Northwestern football (3-2, 1-1 B1G) beat Louisiana Monroe (3-2, 1-0 SBC) 42-7 on Saturday to defend the lakeside for homecoming weekend. The ‘Cats move to 3-1 on their home turf and have a winning record for the first time in 386 days. After the game, head coach David Braun warned that there was not much time to celebrate, saying, “it’s back to work tomorrow night.”
This was the last non-conference game of Northwestern’s season and the ‘Cats still need three more wins to reach bowl eligibility. With
a daunting trip to State College on the cards this week, let’s look at three upshots of Northwestern’s victory.
Preparation finally pays off in the passing game
NU’s pass attack exploded Saturday afternoon as Preston Stone threw for a season-high 262 yards and three touchdowns. For the first time this year, receiving leader Griffin Wilde was not the focus of the pass attack. Hayden Eligon II led the ‘Cats with 80 yards, three receptions and a score. Drew Wagner joined his teammate with six receptions, 63 yards and a score.
Eligon’s career day was impressive, but Braun said that he had expected such production from him and Wagner for a while.
“It’s what we see out of them every day in practice,” Brain said. “Seeing Hayden make the plays he did today and show up, it’s not a surprise.”
Eligon and Wagner combined for 14 targets, each receiver outpacing Wilde by two looks.
In games against Tulane, Oregon and UCLA, Stone made decisions in the pocket much too slowly. His indecision led to a plethora of negative splash plays for the ‘Cats: sacks, fumbles and interceptions. Stone clearly focused on his decision-making against the Warhawks as he stayed upright for the 35 minutes and 42 seconds that the ‘Cats were on offense. He was Houdini in the pocket, escaping defenders wherever they appeared.
On the second play of the second quarter, Stone saw the pocket collapsing and immediately put his foot in the ground, scrambling upfield for a 30-yard gain. This run-pass option showcased Stone’s willingness to make the quick and decisive play more than any other moment.
“Just trusting the process,” Stone said, “Taking ownership of our preparation has been big for us.”
Next Saturday will be a true test for Northwestern’s passing game as they attempt to dismantle Penn State’s secondary. Though the Nittany Lions are unranked for the first time in over three years, they still boast the No. 16 pass defense in the nation. Against UCLA on Saturday, Penn State gave up 42 points and 435 yards. However, only 14 of those points and 166 of those yards came through the air.
Braun is confident in his team’s ability to get ready for squads like Penn State, saying that Northwestern’s 2025 squad is the “best football team [he’s] ever been around in terms of how intentional they are in their preparation.”
A four-yard loss can still be an offensive win
Northwestern posted its second-largest rushing output of the year with 246 yards on Saturday. The Wildcats moved to No. 5 on the Big Ten rushing leaderboard with 980 yards and outrushed their opponent for the fourth game in a row. They did this against the No. 16 run defense in the nation (now No. 42).
The most encouraging aspect of the Northwestern ground game was its consistency. The ‘Cats first attempt of the game was a loss of 4 yards, but they ran six more times that same drive, culminating in Caleb Komolafe’s fourth touchdown of the year. Komolafe and Co. would love to make it to the secondary every play, but the mere consistency of running into the line of scrimmage has been enough to wear down opposing defenses this year.
Like Wildcats taking a moment to get up to speed, Northwestern’s running backs and offensive line take a moment to start imposing their dominance. On Saturday, the ‘Cats ran the ball 10 times in the first quarter for only 32 yards. Their next eight rushes combined for 82 yards, lifting Northwestern’s yards per carry from 3.2 to 10.25.
Finally, ULM’s defensive line collapsed completely in the third quarter. Northwestern’s halfbacks were lethal, rushing for 99 yards on 11 attempts. Komolafe broke off a 39-yard touchdown while Dashun Reeder racked up three rushes of 10+ yards.
The goal of the ground game occasionally reduces to clock management against opponents like the Warhawks, but one must remember that rushing continues to be Northwestern’s biggest strength. If the Wildcats plan to compete offensively in the Big Ten, the ace up its sleeve will be the run game.
Defensive consistency eats splash plays for breakfast
On third-and-17 late in the first quarter, ULM QB Aidan Armenta escaped what could easily have been a sack by defensive lineman Anto Saka before launching the ball downfield. The ball sailed through the arms of three Wildcats before falling harmlessly to the turf in the end zone.
Northwestern will make big play creation a point of emphasis in practice this week, but the team was not discouraged by its efforts. After the game, Saka assured the media that creating takeaways would be critical on defense.
“We’re going to finish,” Saka said. “We’re going to force turnovers.”
Despite allowing an opening drive touchdown, no interceptions and no fumbles, Northwestern’s defense was still dominant. The regularity of the ‘Cats’ defensive play was encouraging in the absence of turnovers. After the ‘Cats failed to pick off Armenta, the Warhawks missed a 45-yard field goal attempt. So long as they “bend, don’t break,” as Saka put it, opponents will make mistakes.
A large part of not breaking is tackling effectively, and Northwestern did so on Saturday. Three of Northwestern’s defenders – Robert Fitzgerald, Mac Uihlein and Garner Wallace – combined evenly for 18 tackles, while the rest of the team tallied 29 more. Northwestern earned seven tackles for loss, which set ULM back 42 yards. Ore Adeyi, who broke out last week, continued to make an impact with a pass breakup in the endzone and a 6-yard tackle for loss.
The ‘Cats face one of their toughest challenges of the season next Saturday at 2:30 p.m. when they take on Penn State in Happy Valley.
