Northwestern came into Saturday ranked No. 18 and with a 7-2 record. Purdue entered at 2-7. The two programs are clearly headed in different directions.
But during most of their game in Evanston, Illinois, there wasn’t much difference between the two programs. The Wildcats struggled all afternoon to put the Boilermakers away before finally scoring a touchdown in the final five minutes for the eventual 21-14 victory.
The culprit for Northwestern was its sputtering offense. Things looked good early, as the team marched down the field for a touchdown on the game’s opening possession. But by the third quarter, coach Pat Fitzgerald was so desperate for a spark on that side of the ball that he pulled starting quarterback Clayton Thorson for Zack Oliver, who completed his first couple of passes but then stalled himself.