By the time redshirt freshman defensive back Damon Walters notched his first career interception late Friday night in SECU Stadium, the nail was in the coffin. The takeaway marked Maryland’s fourth turnover of the game, and Northwestern started its drive just 20 yards removed from the endzone.
Three plays later, graduate student running back Jake Arthurs scored his first touchdown since the 2021 season with a nine-yard run. Arthurs’ run was the cherry on top of a 20-point fourth quarter by the Wildcats (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten), as the Terrapins (3-3, 0-3 Big Ten) fell apart in the final quarter of a 37-10 blowout.
“It is a credit of the way things can snowball in a positive way when you can start to create some takeaways,” coach David Braun said.
After Braun’s squad fell to Indiana last week, the coaching staff challenged the team to bounce back for Friday night action in College Park.
The players provided an emphatic response, as NU dismantled Maryland on the road en route to the most dominant Big Ten win for the ’Cats in Braun’s tenure.
NU’s second drive was a bounceback from the three-and-out that preceded it. Stationed on his own 46-yard line, redshirt sophomore quarterback Jack Lausch dropped back, escaped a collapsing pocket and fired the ball downfield to an open graduate student wide receiver A.J. Henning for a 40-yard gain.
A few plays later, the ’Cats struck first with Lausch scrambling from the nine-yard line for a touchdown.
“Jack’s doing a good job of processing, being timely with the football when he makes a decision to scramble,” Braun said. “It’s a decisive decision.”
On the following drive, NU’s offense continued to create explosive plays down the field. With the offense stationed within its own five-yard line, Lausch fired the football to graduate student wide receiver Bryce Kirtz for a 28-yard completion, 20 of which came after the catch.
Later in the same drive, Lausch found Kirtz open down the right sideline with a perfectly placed throw that netted a 40-yard gain.
“Me and Jack at practice, we just do a lot of communicating,” Kirtz said. “Especially these past two weeks, we’ve done a lot of communicating, and I think that’s translated to the games.”
Kirtz’s 123 receiving yard output marked the first time in his career that he’s gone back-to-back weeks with 100-yard performances.
Graduate student running back Cam Porter punched in a touchdown from the three yard line, putting the ’Cats up 14-0.
Then, redshirt junior punter Luke Akers — who stepped up to be NU’s kicker in the game due to redshirt junior kicker Jack Olsen’s absence — nailed a 43-yard kick.
“I was just really excited for the opportunity and thankful for it — thankful that coach Braun and Creighton believed in me to give me the opportunity” said Akers, who learned he would be the team’s kicker earlier this week.
Maryland still fought back, scoring a touchdown on its next drive, which spanned 16 plays and nearly eight minutes. Terrapin quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. found his way into the endzone on a quarterback sneak on the one-yard line.
The ’Cats’ next five drives all stalled out, four of which were three and outs. During this span, the hosts scored three points following an 18-play, nine-and-a-half-minute drive.
“We were able to limit their explosive plays, but we weren’t able to get off the field,” Braun said. “There’s nothing worse for an offense that’s in rhythm and showing a lot of strides than to keep them off the field for a long period of time.”
At the start of the fourth quarter, NU led by just a touchdown, as Maryland had scored 10 points unanswered. At this juncture, redshirt junior defensive lineman Carmine Bastone got to Edwards Jr. in the backfield for a strip sack. With the ball jarred loose, redshirt junior Aidan Hubbard recovered the ball in the endzone for a touchdown to extend the lead to two touchdowns.
On the Terrapins’ next drive, they turned the ball over on downs. The ’Cats held Edwards Jr. to complete just 28-of-51 passes Friday night.
Just one play later, Lausch found Kirtz downfield for a 55-yard completion, the duo’s longest connection of the season. The drive ended with an Akers field goal.
The wheels continued to fall off for Maryland, as redshirt sophomore defensive back Braden Turner forced tight end Preston Howard to fumble on the first play of the Terrapins’ next drive. Another Akers field goal extended the lead to 30-10, and the ensuing Walters interception and Arthurs touchdown rendered the game over.
“The turnover margin was huge, especially against a team that had been really successful in that area,” Braun said.
Maryland entered the game with a turnover differential of +11, tied with James Madison for the highest in the country.
Coming off this victory, NU will host Wisconsin on Oct. 19 for the final lakeside game of the season.
“Awesome team win,” Lausch said. “Awesome for the confidence. Excited to look at this game, celebrate what we did really, really well, and understand how we can get better and put ourselves in the best situation for next Saturday.”
Email: [email protected]
Related Stories:
— Football: Northwestern’s Akers puts on special teams clinic in 37-10 victory over Maryland
— Football: Northwestern’s Bastone makes game-changing impact in season debut against Maryland
