The Wildcats are the Big Ten West Champs.
Yes, we can say that. Hold your disbelief. Northwestern will really be playing in the Big Ten Championship Game.
In a match-up where temperatures were low and defense was king, Northwestern (6-4, 6-1 B1G) utilized a depleted roster to stifle Iowa’s (6-4, 3-4 B1G) run and pass and force crucial turnovers late-game. Led by Isaiah Bowser, a first-year who has found his stride, the offense managed just enough clutch plays to secure two touchdowns, good enough for victory over the Hawkeyes. With Wisconsin falling to Penn State, and Minnesota dominating Purdue, the win secured Northwestern the top spot in the wild (read: bad) Big Ten West division. The ’Cats will play either Michigan or Ohio State, the two candidates for the East, in the conference championship after Northwestern’s games against Minnesota and Illinois.
For the first 29 minutes of game time, it appeared that Northwestern and Iowa were trying to faithfully recreate the infamous M-0-0-N game in Evanston lore. Neither team had any offensive momentum despite a few eyebrow-raising plays, including an Isaiah Bowser 15-yard rush for the Wildcats and a T.J. Hawkinson 37-yard reception for the Hawkeyes. The scoring drought was finally quenched with 56 seconds to go in the half when Iowa’s Miguel Recinos booted a 46-yarder through the uprights. Iowa was definitely helped out by Northwestern punting from their own 17 the drive earlier.
The ’Cats especially seemed stumped against a highly-touted Hawkeye defense, as Thorson went 5-for-10 with 41 yards and got sacked twice. Northwestern’s mainstay wide receivers, Flynn Nagel and Bennett Skowronek, went without any receptions. Bowser had 2 receptions and 9 carries for 23 and 46 yards, respectively, making him responsible for 69 of Northwestern’s 75 total offensive yards. Even with Iowa’s 184 yards looking dominant in comparison, the Wildcats only had a 3-point deficit to work out of.
“We knew this was going to be a hard-fought defensive battle,” said head coach Pat Fitzgerald.
The second half got off to a rough start for Northwestern when Thorson was picked off at the NU 42 (his first of two interceptions in the 3rd), but the defense managed to stop Iowa from gaining any points. And on the next drive, Bowser broke free with a career-long 44-yard rush to give the Wildcats their first points of the game, and punter-turned-kicker Jake Collins put in the extra point to make the lead 7-3.
Isaiah 💪 Bowser 💪
— Northwestern On BTN (@NUOnBTN) November 10, 2018
The @NUFBFamily RB silences the crowd with the game's first TD. 🤫 pic.twitter.com/kAqVF4wYCQ
It seemed certain that Iowa would respond with a good drive down the field, but a 38-yard kick attempt hit the uprights. The Hawkeyes wouldn’t go away without a touchdown, however, and on their next drive Nate Stanley tossed a 28-yard touchdown to the posts for Ihmir Smith-Marsette. The third quarter wasn’t kind to the ’Cats injury-wise either: They had entered the game without two of their secondary starters in Jared McGee and Trae Williams, and the sideline count rose when Montre Hartage landed uneasy.
The fourth quarter was when the game fell into place for Northwestern. Despite Jake Collins missing a 38-yarder early, the Wildcats would soon put the decisive points on the board. Bennett Skowronek, who had been quiet for much of the day, hauled in an incredible 32-yard diving catch in the end zone that seemed almost too good to be true. But it counted, and Northwestern saw themselves less than ten minutes away from clinching the West.
“They came out real strong in the first half on defense,” said Skowronek, “but we knew [to] just keep doing our stuff…”
On first glance it looked Skowrong, but upon further review it felt Skowright. 😏
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 10, 2018
Bennett Skowronek makes an AMAZING catch to put @NUFBFamily in the lead: pic.twitter.com/9tvky5pFS9
Their conference dreams couldn’t have done without the defense, however, and it stepped up to the challenge of silencing the Hawkeyes. Two forced fumbles, one by Cameron Ruiz and another by Joe Gaziano on back-to-back Iowa drives, one at Northwestern’s 49, the other at Iowa’s 42, ended the hopes of a comeback and gave the Wildcats their first-ever trip to the Big Ten Championship game.
Thorson went 15-30 for 122 yards, 1 TD and 2 INT in the win, again displaying a subpar performance in a Northwestern win over a ranked division foe. Bowser shouldered the load with 165 yards on 31 carries to go along with a TD.
It’s been a rollercoaster of a season for the Wildcats. Despite a win at Purdue in the season opener, three straight losses seemed to signal panic mode at Evanston. But Fitz and his team fought back against adversity, defeating top-level programs and not losing hope. Northwestern has the West title to show for that fight.
“I’m just so proud to be a part of this team,” said Thorson. “There’s so many guys who have come before us who have laid the foundation, but this team has really come together after starting 1-3 . . . just so proud to be a part of this team, and we gotta get it done these next two weeks.”