Football

Northwestern overcame another slow start on the road and blew past Purdue 45-17 on Saturday, riding the familiar trio of Clayton Thorson, Austin Carr and Justin Jackson to over 600 yards of offense.

The Wildcats (5-5, 4-3 Big Ten) trailed the Boilermakers (3-7, 1-6) by 10 in the first quarter before the first Thorson-to-Carr touchdown of the game turned the tide in their favor.

The sophomore quarterback would connect again with the senior receiver to put NU up 14-10 at halftime before the entire offense erupted for three touchdowns in the first seven minutes of the second half to take control.

Thorson threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns, adding another score on the ground, while Carr hauled in 92 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Jackson shook off a sluggish start, as the junior finished with 127 yards rushing yards and two scores. All three were pulled from the game late as the Cats cycled through their backups.

Takeaways:

1. The Cats are now one win away from bowl eligibility. With a road game at Minnesota and the home finale against Illinois left on the regular season schedule, NU needs just one more victory to get to the six-win mark and guarantee a bowl appearance. Where they might be headed for the postseason, however, remains up in the air.

2. NU’s defense ended its turnover drought in dominant fashion. After failing to force a single turnover in the past two losses to Ohio State and Wisconsin, the Cats picked off Purdue quarterback David Blough on three occasions and backup Elijah Sindelar for a fourth interception. Sophomore cornerback Montre Hartage recorded his first career two-interception game and a third-quarter pick by junior linebacker Anthony Walker set up an immediate touchdown.

3. The Cats’ rushing attack overwhelmed Purdue. Jackson and freshman running back John Moten IV found lots of room to run against the Boilermakers. NU’s maligned offensive line steadily overpowered Purdue in the trenches, and both Jackson and Moten found plenty of space to run on the outside as the game progressed.

Stats:

-Carr’s two touchdowns upped his season total to 13, tying the program’s single-season receiving touchdown record.

-Jackson and Moten became the Cats’ first running back duo to surpass 100 yards each in a single game since September 2013.

-Thorson’s 352 passing yards, senior wide receiver Andrew Scanlan’s 78 yards and Moten’s 119 yards all set career-highs.

-In addition to his interception, Walker tallied 12 tackles, his most of the season to date.

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