As hard as they tried, the Hoosiers could not find a way to stop running back Noah Herron. The senior had a career-high 197 yards rushing, topping his previous record from last year’s game against Penn State.

On several runs the senior was barely tipped off balance by Indiana defenders who were helpless as he ran over them.

Although Northwestern coach Randy Walker had said that he planned to rotate Herron and junior Terrell Jordan, Walker only replaced Herron with Jordan once during the game.

But the numbers didn’t matter to Herron as much as they did to others. The back predictably waved off his personal milestone.

“I try not to think about that,” Herron said. “Obviously there are some freshmen who’re like ‘Oh, man, you got this many.’ They’re freshmen, they’re happy. The goal is to get it done no matter how we do it.”

Extra time at the office

NU has played in six overtime contests since 1999 and three came this season. The Wildcats have lost only one overtime contest, this year’s season-opening 48-45 loss to TCU.

The Cats beat Indiana last year in overtime as well.

“We’re getting pretty good at overtime now,” Walker said. “Didn’t do so well that first game, but now we’re getting pretty good.”

Walker attributed his team’s toughness to the difficult schedule it has played thus far, saying it could have been a “doggone good 0-5 team.”

“We are used to playing in high stress environments with a lot on the line,” Walker said. “There was a certain resignation to our kids tonight.

“It’s gonna pay off for us.”

Last year’s overtime victory over Indiana was a turning point in the season, according to several players.

They pointed to it as the game that showed them how to stay tough. But overtimes have become commonplace for NU this season.

“The cardiac Cats are back,” defensive tackle Luis Castillo said.

wash yoUr mouth out

The small scuffle that broke out between NU cornerback Marvin Ward and Indiana receiver Jahkee Gilmore was just part of the story between the players who were matched up against each other during most of the game.

Ward said it was the Hoosiers’ trash talking that helped motivate him after a lackluster start.

“We’re Northwestern guys, we don’t talk on the field,” Ward said. “We just go out there and try to handle our business. I love when people talk trash to me.”

The two players were evenly matched during most of the game. Ward said he thought he was getting held by Gilmore on punts, but used the fact that the receiver was getting away with holding to fuel his play.