Cats outlast Minnesota, 38-35, to claim bowl-clinching sixth win
CHICAGO-It was a game Northwestern simply had to get, and they got it. But they certainly did it the hard way.
The Wildcats outlasted Minnesota, 38-35, in a wild, rollercoaster of a game at Wrigley Field on Saturday to give them a bowl-clinching sixth win after three unsuccessful tries.
Quarterback Preston Stone threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns in his best game as a Wildcat, including going 15-for-15 passing in the second half. Caleb Komolafe ran for 129 yards and a touchdown. Two Northwestern receivers went over the 100-yard mark in Griffin Wilde (111 and a TD) and Hayden Eligon II (127).
Northwestern started fast, jumping to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. Then they crumbled like a house of cards as special teams once again proved to be their undoing as the Gophers built a 28-13 lead.
But the offensive exploded for 25 points in the second half, three more than they’d scored in any full Big Ten game all season, to clinch the win, their first at Wrigley after six losses since 2010.
The Wildcats finished with a season-high 525 yards of total offense as the two previously offensively challenged teams totaled 73 points, blowing away the pregame over/under of 40.5.
Stone, who is in his fifth year of college football at SMU and Northwestern, called it, “The most complete offense game I’ve ever been a part of.”
And he was the unquestioned star. Head coach David Braun, who said the game “was a blur,” called out the quarterback for leading the squad after an up-and-down season.
“Preston played fearless,” said Braun. “He wasn’t pressing. He wasn’t anxious. He was fearless, he let the game come to him.”
Stone’s 15th straight and final completion of the game was his biggest. Right after the two-minute timeout, with the game tied at 35, he threw a 15-yard completion to Hunter Welcing, who dragged a couple Minnesota defenders down to the Gopher 23-yard line.
Four plays later, Jack Olsen came on to drill a 33-yard field goal to give the Wildcats a three-point lead that would become the final margin. But only after Minnesota kicker Brady Denaburg missed a 40-yard attempt on the final play of the game that would have sent it to overtime.
Northwestern much maligned offense came out and set the tone on their first drive, scoring on a 46-yard Caleb Komolafe run, and then adding a 34-yard Olsen field goal on the second after they, once again, bogged down in the red zone.
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But any confidence from that two-score lead quickly evaporated when Minnesota return man Koi Perich took the ensuing kickoff 93 yards to the NU 5-yard line to set up a touchdown. The Gophers scored two more times to take a 21-13 lead into the locker room at halftime, despite the fact that Northwestern had outgained them by 80 yards.
Northwestern forced a three-and-out to begin the third quarter when another special teams disaster struck. This time Chase Farrell muffed Minnesota’s punt to give the Gophers the ball at the NU 28. Drake Lindsey threw a touchdown pass to Javon Tracy on the very next play to make it 28-13.
But instead of buckling, the Wildcats punched the Gophers right back. Stone hit Eligon for a 38-yard gain to get near midfield, and the Cats wound up punching it in on a four-yard strike from Stone to Wilde.
“To me, that was the catalyst,” said Braun. “Now it’s back to a one-score game. Let’s go.”
The Wildcats and Gophers would trade touchdowns before Olsen hit what turned out to be the game-winner with 53 seconds left.
But still, it wasn’t easy. Northwestern kicked to Perich again, and he returned the kickoff 44 yards to set the Gophers up near midfield. Lindsey completed 3-of-4 passes to reach the NU 22 before Denaburg missed his field goal on fourth down — after a comical interlude where Braun asked for a review of the clock that showed one second left, only for the officials to add two more seconds.
Braun took the blame for repeatedly kicking the ball to Perich, who wound up with six returns for 230 yards. He said they repeatedly tried to kick it away from the dangerous runner but didn’t execute it well enough.
“It was a nightmare,” deadpanned Braun.
There was both a lot of good and a lot of bad for Northwestern in this one, including 10 penalties for 76 yards. But in the end, Braun couldn’t fault his team’s effort.
“When people ask you about this football team,” he said, “turn on this tape.”
Added Komolafe, “We’re a very resilient team… No matter how many punches we take, we’re going to fight back.”
