EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern's last-second rally came up one point short Saturday afternoon as the Wildcats were edged by Michigan, 10-9, at Ryan Field.
Trailing 10-3 following a 37-yard Michigan field goal with 3:10 remaining, NU embarked on a drive to attempt to tie the game. Starting from their own 26-yard line, the 'Cats methodically marched down the field.
Quarterback Trevor Siemian completed a pair of throws that resulted in first downs before Justin Jackson rushed for two more on third down to get the Wildcats to the Michigan 22.
A pass interference penalty on a ball intended for Cameron Dickerson gave Northwestern first and goal at the 7 as the clock ticked under one minute remaining. A pair of rushes by Jackson got the ball to the 3 and the Wildcats, who were out of timeouts, were forced to rush to line up.
Siemian took the shotgun snap and lobbed a ball to the left side of the end zone that Tony Jones hauled in for a touchdown with just three seconds remaining.
Northwestern opted to line up for a two-point conversion and go for the win and the Wolverines called a timeout. Following the timeout, Siemian rolled to his right out of the shotgun but slipped to the ground as the conversion failed, allowing Michigan to hold on for the one-point win.
Neither offense gained much traction across the 50-yard line in the first quarter, despite Siemian completing 6-of-9 passes in the period, with four of his completions going to senior wideout Kyle Prater. After Siemian was intercepted by Jake Ryan late in the first quarter, the NU defense responded to the sudden change by stuffing Michigan on a fourth-and-1 rush at the Wildcats 16-yard line, returning possession to Northwestern and keeping the game scoreless.
The defenses remained locked in in the second quarter, with Matthew Harris interrupting a Michigan drive with his second career interception at the 1:32 mark in the period. But in NU's efforts to put late points on the board, a Siemian pass was batted at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by Michigan's Matthew Godin. Michigan lined up to attempt a 41-yard field goal but, after two Northwestern timeouts, Nick VanHoose came off the edge to record his second blocked kick of the year and send the game to halftime scoreless.
The first break of the second half went Northwestern's way when a Michigan shotgun snap to Devin Gardner hit Devin Funchess in motion. But the Wildcats could not cash in on the excellent field goal position, missing a 31-yard field goal wide to the left.
After NU forced a three-and-out on the ensuing Wolverines drive, the Wildcats mishandled the Michigan punt and the visitors were able to recovery in prime field position. Two plays later, De'Veon Smith punched in the first touchdown of the game with a three-yard rush, giving Michigan a 7-0 advantage.
Senior safety Ibraheim Campbell did his best to provide a lift in his first game since Sept. 27, intercepting a Devin Gardner deep ball on the 6-yard line and returning it 79 yards to the Michigan 15. But two negative plays were followed by an intentional grounding call against the Wildcats, and NU was forced to punt it back to the Wolverines.
Northwestern found itself pinned deep on its own 1-yard line once again, but the Wildcats went to work looking for the game-tying score. Siemian completed five of his first six passes on the series and moved Northwestern inside the red zone with a 17-yard hookup with Jones.
The 'Cats were forced to settle for a field goal, though, as Jack Mitchell connected from 21 yards out to cut Michigan's lead to 7-3, capping a 19-play, 95-yard drive.
The Wolverines answered with Matt Wile's 37-yard field goal on a drive that took 4:17 off the clock, increasing their lead back to seven.
With their backs against the wall, the Wildcats followed with their impressive last-minute drive, but the late gamble to go for the win didn't pay off in the end.
Next Saturday, Northwestern steps out of Big Ten play for a matchup with top-10-ranked Notre Dame, the first meeting between the two programs since the Wildcats defeated the Irish in the first game of their storybook 1995 season. The game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT at Notre Dame Stadium and air live on NBC.
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