Northwestern Football: Wildcats makes noise with big win over Wisconsin

Northwestern football took advantage of an undermanned Wisconsin side, dominating the Badgers in Evanston to secure a lead in the Big Ten West race.

After opening the season 1-3, Northwestern won their fourth straight contest in a 31-17 takedown of No. 20 Wisconsin to move to 5-3 overall. More importantly for Pat Fitzgerald‘s crew, the Wildcats improved to 5-1 in Big Ten play and now look like the frontrunner to claim the West’s spot in the conference title game in Indianapolis.

Northwestern took advantage of a Wisconsin side that came to Evanston undermanned. Starting quarterback Alex Hornibrook sat out after continuing to suffer through concussion symptoms, opening the door for redshirt freshman quarterback Jack Coan to make his first appearance of the 2018 season.

While Hornibrook has rarely put up otherworldly stats, this game proved how critical his presence is to the effective functioning of the Badgers offense. Coan went 20-of-31 for 152 yards and a touchdown. Even though he didn’t throw an interception, Coan struggled to keep the Northwestern defense honest with his arm.

That proved costly for the vaunted Wisconsin running game. Northwestern, who entered the game ranked 49th against the run, held the Badgers to only 165 rushing yards all day. Most impressively, they bottled up Heisman hopeful Jonathan Taylor. The sophomore back, who had rushed for more than 100 yards in every game leading up to the Northwestern showdown, was held to only 46 rushing yards on 11 carries and suffered two fumbles.

Clayton Thorson didn’t have to be perfect for Northwestern. The veteran quarterback, though, did enough to keep the Wildcats ahead against a strong Wisconsin defense. Thorson went 17-of-30 for 172 yards and threw three interceptions, but he also punched in two rushing touchdowns and a passing score. It was a gutsy, confident performance by a quarterback who was far more used to his surroundings than Wisconsin’s field general on offense.

With Purdue down against Michigan State in East Lansing, only Iowa has the chance to remain tied with the Wildcats atop the Big Ten West standings. The next two weeks, against Notre Dame and Iowa, will determine whether Northwestern can contend for a conference title and a spot in the New Year’s Six. Wisconsin heads back to the drawing board, knowing their talent gap has closed against the rest of the division.