Irish Pull One Out Over Northwestern
It was never going to be easy. Even when it looked like it was going to be easy, it wasn’t going to be easy.
After taking a three-score lead in the fourth quarter, Notre Dame found itself up just three points minutes later, but the Irish still managed to get out of Northwestern with a 31-21 victory over the Wildcats to move to 9-0 on the season.
The Irish looked like they might breeze through the second half when a Justin Yoon field goal in the fourth quarter gave them a 24-7 lead.
The Wildcats didn’t do much in the third quarter, but finally got things going on their first drive of the fourth quarter. A 20-yard run by Isaiah Bowser helped get things started and the drive was capped when Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson hit Riley Lees for a 27-yard score that made it 24-14 with 11 minutes to go.
The Irish were forced to punt on the ensuing possession and had that punt blocked, setting up Northwestern at Notre Dame’s 17-yard line for its next drive. After being stopped on third-and-goal from the three, Thorson snuck it in from a yard out on fourth down to make it 24-21 with seven minutes to play.
Notre Dame stepped up and responded with a 10-play, 89-yard drive. Irish quarterback Ian Book capped the drive with a 23-yard touchdown run on a zone read around the end to put the Irish up 31-21 with 2:45 to play.
After Northwestern turned the ball over on downs, Notre Dame was just about able to kneel it out for the win. They had to punt with 12 seconds left and the game ended after the Wildcats ran one play from their own 15.
Book finished 22 for 34 for 343 yards and two touchdowns. Book led the Irish in rushing with 56 yards on 11 carries and the score as well. Dexter Williams also ran for 56 yards and a score on 19 carries.
Chase Claypool pulled in eight passes for 130 yards. Michael Young caught a pair of passes for 60 yards, including a 47-yard score. Miles Boykin finished with four catches for 54 yards and a touchdown.
Notre Dame escaped a scare early.
On the game's first possession, a botched handoff between Book and Williams was recovered by Northwestern. But the Wildcats could only muster 14 yards and missed a 39-yard field goal.
The Irish responded with a 14-play, 79-yard drive for a touchdown on their next possession. Book hit Claypool with a 16-yard completion and Boykin for 15 to get the ball to midfield. Book hit Chris Finke for a seven-yard pass on 4th and 2 to keep the drive alive and after a 17-yard completion to Cole Kmet, Williams dove in from a yard out to give Notre Dame a 7-0 lead in the first.
After a three-and-out from Northwestern, the Irish missed their own field goal and the Wildcats came back with an 18-play, 73-yard touchdown drive that also featured a one-yard scoring run by Thorson and a fourth-down conversion to tie the game 7-7 midway through the second quarter.
Notre Dame was forced to punt after a lone first down on its next possession. Northwestern drove 36 yards across midfield on the ensuing possession, but elected to punt with just over two minutes to play in the half. The Irish caught a huge break when Northwestern’s Joe Gaziano was unable to hold to an interception that would have given the Wildcats possession inside the Notre Dame 25-yard line. Instead, the Irish punted and Northwestern took over at the plus-46 following a 12-yard return by Riley Lees.
Northwestern was unable to take advantage of the field position and the teams went to the half tied 7-7.
Book finished the first half 7-for-15 for 107 yards. The Irish managed only 55 rushing yards on 20 first-half carries with Book leading the way with 22 yards on six attempts. Williams was limited to 18 yards on nine rushes, but he did have the touchdown.
Northwestern’s offense was even more pedestrian. Thorson completed eight of his 16 pass attempts for 53 yards. The Wildcats rushed for 63 yards on 21 carries, although they did establish their feature back as Bowser rushed for 51 yards on 14 carries.
On the opening drive of the second half, the Wildcats again moved the ball beyond midfield, but Julian Okwara sacked Thorson on third down to force a punt.
Notre Dame took its first possession of the second half 80 yards on 11 plays for a touchdown. Book went 8-for-10 for 77 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown pass to Boykin that put the Irish up 14-7.
The Irish forced another Northwestern punt on the next possession, which led to Book hooking up with Young for a deep 47-yard scoring pass that made it 21-7 a couple minutes before the end of the third.
Northwestern lost a yard on three plays on its next possession. After a punt, Notre Dame drove 29 yards to set up a 43-yard field goal by Justin Yoon that made it a three-score game at 24-7 with 13 minutes to play before Northwestern's late rally.