Saturday, November 18
Evanston, Ill.
11 am CT
Northwestern
6-5 , 4-4
23
vs
15
Purdue
3-8 , 2-6
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Purdue
0
0
7
8
15
Northwestern
6
0
10
7
23
Photo by: Mary Grace Grabill/Northwestern Athletics
‘Cats Secure Bowl Eligibility, Push Past Purdue, 23-15
11/18/2023 2:41:00 PM | Football
Northwestern clinches first postseason berth since 2020
EVANSTON, Ill. (November 17, 2023) - Cam Porter found the end zone twice, while the Wildcat defense forced four turnovers as Northwestern secured bowl eligibility this afternoon in a 23-15 win over Purdue (3-8, 2-6 B1G) on Senior Day at Ryan Field.
Today's victory sees the 'Cats improve to 6-5 overall (4-4 B1G) and sends Northwestern to the postseason for the first time since the 2020 campaign.
Porter led the charge for the Northwestern offense, racking up a season-high 95 yards on 17 carries, a total that included a season-long 34-yard scamper early in the fourth quarter to account for his second score of the afternoon.That's SIX! ?? pic.twitter.com/cndO9kivlK
— Northwestern Football (@NUFBFamily) November 18, 2023
Ben Bryant turned in a workmanlike effort in pacing the Wildcats' efforts through the air, finishing 13-of-24 for 230 yards with one touchdown.
Cam Johnson hauled in three catches to finish his day with a season-best 88 yards receiving, 52 of which came on a pitch-and-catch from Bryant in the third quarter that resulted in Northwestern's second touchdown of the afternoon. Bryce Kirtz reeled in four caches for 63 yards, while A.J. Henning tallied 57 yards on three catches.
The Northwestern defense enjoyed a banner afternoon, forcing four Boilermaker turnovers. That showing was spearheaded Xander Mueller, who finishing his day with 13 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, and the game-sealing interception late in the fourth quarter. Garnett Hollis Jr. came away with an interception of his own, in addition to three tackles and 0.5 tackles. Richie Hagarty closed his afternoon with three tackles and a recovered fumble.
How It Happened
Northwestern wasted no time in finding the end zone, putting together a four-play, 53-yard drive that elapsed just 1:52. Porter galloped in from seven yards out to put the 'Cats on the board first, 6-0, with just over three minutes gone.
The Wildcat defensive unit flexed its muscle for the remainder of the first half, forcing Purdue to turn the ball over on downs twice inside the Northwestern red zone, none of those bigger than a goal-line stand that saw the visitors repelled at the one-yard line. Hagarty recovered a Boilermaker fumble with 1:55 remaining in the half to end another Purdue drive, while Hollis Jr. picked off Ryan Browne's pass with just 35 seconds left to ensure that Northwestern would take a 6-0 lead into halftime.
Northwestern cashed in off another Purdue miscue midway through the third quarter, recovering a TJ Sheffield muffed punt at the Boilermaker 21-yard line. Three plays later, Jack Olsen booted home a 30-yard field goal to extend the lead to 9-0 at the 7:38 mark of the frame.
After seeing Purdue trim its lead to 9-7 following a 20-yard Tyrone Tracy Jr. touchdown run, Northwestern answered right back through the pairing of Bryant and Johnson. Facing 2nd-and-8 from just shy of midfield, the Wildcat signal caller connected with Johnson for a 52-yard catch-and-run that reestablished a nine-point edge, 16-7, heading to the fourth quarter.
Northwestern kept its foot on the gas early on in the final frame, putting together an eight-play, 83-yard drive that elapsed just 3:25. Porter added the exclamation point on the march, racing into the end zone from 34 yards out on 3rd-and-7 to push the gap to 23-7 with 12:08 remaining.
Purdue refused to go away without a fight, making it a one-score game, 23-15, following a Devin Mockobee two-yard touchdown run and subsequent two-point conversion from Deion Burks. After forcing a Wildcat punt, the Boilermakers drove to the Northwestern 34-yard line with less than a minute to play, but Mueller closed the show, picking off Browne's pass to set off a wild celebration.
Game Notes
» Today's victory sees Northwestern finish the year with a 5-1 record at Ryan Field, marking the program's top win total at home since 2017.
» Northwestern finished the day with 329 yards of total offense.
» The Wildcats are now a perfect 6-0 on the year when cracking the 300-yard mark.
» The Wildcats won the turnover battle by a 4-1 margin to improve to 4-2 when winning the turnover battle in 2023.
» Northwestern held Purdue to just 6-of-16 on third down.
» Three Wildcats finished with at least eight tackles, a trio led by Bryce Gallagher, who posted 14 stops.
» Browne led the Boilermakers' passing attack, completing 12 of his 16 attempts for 104 yards with two interceptions.
» Tracy Jr. impressed on the ground for Purdue, piling up 160 yards rushing and one touchdown.
Up Next
Northwestern closes out its regular season slate on Saturday, November 25 when it visits Champaign, Ill. to battle Illinois for the Land of Lincoln Trophy. Kickoff from Memorial Stadium is set for 2:30 p.m. in a matchup that will be televised by Big Ten Network.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
Team Stats
PUR
NU
Total Yards
443
329
Pass Yards
140
230
Rushing Yards
303
99
Penalty Yards
40
30
1st Downs
21
12
3rd Downs
6
5
4th Downs
2
0
TOP
34:43
25:17
1st Quarter
PUR 0, NU 6
NU - Porter,Cam 7 yd run (), 4 plays, 53 yards, TOP 01:52
3rd Quarter
PUR 0, NU 9
NU - Olsen,Jack 30 yd field goal 4 plays, 9 yards, TOP 01:27
PUR 7, NU 9
PUR - Tracy Jr.,Tyrone 20 yd run (Freehill,Ben kick), 9 plays, 82 yards, TOP 03:32
PUR 7, NU 16
NU - Johnson,Cam 52 yd pass from Bryant,Ben (Olsen,Jack kick) 4 plays, 71 yards, TOP 01:56
4th Quarter
PUR 7, NU 23
NU - Porter,Cam 34 yd run (Olsen,Jack kick), 8 plays, 83 yards, TOP 03:25
PUR 15, NU 23
PUR - Mockobee,Devin 2 yd run (Burks,Deion rush), 7 plays, 77 yards, TOP 02:45
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
13
TD
1
YDS
230
INT
1
Players Mentioned
QB
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LB
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DL
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WR
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WR
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WR
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LB
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K
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RB
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