The Cardiac Cats did what they do best.
After a strong start Saturday, Northwestern fell behind and had to claw its way back from a 15-point deficit. Ultimately, the Wildcats hung on for a 38-35 win over Minnesota — Northwestern’s first-ever at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
“You know, I think you saw two football teams that are awfully resilient and willing to duke it out for four quarters,” said Northwestern coach David Braun. “You know, really proud of our finish as a football team. And ultimately, I think we can all be very honest with ourselves within the program and saying it shouldn’t have had to come down to that.”
Deadlocked at 35-all with less than a minute left in the game, Jack Olsen kicked a 33-yard field goal to put the Wildcats ahead.
Then disaster nearly struck. On the kickoff, Minnesota’s Koi Perich returned the ball 44 yards. The Gophers drove 34 yards down the field to the Northwestern 22-yard line as the clock dwindled. After quarterback Drake Lindsey threw and incomplete pass down near the goalline, Wildcats coach David Braun challenged that the clock ran out of time, but instead two seconds were added, giving Minnesota three seconds to score.
Fortunately for Braun and the Wildcats, Brady Denaburg shanked the ball to the left as time expired, giving Northwestern the win and bowl eligibility.
It wasn’t the first time Perich gave the Wildcats fits on special teams. At the end of the first quarter, he returned the ball 93 yards to the Northwestern 5-yard line, ultimately leading to the Gophers’ first score at the top of the second.
“It was a nightmare, an absolute nightmare,” Braun said about Perich’s late return.
At halftime, the Wildcats found themselves trailing, 21-13, which then became 28-13 early in the third. The Cats rallied and scored 22-straight points to make it 35-28 with 10:20 left in the game.
Minnesota tied things up minutes later, but Northwestern killed 7:27 off the clock on its final drive that ended in the Olsen go-ahead score.
Northwestern outpaced Minnesota offensively, 525 yards to the Gophers’ 323. Quarterback Preston Stone finished 25-of-30 for 305 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Stone finished 15-for-15 in the second half.
“You know, I think this might be the most complete offensive game I’ve ever been a part of in college football,” Stone said. “The O-line kept my jersey clean all day.”
Receivers Griffin Wilde and Hayden Eligon II each surpassed the century mark in yards, 111 and 127, respectively. Caleb Komolafe stacked 129 yards and a score on the ground, with Joseph Himon II adding a touchdown and 47 yards himself.
“Receivers are making plays,” Stone added. “The B’s and Joe were toting the ball, and so just super grateful to come out and play with these guys.”
Up next for Northwestern is a trip downstate when the Wildcats battle Illinois for the Land of Lincoln trophy.
