Northwestern football: Pat Fitzgerald has officially exceeded expectations
Northwestern football headed to Iowa for a big battle against Iowa for a chance to win the Big Ten West. The Wildcats finished the job.
Iowa came into its matchup against Northwestern football on a two-game losing streak, after suffering losses to Penn State and Purdue. Facing the Wildcats looked like a formidable task, as Northwestern looked to put a stranglehold on the Big Ten West division.
A scoreless defensive struggle started the game off, as neither offense got much going in the first quarter. Nate Stanley had a decent game, completing 27-of-41 yards for 269 yards and a touchdown, but the offense stalled out far too much.
The run defense couldn’t slow down Northwestern running back Isaiah Bowser finished the game with 31 carries for 165 yards and a score. The Hawkeyes’ secondary did an excellent job against star quarterback Clayton Thorson, as he finished just 15-for-30 with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Still, Northwestern did something it had never done before: win the Big Ten West. It’s hard to believe that this team is headed to the conference championship game after a 1-3 start to the season, but Pat Fitzgerald has done a heck of a job with this team.
The veteran head coach wasn’t expected to do much with this team in 2018 after losing Justin Jackson in the run game and starting quarterback Clayton Thorson was coming off an ACL tear in the bowl game against Kentucky. However, he managed to turn things around and lead this team to the promised land with a chance to beat a team like Michigan or Ohio State in the title game.
Next. Projected CFB Playoff Ranks after Week 11. dark
The Hawkeyes suffered their third straight loss and should fall out of the College Football Playoff Top 25 after this contest. Next week they travel to Champaign to face the Illini, who are coming off of 54-35 loss to the Cornhuskers.