Ugly win or not, No. 21 Northwestern should continue to climb in the College Football Playoff rankings.
After letting an early lead slip away, Northwestern nailed a game-winning 35-yard field goal -- with just 9 seconds left in the game -- as the Wildcats came away with the 23-21 win. Kicker Jack Mitchell missed an extra point and two field goals earlier in the game, but came through when Northwestern needed him most.
But, early on, it seemed as if Pat Fitzgerald's squad was going to pull away from the Nittany Lions. Northwestern sprinted out to a 13-0 lead and limited Christian Hackenberg to just 1-of-10 passing.