On the second play from scrimmage of Saturday’s tilt against Eastern Illinois, graduate student running back Cam Porter continued what he started in overtime against Duke eight days prior.
After cutting right, he dragged multiple Panthers defenders on his back on an 11-yard gain to move the chains for Northwestern.
Just two snaps later, redshirt sophomore running back Joseph Himon II received a handoff and soon sprinted up the left sideline on a 17-yard carry to get the Wildcats to midfield.
“I think just really committing to our identity of running the football,” Himon said when asked how NU found success on the ground. “Once we do that and commit to running it, it opens up lanes for us and just ground and pound teams, and it makes them tired. And once we do that, we’re rolling.”
By the time the clock hit zero in the fourth quarter, the ’Cats (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) overwhelmed the Panthers (1-2, 0-0 OVC) with 203 rushing yards in a 31-7 win.
In the first 29 minutes of the lakeside matchup, redshirt sophomore quarterback Jack Lausch completed just four of 13 passes for 16 yards. Coach David Braun saw this sluggish start as “a first-time starter just a little amped up.”
Before Lausch found his form, it was NU’s potent rushing game that kept the ’Cats offense afloat. Porter, Himon and Lausch led the team to 173 first half rushing yards, more than NU amassed throughout all 60 minutes of the meetings against Miami (Ohio) or Duke.
The ’Cats struck first with an 11-play, 80-yard drive in the game’s opening quarter. On this five-minute drive, Lausch did not complete a single pass — but he totaled 53 rushing yards, including a 26-yard dash up the right sideline.
“I think Coach (Zach) Lujan did a great job of scheme in place to get me in space,” Lausch said. “I think the backs did a really good job with our read stuff and trusted me when I was holding the ball, and obviously the guys up front, they make that happen.”
A physical 10-yard rush by Lausch put NU on the one-yard line, and Porter finished off the drive by taking a direct snap and beating the defense to the edge for a touchdown.
A full quarter later, Lausch led the offense onto the field for a two-minute drill. With the ’Cats still in their own territory, Lausch finally commanded the offense through the air.
Completing five of his next seven passes for 48 yards, Lausch put NU in position to score on the Panthers’ 32-yard line. At this juncture, Lausch handed the ball off to his freshman and sophomore year roommate Himon, who found a hole on the left side of the field and sprinted through it to the endzone. This explosive run put the ’Cats ahead 14-7 going into halftime.
“My mentality every time I’m in there, I’m just trying to score a touchdown,” Himon said. “That’s been my mentality since I started playing the game, and it was just a credit to my (offensive) line and to my receivers blocking.”
During the second half, NU scored 17 unanswered points, as Lausch went 11-of-11 for 163 passing yards, throwing two touchdowns. His arm, rather than his feet, became his primary weapon in the latter 30 minutes.
The ’Cats look forward to traveling to the West Coast to welcome Washington to the Big Ten next week. With Porter — who finished the game with 15 carries for 77 yards and a touchdown — playing some of the best football of his career, Himon starring as an explosive change-of-pace back and Lausch dialing up his dual-threat ability under center, NU hopes to knock off last year’s College Football Playoff finalists.
Saturday’s action was the first time that the NU offense surpassed 200 yards both through the air and on the ground with Braun as the team’s coach. Seeing his new quarterback in rhythm and the running game thriving, Braun thinks that this could just be the tip of the iceberg for his squad.
“(It was) really fun to see what this group has the potential of becoming when you’re balanced on the offensive side of the ball — efficient in the run game and in the passing game, getting a lot of people involved in the passing game,” Braun said.
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