CHICAGO, Ill. – Northwestern fell 32-14 to Purdue at Wrigley Field on Saturday afternoon.
Evan Hull sparked the offensive charge for the 'Cats, leading the field with 96 rushing yards and putting up 33 receiving yards. Hull caught five passes in just the first half, his most prolific output as a receiver in a single half.
Malik Washington led Northwestern receivers with 54 yards. He grabbed the longest pass for the Wildcats with a 46-yard reception from Ryan Hilinski, his third 40+ yard reception of the season.
Cameron Mitchell turned in another solid performance on the defensive end, earning a new career high after racking up nine tackles.
The Boilermakers jumped out to a 13-0 lead early, but Northwestern struck back at the end of the first half with a buzzer beater touchdown. In just under two minutes, the Wildcats executed a nine play, 76 yard scoring drive that ended in a touchdown pass from Andrew Marty to Marshall Lang. Marty has now thrown six touchdown passes so far this season to lead the Northwestern offense.
Purdue opened up the second half with another touchdown but the 'Cats quickly responded with one of their own. Evan Hull ran for 40 yards in a 14 play, 64 yard scoring drive, coming out on top with a final one-yard touchdown rush.
Unfortunately, the Northwestern offense lost its steam and was unable to bring home a Wildcat Classic win. The 'Cats will return to the field next Saturday for their final game of the season against Illinois in Urbana-Champaign at 2:30 p.m. CT.