Every Big Ten game is a heavyweight bout.
And Northwestern coach Randy Walker wanted a good, long slugfest against No. 17 Purdue (5-3, 2-3 Big Ten) on Saturday.
“I told our kids to get it to the 15th round, because I like our chances in the 15th round,” Walker said. “We were able to do that. We kept it a ballgame.”
Walker got a 15-round fight that seemed to drag on with minor, ineffective jabs for 14 rounds.
But when NU running back Noah Herron knocked in an easy three-yard touchdown with 38 seconds remaining, the favorite looked ready to fall.
And after Wildcats cornerback Jeff Backes punched the ball out of receiver Taylor Stubblefield’s hands on a last-second Hail Mary pass, the judges’ scorecards were in — 13-10, Cats.
With a final blow Purdue just couldn’t handle, NU won its first game against the Boilermakers since 1997 in a windy, defensive battle at Ryan Field before a crowd of 30,312. And after Purdue’s third-straight loss, the Cats (4-4, 3-2) are tied for fourth place in the Big Ten.
“I’d be lying if I told you that we weren’t counting (wins) on our fingers,” Backes said. “We knew to be bowl eligible it was kind of do-or-die time. But you know what? That’s what you kind of thrive on. You thrive on that must-win kind of game.”
The Cats couldn’t have waited any longer to thrive. NU quarterback Brett Basanez had four of his five second-half completions with fewer than two minutes to play, as the Cats put together an 84-yard drive in 1:12 that was capped off by Herron’s touchdown.
“Our offense just came together,” Basanez said. “Our (offensive) line played great, gave us some time in the backfield, and our wide receivers made plays when they needed to. And Noah obviously took that one in at the end for the win.”
The Boilermakers had one last chance, a Hail Mary pass from NU’s 40-yard line with three seconds left. Purdue backup quarterback Brandon Kirsch heaved a pass into the end zone that Stubblefield got his hands on as the Purdue fans erupted in applause.
But Backes jumped through a mass of players and knocked the ball away from Stubblefield, giving NU its fourth-straight home win and its longest winning streak at Ryan Field since 1996.
“I just kind of saw the ball in the air, and it was almost like it was slow motion,” Backes said. “Stubblefield put both hands out. I just came in, punching as hard as I could, and got my hands around the ball.”
Two exciting final drives ended a day of misery for quarterbacks.
Between wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour and stifling defense from NU’s secondary, Purdue senior quarterback Kyle Orton had his worst game of the season.
The former Heisman candidate converted 15 of 33 passes for 143 yards, one touchdown and an interception before being pulled at the end of the third quarter after injuring his left hip flexor.
“We made the change because he was really struggling today with the offense,” Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. “It’s one thing not to be at your best physically, but it’s another thing to not be at your best mentally.
“If you’re not at your best mentally, then open receivers aren’t spotted, and we had a number of those.”
NU’s defense forced three turnovers and held the Boilermakers’ 12th-ranked offense to just 332 yards, of those 122 rushing and 210 passing.
Purdue was shut out after scoring a field goal and a touchdown in the first quarter, and the Boilermakers managed to convert just two of four chances in the red zone.
“We were clicking on all cylinders,” said NU linebacker Tim McGarigle, who led the Cats with a career-best 21 tackles and was named Walter Camp Football Foundation Division I-A National Defensive Player of the Week on Sunday.
“Holding a team like Purdue, one of the best offenses in the country, to 10 points, you can’t say enough about how we played.”
Basanez threw for just 148 yards on 11-for-30 passing. But 62 of those yards came on 4-of-6 throwing in the final drive of the game.
NU had just 194 total yards before the final 84-yard drive.
“Somewhere along the line we got that momentum right at the end of the game, right when we needed it,” Herron said. “So overtime or not, regulation or whatever, we’re going to win that game.”
Herron was the Cats’ offensive bright spot again, picking up 82 yards and the game-winning touchdown on 19 carries against the 10th-best rushing defense in the country.
Junior Terrell Jordan had five carries for 24 yards and a touchdown with 9:08 to go in the first quarter.
The touchdown gave the Cats a 7-0 lead and their only points until the final minute of the game.
NU’s offense totaled 278 yards, far from the team’s best performance.
But the Cats converted both of their opportunities in the red zone and had no turnovers on a day when the weather took over the game.
“The wind was dramatic,” Walker said. “I’ve coached 29 years of Division I football. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a day like that.”
Walker was hospitalized for two nights last week with myocarditis and said he was tired after the game.
But who wouldn’t be after a 15-round fight?
Reach Teddy Kider at [email protected].
