later, drilling a career-long 47-yard field goal to push the gap to 27-17. Howes tacked three more of his own with just under five minutes to play in third quarter, trimming the Wildcats' lead to 27-20 heading to the fourth quarter.
Henning hauled in a 34-yard reception from Sullivan early in the final frame, setting Northwestern up with 1st-and-goal from the Maryland seven-yard line. Olson capped off the drive with another field goal, connecting from 19 yards out to extend the Northwestern lead to 30-20 with 9:15 remaining in regulation.
Following a three-and-out by the Maryland offense, Northwestern took back over at its own 40-yard line. On the second play of the drive, Sullivan found an open Himon II on a screen pass. Himon II did the rest, scampering 53 yards to the Maryland seven-yard line to set Northwestern up with 1st-and-goal. Olsen finished the drive with his fourth field goal of the afternoon, chipping in from 29 yards away to extend the Wildcats' lead to 33-20 with just over five minutes to play.
Maryland refused to go down without a fight, pulling back with 33-27 following a four-play, 61-yard drive that elapsed only 1:20. After forcing a Northwestern punt, the Terrapins drove down to the Wildcats' 31-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-10, Tagovailoa fired over the middle, where a sliding Azema corralled the interception that sealed a Northwestern victory.
» Sullivan completed just shy of 70 percent of his passes on the day, finishing 16-for-23 while averaging 11.5 yards per attempt.
» Sullivan is the first Wildcat QB to throw for 250+ yards while completing over 70% of his passes since Ryan Hilinski threw for 314 yards on a 71.1% completion rate against Nebraska on Aug. 27, 2022.
» Olsen's four made field goals on the day are the most by a Wildcat since November 15, 2014 when Jack Mitchell connected on four kicks in Northwestern's 43-40 win over Notre Dame.
» Kirtz hauled in his team-best fourth touchdown reception of the season in the first quarter.
» Aidan Hubbard recorded a career-high three sacks, tied for the second-most in a game in program history.
» Hubbard's three sacks are the most by a Wildcat since Ifeadi Odenigbo broke the program record with 4.0 sacks against Iowa on Oct. 1, 2016.
» Tagovailoa led the Terrapins passing attack, completing 30 of his 47 attempts for 274 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.
» Jeshaun Jones was Maryland's leading receiver with 78 yards and one touchdown.
Game Notes
Northwestern makes the short trip south to Wrigley Field next week, hosting Iowa on Saturday, November 4 in the Wildcats Classic. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. in a matchup that will be televised on Peacock.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
Team Stats
MD 7, NU 0
MD - Felton,Tai 8 yd pass from Tagovailoa,Taulia (Howes,Jack kick) 5 plays, 66 yards, TOP 02:10
MD 7, NU 7
NU - Porter,Cam 1 yd run (Olsen,Jack kick), 3 plays, 12 yards, TOP 01:06
MD 14, NU 7
MD - Hemby,Roman 24 yd pass from Tagovailoa,Taulia (Howes,Jack kick) 8 plays, 45 yards, TOP 03:07
MD 14, NU 14
NU - Kirtz,Bryce 23 yd pass from Sullivan,Brendan (Olsen,Jack kick) 6 plays, 69 yards, TOP 02:48
MD 14, NU 21
NU - Porter,Cam 3 yd pass from Sullivan,Brendan (Olsen,Jack kick) 10 plays, 97 yards, TOP 03:58
MD 14, NU 24
NU - Olsen,Jack 33 yd field goal 12 plays, 84 yards, TOP 04:57
MD 17, NU 24
MD - Howes,Jack 34 yd field goal 8 plays, 59 yards, TOP 01:08
MD 17, NU 27
NU - Olsen,Jack 47 yd field goal 4 plays, 3 yards, TOP 01:22
MD 20, NU 27
MD - Howes,Jack 22 yd field goal 12 plays, 38 yards, TOP 05:41
MD 20, NU 30
NU - Olsen,Jack 19 yd field goal 10 plays, 67 yards, TOP 04:35
MD 20, NU 33
NU - Olsen,Jack 29 yd field goal 6 plays, 49 yards, TOP 03:07
MD 27, NU 33
MD - Jones,Jeshaun 18 yd pass from Tagovailoa,Taulia (Howes,Jack kick) 4 plays, 61 yards, TOP 01:20
