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| 2014 Northwestern Football -- Game 11 |
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| Northwestern (4-6, 2-4 Big Ten) at Purdue (3-7, 1-5 Big Ten) |
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| Date | Saturday, Nov. 22 | 11 a.m. CT |
| Location | Ross-Ade Stadium (62,500) | West Lafayette, Ind. |
| TV: | ESPNU | WatchESPN Stream |
| Gametracker | NUsports.com |
| Radio | WGN720 | 87.7 FM The Game | WNUR Online |
| Game Notes | Northwestern  | Purdue
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| Social Media | @NU_SportsLIVE  | @NUFBFamily | Facebook  |
| Buy Future NU Football Tickets |
888-GO-PURPLE | Online Ticket Office |
Monday Press Conference: Coach Fitzgerald | Student-Athletes
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Coming off an overtime win for the ages at No. 15/16 Notre Dame, Northwestern returns its focus to Big Ten play and its goal of becoming bowl-eligible this Saturday with a trip to Purdue's Ross-Ade Stadium. The game marks NU's final road trip of the 2014 regular season and its first visit to West Lafayette since 2009.
The game will be carried live to a national audience on ESPNU, with Anish Shroff and Kelly Stouffer on the call. On the radio, the game can be found on WGN720 and 87.7 FM The Game in Chicago or TheGameChicago.com, with the veteran tandem of Dave Eanet and Ted Albrecht being joined on the sideline by former Northwestern place-kicker Jeff Budzien.
Fans can also follow live Twitter updates and notes throughout the game by following the username @NU_SportsLIVE.
TV Advisory: Northwestern fans looking to relive the excitement of Saturday's victory at Notre Dame Stadium are advised to catch this week's episode of "The Journey" on the Big Ten Network. The crew talked to coach Pat Fitzgerald and several NU student-athletes in advance of the trip to South Bend, and were on hand to capture the incredible footage and emotion of the come-from-behind victory. The show debuts Wednesday (Nov. 19) at 10 p.m. CT and will re-air periodically throughout the week. (BTN Program Guide)
Series Notes
After spending 2011-13 seasons on opposite sides of the Big Ten's Legends and Leaders Divisional breakdown, Northwestern and Purdue now square off as members of the Big Ten West Division and meet Saturday for the first time since Oct. 9, 2010. This will be the 79th meeting in the all-time series, with Purdue claiming a 50-27-1 advantage in all meetings.
The last times these teams met, the Boilermakers came to Ryan Field for a primetime matchup and put an end to NU's 5-0 start the season, winning thanks to 132 rushing yards by then-redshirt freshman QB Rob Henry. NU saw Dan Persa throw for 305 yards with Jeremy Ebert racking up 124 receiving yards, but Purdue rallied from a 17-10 deficit for the win.
Pat Fitzgerald is 2-3 in his head coaching career against the Boilermakers and 1-1 in West Lafayette. NU was victorious in its last trip to Ross Ade Stadium, a 27-21 win in 2009 in which the Wildcats rallied from a 21-3 hole to score the game's final 24 points.
Purdue represents the fourth Northwestern opponent this season to face the Wildcats when coming off a bye week in their schedule. Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa also had the benefit of an extra week when preparing for the Wildcats.
Northwestern Game Notes
Northwestern's upset of a top-20 opponent in the month of November was hardly a first-of-its kind win under Pat Fitzgerald. The 'Cats' win at Notre Dame--which was ND's first loss at Notre Dame Stadium since Sept. 28, 2013, vs. No. 14 Oklahoma--marked the sixth such victory in the last seven seasons, with four of those November upsets occurring on the road. Should Northwestern reach six regular-season victories, NU would likely be bowl-bound for a sixth time in seven years.
After scoring a combined 33 points in its previous three games, Northwestern traveled to Notre Dame exploded for its first 40-point performance on offense since the second game of the 2013 season. Northwestern posted season highs for points (43, previously 29 vs. Penn State), rushing yards (263, previously 203 vs. Wisconsin) and total offense (547, previously 394 vs. Northern Illinois). In the process, the 'Cats recorded their longest pass play (a 60-yard catch-and-run to Cameron Dickerson) and the two longest running plays (45 yards by Treyvon Green, 44 yards by Justin Jackson) on the season.
One of the keys to victory against Notre Dame was Northwestern's continued strong defensive play in the red zone. The Irish lost fumbles at the 7- and 1-yard lines in the game, giving Northwestern a Big Ten-best five takeaways inside the red zone. (By comparison, only two Big Ten teams have four red zone takeaways, one has three and five have zero.) The Wildcats rank second in the conference and 26th nationally in red zone defense, allowing points on 76.3 percent of opponent trips inside the 20.
Nine games into his first season as NU's starting place-kicker, sophomore Jack Mitchell was putting together a successful but modest campaign, converting 8-of-10 field goal attempts with a long make of 29 yards. But Mitchell broke out in a big way at Notre Dame, overcoming frigid temperatures and pressure-packed situations to lift the Wildcats to their 43-40 overtime win against the Irish and earn Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week accolades. Mitchell connected on 4-of-5 field goal attempts--all of which came after halftime--with makes from 31, 46, 45 and 41 yards, with the last two representing the game-tying and game-winning kicks.
Senior QB Trevor Siemian has been airing it out in his last two outings (vs. Michigan, at Notre Dame), completing 62-of-97 passes (63.4 percent) for 557 yards. In the process, Siemian has vaulted up NU's career passing yards list, where he now stands fourth all-time with 5,838 yards. (Siemian moved from ninth to fourth with his 284 yards against the Irish.) Siemian, whose 5,838 yards rank 21st among active FBS signal-callers, also is seventh in school history in total offense yards (5,816) and tied for seventh with 26 career passing touchdowns.
True freshman running back Justin Jackson is on pace for a milestone season in 2014, entering the final two weeks needing just 90 rushing yards to reach 1,000 for the season. Jackson's 149 yards on the ground at Notre Dame -- his fourth 100-yard game in his last six outings -- marked the most allowed by the Irish this season and the most by an individual against Notre Dame since Pittsburgh's Ray Graham netted 172 on Nov. 3, 2012, a span of 27 games.
Purdue Notes
Purdue head coach Darrell Hazell (Muskingum, 1986) is 4-18 as Purdue's head coach and 20-28 overall in his career. He was 16-10 in two seasons at Kent State. Hazell was named the school's 35th head coach on Dec. 5, 2012, after two seasons as the head coach at Kent State.
QB Austin Appleby has five rushing touchdowns, which is tied for 22nd-most among FBS quarterbacks this season. In the air, Appleby's last six touchdown passes have all been to different receivers, with Cameron Posey, Danny Anthrop, B.J. Knauf, DeAngelo Yancey Akeem Hunt and Gabe Holmes all hauling in one. Purdue has thrown 14 touchdown passes this season, but no receiver has caught more than one in a single game.
Like Northwestern, Purdue also played a nonconference tilt with nearby Notre Dame this season, falling 30-14 to the Irish on Sept. 13. Purdue's lone Big Ten win this season came against Illinois (38-27) on Oct. 4; the Wildcats are slated to face the Illini in next week's regular-season finale at Ryan Field.
Complete Northwestern and Purdue game notes are linked in PDF format at the top of the page.
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