Cats roll over outmanned ULM, 42-7, for second straight win
EVANSTON-ULM came out and punched Northwestern right in the mouth with a game-opening touchdown drive.
But the Wildcats got their legs under them and responded with a barrage of blows to knock out the Warhawks 42-7 in the first-ever meeting between the two programs on Saturday at Martin Stadium.
Grad transfer quarterback Preston Stone had his best day as a Wildcat, going 20-for-31 for a season-high 262 yards passing and three touchdowns, without a turnover. He also ran for 49 yards before giving way to Ryan Boe in the fourth quarter.
Northwestern held an 18-7 lead at the half before outscoring ULM 21-0 in third quarter to win its Homecoming game going away.
The victory was the second straight for the Wildcats, who raised their record to 3-2 as they head to Happy Valley next Saturday to take on No. 7 Penn State – which was stunned by previously winless UCLA on Saturday.
Caleb Komolafe ran for 75 yards and added two touchdowns on 13 carries for the Wildcats. Dashun Reeder added 79 yards on 11 carries as the Northwestern offense rolled up 515 yards and didn’t punt until just 3:10 was left in the game.
Northwestern’s defense, which gave up a 75-yard ULM scoring drive to start the game, battened down the hatches and shut the Warhawks out the rest of the way.
ULM took it to Northwestern on their first possession, however. They ran the ball six straight times for 41 yards to get to the NU 34-yard line. Then, they caught the Wildcats napping: they called a flea-flicker and Aidan Armenta hit a wide-open Nic Trujillo for a 34-yard touchdown right down the middle of the field.
But the Wildcats responded with a gutsy call and a touchdown drive. Facing a third-and-14, Stone made an impressive throw from the hash mark to the opposite sideline to Drew Wagner for 13 yards. There, at the NU 49, head coach David Braun decided to roll the dice and go for it.
Komolafe surged ahead for four yards and a first down. It took them 13 plays in all to hit paydirt, but Komolafe ran it in from three yards out to tie it at 7 with 5:22 left in the opening quarter.
ULM’s offense, which gave Northwestern fits early, came right back, as backup quarterback Hunter Herring threw a 48-yard strike to Tyler Griffin to get to the NU 20. But the Wildcat defense bowed up to stop them, and then Luke Stagg missed a 45-yard field goal attempt to keep the tie intact.
Northwestern responded with what we’ll call the Preston Stone drive. After joking last week that he sometimes feels like Lamar Jackson while wearing No. 8 in purple, he ripped off a 30-yard run in which he looked a bit like the electric Ravens signal caller – even yapping at the defender as he went out of bounds.
He then threw to Wagner for 17 yards before threading the needle between the corner and safety on a throw to Hayden Eligon II that he took in for a 37-yard touchdown. The Wildcats opted for a two-point conversion and Lawson Albright ran it in to stretch the lead to 15-7.
ULM again drove deep into Northwestern territory, before turning it over on downs when Herring was stuffed on his try to leap over the pile on fourth-and-2 at the NU 23.
The Wildcats took advantage. Their 12-play drive stalled in the ULM red zone, but Jack Olsen came on to kick a 34-yard field goal to make it 18-7 at the half.
Northwestern then blew it open in the third quarter on a couple of big plays.
First, Komolafe went up the middle, sprang to the outside and went 39 yards for the score. On the Wildcats’ next drive, Stone hit Griffin Wilde on a short slant, and he pirouetted past a diving David Godsey Jr. for a 49-yard touchdown pass to extend NU’s lead to 32-7.
After forcing another ULM punt, the Wildcats tacked on one more score before the end of the third quarter on a 6-yard Stone pass to Wagner. They added another Olsen field goal with 8:43 left in the final period to close the scoring.
