Northwestern held off a furious rally from Indiana to beat the Hoosiers 44-29 today.
The Wildcats’ offense was firing on all cylinders and set a new school record with more than 700 yards of total offense against the Hoosiers. The previous record was 674 yards, set in 2005 against Wisconsin.
Junior quarterback Kain Colter was at the heart of the performance, having a career day all around. He set career marks in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, receptions, receiving yards and total offense. His four rushing touchdowns accounted for 80 percent of NU’s touchdowns and came at crucial moments in the game.
Indiana struggled to move the ball in the first half and only had 145 yards and zero points at the intermission. In the second half, the Hoosiers fell behind 27-0 before finding some life and putting up 280 yards of offense and 29 points. They ran for 103 yards in the final half hour and threw for several big plays.
The Cats had two 100-yard rushers for the first time since 2003 as both junior tailback Venric Mark and Colter went over the century mark. NU’s big issue was its three turnovers, but fortunately for NU, Indiana was only able to convert for seven points off the turnovers.
— Josh Walfish
