EVANSTON — With a season opening-win under their belts, Northwestern opens up their home slate with their first ever matchup with in-state foe Illinois State.

The Redbirds, a Football Championship Subdivision team, opened up their season Sept. 2 in a thriller, winning 55-54 against Central Missouri State in Normal, Ill.

Check out our preview of today’s game, and follow the action with our liveblog from soggy Ryan Field.

Third quarter recap from Colin Becht:

Feeling confident with its lead, Northwestern gave the field to many of its younger players, maintaining its 30-3 lead over Il
linois State at the end of the third quarter.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Evan Watkins saw his first action, taking over for junior Dan Persa. While coach Pat Fitzgerald kept most of the workload off Watkins by running the ball, Watkins did complete two-of-three passes for 31 yards. Watkins’ first career completion paired up new NU talent as he hit true freshman Venric Mark on a post route for 21 yards.

Illinois State also went to its second-string quarterback, junior Drew Kiel, but Kiel did find any more success than starter Matt Drew. Faced with heavy pressure from sophomore defensive end Quentin Williams, Kiel tried to dump off a pass but was picked off by senior defensive tackle Corbin Bryant.

Sophomore running back Arby Fields continued to pick up solid yards on the ground, gaining 96 yards on 22 carries. With four more yards, Fields will become the first NU player with 100 yards rushing since Tyrell Sutton in the 2008 Alamo Bowl.

Junior running back Jacob Schmidt’s troubles securing the football appeared again in the third quarter as he fumbled his third ball of the season.

Second quarter:

NU continues to prove it can run the ball, building its lead to 30-3 over Illinois State at halftime.

Arby Fields, coming off a 10-carry, 7-yard game against Vanderbilt last week, anchored a rushing attack that gained 90 yards on 24 carries. Fields accounted for the bulk of those yards with 14 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown, a one-yard dive up the middle that gave the Wildcats a 24-3 lead.

Persa, making just his second career start, continues to move the ball efficiently through the air, completing 19-of-22 passes. Persa has already thrown for 240 yards, more yards than he accumulated all last week passing against Vanderbilt.

Over his first six quarters of play this season, Persa is 38-for-43, good for an 88.4 completion percentage.

Persa added his second passing touchdown of the day in the second quarter, completing a five-yard pass to junior superback Drake Dunsmore, Dunsmore’s second touchdown reception of the game.

The defensive line, considered the Cats’ greatest defensive strength entering the season, has lived up to its hype. With consistent pressure on Illinois State quarterback Matt Brown, the defensive line forced two quarterback hurries that led to interceptions, both by senior linebacker Quentin Davie.

First quarter:

Behind an explosive no-huddle offense, NU built a 14-3 lead over Illinois State, amassing 168 yards of offense. With improved performances from NU’s committee of running backs, most notably Arby Fields, the Cats gained 61 yards on 13 carries.

Crucial to the Cats’ success on the ground has been a renewed effort to run between the tackles. While Fields struggled on runs to the outside last week, he has found consistent success running up the middle. Fields ran just once to the outside, losing a yard.

Fields led the Cats’ ground attack with seven carries for 38 yards, while junior Jacob Schmidt added 15 yards on three carries.

Persa, who led NU in last week’s 23-21 win over Vanderbilt with 82 yards rushing, only carried the ball twice for five yards. Persa punched the ball in on NU’s second scoring drive with a one-yard run.

Defensively, the NU secondary got beat up by an Illinois State offense that amassed over 300 yards passing in its week one win over Central Missouri State. Quarterback Matt Brown completed five-of-eight passes for 67 yards in the first quarter, burning senior cornerback Justan Vaughn twice for gains of 32 and 14 yards.

The Cats broke open the scoring on their opening drive with a 15-play, 89-yard drive, capped by a four-yard completion from Persa to Dunsmore.