For the first time since 2009, Lincoln’s hat resides in Evanston.
Northwestern controlled Saturday’s game almost from the start, defeating in-state rival Illinois 50-14 to reclaim the Land of Lincoln Trophy on the Wildcats’ Senior Day.
“Nine wins is a great year,” coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “We’re very thankful for (the seniors) and obviously very happy for them to win on senior day. To go out and leave Ryan Field for one last time, winning the Land of Lincoln and winning the hat back … and in my opinion, making a very bold statement of a resume-building win and a resume finish to the end of our season.”
The Cats relied heavily on their rushing attack, racking up 338 yards on 67 carries on Saturday. The ground game was once again led by the tandem of junior quarterback Kain Colter and junior running back Venric Mark. Both scored a touchdown and averaged more than six yards per carry. Mark had his eighth game with more than 100 yards this season, gaining 127 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown.
Colter had 88 rushing yards, but he was most effective through the air, completing nine of 11 passes for 102 yards and a career-high three touchdowns. He hit three different receivers for touchdowns, including backup offensive lineman Paul Jorgensen, who lined up at left tackle as an eligible receiver and took off on a seam route for the easy score.
In all, six NU players scored offensive touchdowns and eight players scored points overall.
“We got a motto that’s ‘Everybody eats,” Colter said. “Everybody wants a taste of the end zone. That’s one thing that’s kind of developed since I’ve been here is that everyone’s competing, everyone wants to get on the field. It’s also exciting to see some guys that stepped up and scored.”
While the NU offense was punishing the Illinois defense, NU’s defense took advantage of a lot of Illinois miscues. For the second straight week the Cats forced four turnovers, but they scored touchdowns off all four turnovers to help take control of the game.
The Fighting Illini’s only successful drive was its first when they marched 78 yards down the field on 11 plays to take a 7-0 lead. After that, Illinois had only 164 yards of offense, including a measly 37 yards in the second half.
Fitzgerald said the first half was the worst half of football NU has played in a month and the defense took the lousy performance to heart.
After not tackling well on the first drive, the Cats focused on the basics and limited the Fighting Illini on offense and force turnovers.
“We knew we hadn’t played our best football, and we were still winning,” senior linebacker David Nwabuisi said. “We just looked each other in the eye and we knew we could play better. We just kept on fighting, kept punching and eventually things started going our way.”
Saturday’s win was significant for both NU players and coaches.
It was Fitzgerald’s 49th victory at the helm of the team, which ties him for the most all-time with “Pappy” Lynn Waldorf. It was the 39th win in the five-year careers of the senior class, the most of any class in school history.
Fitzgerald noted it was the 118th win in defensive backs coach Jerry Brown’s 20-year career at NU. Fitzgerald said he was happier with the accomplishments of Brown and the senior class than his own milestone.
For the seniors, the game was a fitting end to the regular season. Defensive end Quentin Williams did not have many words to describe his final game at home but said he was pleased with his last victory at Ryan Field.
“I didn’t know how it would feel when I got to senior day,” Williams said. “I’m not sure it’s quite hit me yet. It’s obviously great to end the regular season on that kind of note, and I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys to do it around.”
