Opposite directions: Wildcats 3-0, Illini 0-3
Defense, resilient Ramsey give Wildcats 3rd win
■ Peyton Ramsey throws two touchdowns as Northwestern knocks off Nebraska 21-13.
■ Illinois, again without QB Brandon Peters, struggles in a 41-14 loss to Minnesota.
Northwestern defeated Nebraska 21-13 to become the first Big Ten team to reach 3-0 early Saturday, further proving itself as a top-tier team in the conference.
In an unorthodox season with a conference-only schedule because of COVID-19, this is the first time since 2000 — and the first under coach Pat Fitzgerald — the Wildcats have started Big Ten play with three victories.
After Nebraska quarterback Luke McCaffrey’s last-second pass to Wan’Dale Robinson fell incomplete in the end zone at Ryan Field in Evanston, Fitzgerald headed onto the field with an enthusiastic fist pump.
“A win’s a win,” he said. “I’ve approached this year with a thankful mindset.”
Here are four takeaways from the game.
1. ‘Our defense saved us.’ The Wildcats allowed 13 secondquarter points but shut out Nebraska from there and have not allowed an opponent to score in the second half this season.
Northwestern leads the Big Ten with nine forced turnovers, an important part of Fitzgerald’s teams. The Wildcats picked up two second-half interceptions that helped them stay ahead.
“Our defense saved us,” Fitzgerald said.
The bend-don’t-break defense came up especially big deep in Northwestern territory.
Nebraska drove the ball inside the NU 25-yard line seven times. The drives ended with two field goals, a missed field-goal attempt, a touchdown, two interceptions and a turnover on downs.
The Cornhuskers’ lone touchdown drive was just 3 yards after an interception.
Late in the third quarter, Nebraska drove to the Wildcats 25, but Brandon Joseph intercepted Adrian Martinez in the end zone. It was Joseph’s third pick of the season.
With Northwestern leading 21-13 in the fourth, Nebraska drove to the 3-yard line, but Chris Bergin snagged an interception with 6:05 remaining in the game.
Nebraska amassed 442 total yards — 125 more than Northwestern— but came up with only the one touchdown.
“We have a veteran core group of guys,” Fitzgerald said. “They’re pretty unflappable. The young talent is gaining more and more confidence. We’ve got veterans on the field. We’ve got veterans calling thegame. It gives you confidence to go out and execute.”
2. Unrattled Ramsey. What are Northwestern quarterback Petyon Ramsey’s most redeeming qualities?
“He looks really calm,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s a coach’s son. He’s played a ton of football. … You say, ‘OK, let’s see how he responds.’ He responds consistently with the same mind set each time: ‘I’m fine. Let’s go.’ ”
Ramsey, a graduate transfer from Indiana, needed that resiliency againstN ebraska.
Redshirt freshman Myles Farmer intercepted Ramsey twice in the second quarter, and the Cornhuskers took a 13-7 halftime lead.
Ramsey didn’t come out in the second half firing away, but he steadied himself and didn’t make mistakes, finishing 16 of 27 for 169 yards.
He threw two second-half touchdowns: a 2-yard pass to John Raine for a 14-13 thirdquarter lead and a 10-yard toss to Riley Lees with 9:53 left for the final score.
3. Into the unknown. Fitzgerald likened preparing for Nebraska to a season-opening opponent.
The Wildcats hadn’t seen much of the Cornhuskers, who had played only one game. (More on that next.) And they were unsure how much they would see of Nebraska’s two quarterbacks.
Junior Adrian Martinez was just 12-for-27 for 125 yards and threwan interception. He ran for another 102 yards on 13 carries.
Luke McCaffrey, a redshirt freshman, replaced Martinez near the end of the third quarter. McCaffery completed 12 of 16 passes for 93 yards and an interception.
“We made too many mistakes against a good team,” Nebraska coach Scott Frost said.
4. Celebrate with caution.
Northwestern’s Week 4 opponent, Purdue, did not play Saturday because its game against Wisconsin was canceled. The Badgers have not played the last two weeks because of a COVID-19 outbreak on the team.
Nebraska didn’t play last weekend when its game against the Badgers was called off. The extra week of preparation did little to help the Cornhuskers, who fell to 0-2.
The Boilermakers (2-0) will be eager to make up for their lost weekend when they play host to the Wildcats on Saturday.
Fitzgerald continued to stress to his team the importance of remaining socially distant and staying out of crowds whenever possible in order to keep the season rolling.
“We have to be 1-0 versus COVID with our social choices,” he said.