NU starts 4-0 in Big Ten for 1rst time since ’96
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Peyton Ramsey took advantage of his expertise Saturday.
He used nimble feet to evade pass rushers, remained poised under pressure and kept Northwestern moving down the field. TheWildcats needed a solid performance fromthe fifth-year senior, and they got it.
Ramsey made up for a stymied rushing attack by throwing for 212 yards and three touchdowns, leading No. 23 Northwestern to a 27-20 victory over Purdue.
“I don’twant to speak for him, but man, it seems like he’s having a lot of fun,” said coachPat Fitzgerald, whoplayed on the last Wildcats team to start 4-0 in league play in 1996. “I don’t knowwhat it looks like onTV, but on the boundary, this guy is awesome.”
The Boilermakers have seen enough of seeing Ramsey in the past two seasons.
Last November, Ramsey threw three touchdownpasses and ran for two scores in Indiana’s overtime win at Purdue. This time, hewas equally poised.
Ramsey finished 23 of 36 with one interception and hooked up with Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman on all three touch
downs. The graduate transfer also ran six times for 21 yards, routinely extending plays while improving to 8-4 as a starter over the last two years.
“That’s what he’s known for,” Purdue linebacker Derrick Barnes said, referring to Ramsey’s mobility. “We have to do a better job against those types of quarterbacks.”
The Wildcats defense was strong yet again. It held Purdue to 2 yards rushing and made two late stops to preserve a fifth straight Big Ten win.
But Ramsey was the biggest key — right fromthe start.
His 8-yard touchdown pass on the opening possession ended Chiaokhiao-Bowman’s three-year scoring drought. After the teams traded field goals and Aidan O’Connell tossed a tying 40-yard scoring pass to Garrett Miller on fourth-and-1, Ramseywent back towork.
He completed all seven passes on the ensuing drive, the last to Chiaokhiao-Bowman for an 18-yard score that gave Northwestern a 17-10 halftime lead. Chiaokhiao-Brown finished with eight catches for 86 yards, helping make up for a running game that managed 80 yards on 40 carries.
“When Peyton made the decision to come here, he and Ramaud were in constant communication,” Fitzgerald said. “That’s what older leaders do.”
Ramsey cashed in again with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Chiaokhiao-Bowman after Northwestern (4-0) recovered O’Connell’s third-quarter fumble. And then Northwestern burned more than six minutes of clock time while setting up a 42-yard field goal for a 27-13 lead.
The Boilermakers (2-1, 2-1) made it 27-20 on an 18-yard touchdown pass from O’Connell to MiltonWright with 7:35 left, but they never reached scoring territory again.