EVANSTON, Ill. – Five different Wildcats found the end zone as Northwestern used a dominant second-half effort en route to a 38-7 victory over UTEP (1-2) on Saturday afternoon at Ryan Field.
Today's victory, the first in the career for Interim Head Coach David Braun, sees the 'Cats move back to the .500 mark on the year at 1-1 overall.
Cam Porter put up 90 yards in the contest, leading an impressive day on the ground for Northwestern in which the Wildcats piled up 184 rushing yards. Jack Lausch also provided a spark, averaging 13.2 yards per carry as part of a 53-yard showing that also included a six-yard touchdown scamper in the first quarter.
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Joseph Himon II totaled 85 receiving yards, all collected on a third-quarter screen pass from Ryan Hilinski that resulted in a touchdown. Cam Johnson also made his presence felt, hauling in three receptions for 51 yards. Ben Bryant paced the Northwestern pacing attack, finishing 11-of-17 for 116 yards and one touchdown, an 18-yard pass to Thomas Gordon in the third quarter.
On the defensive side of the ball, Xander Mueller racked up seven tackles, 1.5 of which were for loss, and came away with an interception. Joe DeHaan and Bryce Gallagher each added interceptions as well, with Gallagher finishing with five tackles.
Northwestern finished the day by converting on 54.5 percent (6-for-11) of its third-down attempts and cashed in on all four of its visits to red zone, three of which ended with touchdowns.
How It Happened
After falling behind 7-0, Northwestern responded with an eight-play, 71-yard touchdown drive that was capped off by Lausch's six-yard scamper with 7:46 remaining to tie the game at 7-7, a score that would hold heading to halftime.
Northwestern came out of the half with its foot on the gas, engineering a 13-play, 79-yard march over 6:36, punctuated by Bryant's 18-yard pass to Gordon that made it 14-7.
The Wildcat defense flexed its muscles shortly after, with Mueller's interception and subsequent 28-yard return setting Northwestern up with first-and-goal from the Miners' three-yard line. Bryant cashed in shortly after, battling into the end zone from one yard out to stretch the lead to 21-7.
After forcing a UTEP punt with 4:17 to play in the third quarter, Hilnski connected with Himon II on a screen pass as Himon II did the rest, racing 85 yards for another Wildcat score to make it 28-7.
The 'Cats continued to shut down the UTEP attack in the fourth quarter, forcing a turnover on downs after the Miners had driven to the Northwestern nine-yard line. Lausch once again provided fireworks shortly after, ripping off a 46-yard run to put the Wildcats in striking distance. A.J. Henning capped off the drive with a four-yard rush as the lead ballooned to 35-7.
Jack Olsen added a 40-yard field goal with just under four minutes remaining as Northwestern closed out a decisive 38-7 win in its home opener.
Game Notes
- Northwestern outgained UTEP by a 391-319 margin, including a 184-104 advantage in the ground game.
- Bryant and Lausch are the first Wildcat quarterbacks to each record a rushing touchdown in the same game since Trevor Siemian and Matt Alviti in Northwestern's win over Notre Dame back on November 15, 2014.
- Lausch's 46-yard carry in the fourth quarter marks the longest run by a Wildcat since Stephon Robinson Jr.'s 49-yard rush against Wisconsin on November 13, 2021.
- All three of Northwestern's forced turnovers came via interceptions.
- The Wildcats three interceptions are their most in a game since November 21, 2020 against Wisconsin.
- The Wildcats limited UTEP to just 3-of-13 on third down attempts.
- Northwestern finished the afternoon with nine tackles for loss and four sacks.
» Gavin Hardison led the Miners' passing attack, completing 17 of his 25 attempts for 192 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Up Next
Northwestern heads south on Saturday, September 16 to take on Duke in Durham, N.C. in a 2:30 p.m. (CT) kickoff that will be televised on ACC Network.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.