WildcatReport – Northwestern explodes for 33 points to upset Maryland

EVANSTON-If you thought you knew this Northwestern team, think again.

The Wildcats, 13.5-point home underdogs, used a suddenly explosive offense to upset Maryland, 33-27, and give their bowl hopes a giant boost.

But, as usual, it wasn’t easy.

Northwestern held a 33-20 lead with less than five minutes left, but hearts leapt into throats around Ryan Field as Maryland scored a quick touchdown and then got the ball back with 3:16 left and a chance to win.

But on a third-and-10 at the Northwestern 31-yard line, Taulia Tagovailoa overthrew his target over the middle and a diving Coco Azema snagged the ball just before it hit the turf for the interception that salted the game away for the Wildcats. The team had to wait for an official review before celebrating in front of a very sparse but still charged up crowd at Ryan Field.

It wasn’t only the outcome that was improbable for Northwestern. It was the way the Wildcats won, scoring seven times against the Terrapins after managing just 16 points over their previous six quarters.

Northwestern interim head coach David Braun said his team’s win wasn’t surprising to anyone in the locker room.

“Those oddsmakers aren’t sitting in our building, they’re not in our position groups, they don’t know the heart we have,” he said. “We’ll let them set their odds and we’ll get to work.”

Much-maligned backup quarterback Brendan Sullivan certainly went to work on the Terrapins in his third straight start. He finished 16-of-23 passing for a career-high 265 yards and two touchdowns. He also led the Wildcats with 56 yards rushing.

And Northwestern’s defense, despite allowing Maryland to put up 391 total yards and convert 6-of-14 first downs, came up big when it had to, keeping the potent Terrapins out of the end zone twice after reaching the Wildcat 5-yard line and sacking Tagovailoa six times, including five times in the second half.

The win improved the Wildcats’ record to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the Big Ten, and left them very much alive in the race to six wins and a bowl invitation.

Ironically, this dream game for the Wildcats started out like a nightmare, as Maryland made it look way too easy on its first drive of the game. Tagovailoa went 3-for-3 for 22 yards, including an 8-yard TD pass to Tai Felton, Kaden Prather had a 36-yard run, and it was 7-0 Terps just 2:16 into the game.

Then the Cats’ offense looked like their old selves on their first possession as Sullivan was sacked on his first two pass attempts, forcing a Wildcat punt.

That’s when linebacker Bryce Gallagher took things into his own hands. He came up the middle on a blitz and drilled Tagovailoa, then recovered the quarterback’s fumble and returned it six yards to the Maryland 12-yard line.

Then, unlike they did last week in Lincoln, when they failed to cross the goal line on three trips in the red zone against Nebraska, the Wildcats punched it in on a one-yard Cam Porter run to tie the score at 7.

Here, the Wildcats managed to pull out a dark cloud from a silver lining, as Lawson Albright picked up a personal foul on the PAT, so Northwestern kicked off from the 20 and Maryland took over at the NU 45.

Giving Maryland a short field is never a good idea and the Terps took advantage when Tagovailoa hit Roman Hemby on a short screen, and he did the rest, running it in for a 24-yard touchdown.

Trailing 14-7, Northwestern struck right back as Sullivan connected with Bryce Kirtz on three straight passes, the last one a perfect throw on a post for a 23-yard touchdown to tie the game again at 14.

So after scoring just one TD in their previous six quarters, the Wildcats scored two in the first quarter against the Terrapins.

The offensive barrage continued into the second quarter. Sullivan, looking like the second coming of Dan Persa, led the Wildcats on a 97-yard touchdown march, completing passes of 23, 9, 6 and 19 yards before capping it by floating a balloon of a three-yard touchdown pass to Porter while escaping a rush. Northwestern led 21-14.

Maryland was primed to answer, reaching the Wildcat 1-yard line. But there, the Wildcat defense rose up to stop the Terps on a run up the middle and a tush push. On fourth down, Xander Mueller knocked down Tagovailoa’s pass behind the line of scrimmage and the Terps came up empty.

Pinned back at their own 1, Sullivan and Northwestern again went to work, driving 84 yards to set up a Jack Olsen 24-yard field goal to extend the Wildcats’ lead to 24-14. Maryland came back with a 37-yard field goal with just 10 seconds left in the half to pull to within a touchdown, 24-17, at the half.

Northwestern’s offensive numbers at halftime were staggering for a team ranked 124th in the nation in total yards. Sullivan was 12-for-14 for 159 yards and two touchdowns, with a preposterous QBR of 228.3. And Northwestern scored 24 points, four more than they averaged in an entire game through the first seven contests of the season.

Alas, Northwestern’s offensive fire burned out in the third quarter, as their first two drives netted a loss of one yard. Fortunately, they got a career-long 47-yard field goal from Olsen on their first drive, only because Coco Azema produced a dynamic 61-yard return on the opening kickoff of the third quarter.

Maryland drove the field and again got inside the Northwestern 10-yard line. But just as they did before, the Wildcats defense stiffened, keeping the Terps out of the end zone by sacking Tagovailoa twice after they had a first down at the NU 5-yard line. Maryland had to settle for a 22-yard chip-shot field goal by Jack Howes to make it 27-20.

Northwestern’s offense was floundering when Sullivan reached into his back of tricks and came up with yet another big play. On second-and-15, he avoided the rush and ran around in the backfield for what seemed like an eternity before lofting a pass that hit AJ Henning in stride for a 34-yard gain to the Maryland 7-yard line.

The Wildcats couldn’t hit paydirt, but Olsen kicked a 19-yard field goal to give them a two-score lead at 30-20. Olsen added another one, a 29-yarder with 5:03 left, to stretch the lead to 33-20 after Joseph Himon II set it up with a long, winding 53-yard catch-and-run.

That three-pointer seemed to end any hopes of a Maryland comeback, but the Terrapins weren’t through yet. They scored in just four plays and 1:20 when Tagovailoa – who finished with 274 yards passing and three touchdowns – hit Jeshaun Jones for an 18-yard TD pass to produce the final margin.

The Terps’ defense forced a Northwestern three-and-out to give its offense one last shot, but they were stopped by Azema’s interception.

Northwestern now needs a split in its final four games to reach the requisite six wins, a total that would have seemed preposterous before the season began – about as unlikely as scoring 33 points to beat Maryland.