Northwestern (3-2, 2-1 Big Ten) took care of business against ULM (3-2, 1-1 Sun Belt) in Saturday’s homecoming matchup, drubbing the Warhawks 42-7 for its first winning streak of the season.
The program’s
first-ever meeting turned into an onslaught for the Wildcats. Aside from the opening drive touchdown from ULM, the Wildcats dominated in all facets of the game and played some of their sharpest football of the year.
Preston Stone had arguably his strongest performance of the season, going 20-for-62 with 262 yards and 3 touchdowns. Stone targeted 9 different receivers throughout the afternoon, with Hayden Eligon II’s 80 yards leading the pack. While Wilde wasn’t targeted in the first half, he exploded for a huge touchdown in the second frame, finishing the day with 64 yards in the air. Drew Wagner also added 63 yards
On the ground, freshman Dashun Reeder tied his career high in rushing yards with 79. Caleb Komolafe continued to impress for the Wildcats, carrying for 75 yards and two touchdowns.
The ‘Cats got better defensively as the game progressed, while bending but not breaking throughout the game. They had three sacks and seven tackles for losses, with Robert Fitzgerald leading the team with six.
Northwestern won the toss and chose to defer, with Luke Akers launching the kickoff into the end zone to give ULM the first possession at its own 25-yard line.
The Warhawks found offensive success early, both in the ground game and in the air. Running back Braylon McReynolds kick-started the momentum by finding a hole on the right side for a 15-yard gain to move ULM to midfield. Backup quarterback Hunter Herring again pushed the sticks on a five-yard third-down run. Two plays later, quarterback Aidan Armenta located ULM’s Nic Trujillo wide open behind the Wildcat defense and connected with him for a 34-yard touchdown pass. Following a successful extra point, ULM took a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.
The ‘Cats offense took the field looking to formulate a response. After Hunter Welcing returned the kickoff to NU’s 29-yard line, NU quickly faced a third-and-14 after a backfield stop by ULM. Preston Stone completed a 13-yard pass to Wagner, who went out of bounds one yard short of the sticks. Mulling an early fourth down decision on their own 48, the ‘Cats chose to go for it and were successful, with Caleb Komolafe pounding it through the middle for a first down gain.
After two incompletions forced another third down, Stone launched a shotgun pass to Ricky Ahumaraeze, who was open in the middle for a gain of 15. The ‘Cats entered the red zone after ULM’s Noah Flemmings grabbed the face mask of Komolafe, a penalty enforced half the distance to the goal. A Stone scramble brought the ‘Cats within five yards of the end zone and Komolafe punched it in on a three-yard touchdown carry. Jack Olsen’s extra point leveled the score at 7-7 with 5:22 remaining in the first quarter.
The Wildcat defense looked for a stronger performance in their second appearance, but didn’t find it initially. The secondary presented another gaping hole, and Herring exploited it by finding Garner Wallace on a 48-yard catch-and-run to quickly put ULM on Northwestern’s 20.
The defense stood its ground in the red zone, however. Ore Adeyi made a strong play by aggressively breaking up a third-and-17 attempted touchdown pass to force a Warhawk field goal. However, Stagg’s 45-yard field goal fell short, keeping the game tied.
Taking over at Northwestern’s 38-yard line, Stone turned to his legs to move the ball downfield. His 30-yard keeper to the right put the Wildcats within striking distance of further points. Two plays later, Stone looked the other way — sailing a deep ball to Eligon II on the left side, who got behind the cornerback and was cruising downfield. He caught the pass and seamlessly took it to the end zone, punctuating a 37-yard touchdown completion.
This time, NU chose to attempt a two-point conversion, and Lawson Albright stamped it with a run up the middle to give the ‘Cats a 15-7 lead in the early minutes of the second quarter.
Facing a deficit, the Warhawks promptly marched the ball back into Northwestern territory. But again, NU’s defense clamped down when it mattered. The Warhawks attempted a direct snap on third down that only mustered one yard. On fourth-and-two, Herring tried to leap over the pile and cross the sticks, but was furiously stopped by the ‘Cats defensive line. For the second straight possession, NU let ULM into its territory but ensured it ended up without points.
The Wildcat offense picked up a first down on a Wagner completion for 18 yards. Although an illegal formation and holding penalty set the offense back, Stone continued to find success on third down, connecting on a 25-yard catch by Eligon II in a tight window over man coverage. On another third and 16 after a false start penalty, Stone delivered a cross-body throw while going to his left, again finding Eligon II on the right side for an 18-yard gain. However, Stone was unable to connect with Eligon II again on a third-and-4 in the red zone, forcing the field goal unit to trot out. Olsen nailed the 34-yard attempt and widened the Wildcat lead to 18-7.
Trying to close the gap before heading into the locker room, ULM’s offense stormed out of the two-minute warning with a 27-yard completion to Trujillo, before taking advantage of a Northwestern pass interference penalty. But the drive would stall after that, as defensive lineman Anto Saka got to the ULM quarterback for a huge sack to prompt a Warhawk punt.
Northwestern’s offense entered hurry-up mode to try and add points before the half’s conclusion, but ran out of time. An 18-7 NU lead capped off the first half.
Stone finished the frame 14-for-22 with 172 yards and a touchdown. He also led the team in rushing with 46, while Eligon II had 80 receiving yards and his first career touchdown catch. The ‘Cats out-gained the Warhawks 262-187. Outside of the first drive, the defense bent but didn’t break, forcing a turnover on downs and one critical 16-yard sack.
The first half momentum clearly carried over, as NU’s offense looked dominant coming out of the locker room. Facing a third-and-6 after moving the ball to midfield, Stone found Griffin Wilde for his first catch of the day, a seven-yard haul to move the chains. On the subsequent third down and seven, Zach Lujan caught the Warhawks’ defense off guard by drawing a run play for Komolafe, who found a deep hole and took advantage with a 39-yard touchdown run. In under three minutes, NU widened its lead to 25-7, with Olsen remaining perfect on extra points.
The Wildcat defense also looked sharp in its first appearance of the second half. Despite relinquishing two first downs, it clamped ULM at midfield with a third and 12 stop, forcing ULM to punt — the first for either team thus far.
Zach Lujan turned to Reeder as the primary back for the following drive. He rewarded the decision with back-to-back first-down runs. Then, Wilde stole the show. After catching a third-down pass, he proceeded to haul in a 14-yard throw and shake off the defender pursuing him, leaving open turf ahead for Wilde to enter the end zone completely untouched. A 49-yard catch-and-run touchdown, followed by an extra point from Olsen, blew the game open midway through the third quarter — a 32-7 Wildcat advantage.
At this point, NU was completely in sync on both sides of the ball. The defense continued to lock down ULM, forcing its first three-and-out of the day after a sack from Aidan Hubbard. Northwestern’s offense took over on its own 47 and quickly moved the ball into the red zone, catapulted by another 18-yard catch from Wagner and a third-and-7 pass interference call on ULM. While facing a fourth-and-4 on the 6-yard line, the ‘Cats again chose to go for it. Again, the decision paid off — Stone connected with Wagner in the end zone for a touchdown. After Olsen’s fourth extra point of the day, NU extended its lead to 39-7 as the third quarter winded to a close.
The pass rush continued to wreak havoc on Armenta, with Michael Kilbane and Richie Hagarty combining to sack him on third-and-10 and force another Warhawks punt.
Backup quarterback Ryan Boe entered the game in place of Stone, and the punt placed them in ULM territory to start the drive. Despite a new figurehead, the Wildcat offense continued to dominate. A 16-yard scramble from Boe and more carries from Reeder pushed the ‘Cats to the 15-yard line. But this time, they were unable to convert on third down in the red zone and settled for a 33-yard field goal from Olsen. A 42-7 lead widened the blowout.
With under eight minutes to play in the fourth quarter, the ‘Cats committed a 15-yard personal foul penalty to set ULM in good field position. While they completed a 17-yard pass to bring themselves into NU territory, the Warhawks’ offense couldn’t get anything going after that, and once again punted.
NU leaned into its ground game to advance the ball into ULM territory, as Reeder continued to pile up yardage. But Boe couldn’t connect with Chase Farrell on a third-down pass, leading to Northwestern’s first punt of the game with just over three minutes to play in the quarter.
ULM pushed the ball to NU’s 33 but ran out of time to gain any further points, and NU finished victorious.
Next on the Wildcat’s docket is a road matchup against Penn State next Saturday, with the kickoff time set for 2:30 p.m. CST on FS1.
