Did somebody say shutout? Northwestern held Purdue to zero points, the first time the ‘Cats have done so to a Big Ten opponent since 2017 and to Purdue specifically since 1956. While the Boilermakers aren’t the highest caliber of opponents in the Big Ten, they had been a potent offense throughout the season. Coming into their game against Northwestern, they had been held scoreless in just three of their 24 quarters played prior. Preston Stone didn’t have his best day, but the Wildcats still got the job done thanks to stellar defensive play. The game got sloppy on both sides as it progressed, especially in the fourth quarter, but the ‘Cats still pitched the shutout and dominated time of possession. Let’s dive in to the numbers from Week 8 for NU:

Stone’s stats were 11-of-26 for 132 yards and two touchdowns to go alongside one interception. This was the first game Stone has had both throwing a touchdown and an interception (every time he has thrown a touchdown pass, the Wildcats have won). His PFF offensive grade wasn’t great, coming in at a 57.1. He did have two PFF “big time throws” (a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window) though; a good sign despite some struggles. Stone didn’t need to do much in this one though as the running backs and defense were excellent.

Before exiting with an upper-body injury, Caleb Komolafe carried the rock 12 times for 67 yards. Once again, “The Beast” has looked the part, and it will be a huge loss if he misses the game against Nebraska. Joseph Himon II led NU with 22 carries for 87 yards, plus one reception for six yards. As the lead back with Komolafe’s injury, Himon did everything he needed to and more as the ‘Cats ran out the clock. Lastly, Dashun Reeder had five carries for 51 yards with a fumble. Reeder has taken his opportunities and really shown that he can be a guy to lean on and to give Komolafe and Himon some rest. Not to mention, Robby Preckel got some run and didn’t look too bad either. Griffin Wilde led the team with four catches for 47 yards plus his fourth receiving touchdown of the season.

The offensive line mauled in pass blocking. Northwestern has a higher PFF pass blocking grade (77.3, 17th in FBS) this season than Indiana (77.2, 18th in FBS). Through the first three games, Stone was sacked a total of eight times. After the bye week, he’s only been sacked four times total in four games. In two of those (ULM and Purdue), he wasn’t sacked at all. Ezomo Oratokhai led the team with an 87.4 PFF pass blocking grade (t-25th in FBS this week). Oratokhai has taken a huge leap as the season has gone on as he was named to The Athletic’s College Football Midseason All-Freshman team. Caleb Tiernan followed close behind with an 85.7 PFF pass blocking grade while Evan Beerntsen posted an 82.0. The rest of the O-line graded well in pass pro as well, but the big takeaway from this game is the progress Oratokhai has made and that the coaching staff was right to keep playing him when others had doubts.

Purdue did gain 305 total yards on offense, but still failed to score. Credit to the Wildcats’ defense for forcing three turnovers, five punts and three fourth down stops. Anto Saka and Michael Kilbane were both forces to be reckoned with, as the former posted an 85.7 PFF defensive grade (30th in FBS of players with at least 19 defensive snaps played) while the latter posted an 84.0 (t-36th in FBS). Both Saka and Kilbane also had PFF pass rush grades over 80.0 as both were able to sack Malachi Singleton (Saka forced a fumble too). Robert Fitzgerald, despite being questionable coming into the game, posted an 86.1 PFF run defense grade (t-16th in FBS of players with at least 19 defensive snaps played). All-in-all, pitching a shutout it not easy work, so credit where credit is due. Speaking of due, without further a do, here’s the film from Week 8:

Northwestern controlled the tempo of the game throughout on both offense and defense. 37:39 for Northwestern. That’s almost 2/3 of the entire game!

Big plays can flip momentum in an instance or build onto what is already there.

This was a rocket of a throw from Stone. Even without the extra 15 yards tacked on from the horse collar tackle, a 35-yard gain on its own is impressive. Stone faked the handoff, the offensive line gave him all the time in the world and he perfectly fires this one in to find Hayden Eligon II on the medium crossing route. Eligon’s run after the catch is also impressive here, but the throw and the blocking are what stand out most as this play got the ‘Cats into Purdue territory just like that.

This is one of the two breakaway runs that Northwestern had against Purdue. Reeder has taken the opportunity presented to him and, no pun intended, run with it. This rush here starts thanks to the B-gap being opened up wide enough that a car could fit through it. Carson Grove delivered a good down field block as Reeder broke two tackles before taking it down the sideline for a gain of 28. The willingness of the Northwestern wide receivers to block their hearts out is always impressive.

This was the other big run of the day. This time, it was the C-gap that opened up thanks to the block from Hunter Welcing. Again, the offensive line has been more impressive than I would’ve expected when the season began back in August. Himon gets to the second level thanks to the blocks as he scampers down the far sideline for 37 yards before being brought down. All three backs on this team since Cam Porter went down with injury have been really impressive, but some of the credit needs to be placed on the offensive line’s play.

Wilde has been such a difference maker for Northwestern this season. There’s a real argument that he’s been one of the most impactful transfers in the Big Ten. Every week he makes plays and is a huge key to the Wildcats’ success this season. He’s a legit Big Ten receiver, and that’s saying something considering many of the nation’s best receivers reside in this conference. He’s up there with some of the best as he’s ninth in the Big Ten in receiving yards, ahead of players like Denzel Boston and Ja’Kobi Lane.

Wilde has caught a touchdown pass in each of the last four games. Prior to the bye week and the recent four-game stretch, he hadn’t found the end zone. His connection with Stone is only getting better and better by the week. When watching it, the stats don’t do it justice. On this play here, Wilde starts on the outside as he cuts inwards. Stone places the ball right into the chest of Wilde as he makes the falling grab with two defenders on him.

The pocket here is beautiful. Stone backs up almost 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage after the snap, but he steps up in the pocket to deliver a strike to the crossing Wilde. The throw was a tad high and Wilde did have to extend his arms a bit, but still good enough that he could catch it in stride as he cut across the field. He’s been targeted 24 times from lining up in the slot, catching 17 of those throws for 218 yards and a touchdown plus 13 of those going for first downs.

Normally, I don’t show defensive plays. Last week I did because it was what sealed the game. This week, Northwestern pitched a shutout and forced three turnovers while sacking Purdue twice. Here are those turnovers:

Northwestern forced all three of its turnovers in the fourth quarter. The first came in a huge spot as Braden Turner gave up a huge play to Corey Smith before making up for it as he punched the ball out. On the replay of it, you can see Turner get his hand on the ball and knock it out as Fitzgerald recovered the fumble. Not only was this a good recovery from Turner, but it also helped stop any possible momentum gain for the Boilermakers after what would have been about a 50-yard gain.

The second forced turnover was Mac Uihlein’s third interception of the season. Uihlein made a great play to get in front of the receiver and get the interception, but the main reason for the errant throw from Singleton was due to the combined pressure from Brendan Flakes and Richie Hagarty. They forced Singleton to get rid of it or try to make a play, but they were the ones who made the real play.

In his last three games played, Saka has gotten a sack. This one here gets credited to him (even though Kilbane was also in on the play) as he pushed Bakyne Coly into Singleton, forcing the ball out as it popped into the hands of Flakes. Kilbane would get a sack of his own later, but it was Saka here who aggressively won his rep to force the Wildcats’ third turnover of the day.

The Wildcats keep putting themselves in worse situations. Being held to three field goals and turning the ball over twice in the red zone accounts for five of the seven drives that made it into that territory of the field (the two turnovers were snapped from outside the red zone but happened within the 20-yard line). I know I’m being nitpicky here, but the schedule only gets tougher from here and no game remaining is a “gimme.”

Specifically looking at the turnovers, they happened at a time in the game where the ‘Cats did seem to have a grasp on it. However, turning the ball over in scoring territory, even when it’s field goal range, is something that hurts a team.

Firstly, there needs to be credit given to the defender. Hershey McLaurin popped Reeder and forced the ball loose with the big hit. The blocking on the play was good as Reeder was able to get into the second level, just unfortunately he got hit hard enough that the ball went flying. This turnover isn’t as bad as this next one, but still a point of emphasis will be on preventing turnovers.

Simply put, just not a good throw. Stone stared Wilde down the entire time and fired it right into the defender’s hands. While he has good at going through progressions, this is one he’d like back.

There are a lot of things to be pleased about. Northwestern dominated time of possession in this game, holding the ball for just under 38 minutes. The running game is still the backbone of this offense and Wilde is the majority of the passing game. The defense showed just how shutdown it can be against a Purdue offense that had scored at least 17 points in its first six games. As I mentioned earlier, the schedule only gets tougher as the weather gets colder. A bowl appearance is a real possibility, especially with the ‘Cats now sitting at 5-2. If NU can limit the turnovers and play a bit cleaner, this team truly can compete with some of the best. Coach David Braun has his guys playing Big Ten football to a T as it’s now time to take the show on the road to play against Nebraska.