Northwestern earns bowl eligibility with wild win against Nebraska

Nebraska again took the lead early in the fourth quarter on a Drew Brown field goal, but Northwestern responded with a 77 yard touchdown drive.

Northwestern (6-2, 2-2 in Big Ten play) had itself a victory for the first time in three weeks, having been stampeded 78-10 the past two.

Nebraska must win three of its last four to play in a bowl. "It weighs on you", Thorson said. The defense allowed Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson to run for a career-high 119 yards, and the punt and kick return games were very bad. Northwestern's passing yards ranged from 130 to 177, its opponents converted roughly half of their third-down possessions and the Wildcats' average field position was their 25. Both those runs set up scores, the first a Thorson touchdown run and the second a field goal after Christian Jones dropped what would have been a touchdown pass right before halftime.

While a lot of the game, especially the first half, was nothing to write home about for Northwestern's offense, NU's defense led the team to an important win. It still owns a win over a Stanford team that's probably going to win the Pac-12 title, and it's the only team to beat Duke so far, but all of a sudden, the toughness and physical play of the first five weeks seems like it was a long time ago.

When Northwestern lost at Michigan, it was easier to say that the Wildcats simply ran into a better team. The '95 team, considered one of the greatest in college football history, walked out of the tunnel ahead of the current Huskers and formed a corridor for them to run through. Nebraska enters the matchup with Northwestern with a 3-4 record, including a 1-2 mark in the Big Ten Conference.

"The biggest issue I deal with is the football team and how they feel, and the fact that I've been impressed with their work during the week, that gives us a chance", he said.

Lincoln - In a another game that went down to the wire, Nebraska watched a two-point conversion attempt bound incomplete with 4:23 left, allowing Northwestern to escape from Memorial Stadium with a 30-28 win on Saturday. But Nebraska's fourth-quarter woes - let's call it H-E-double hockey sticks - has the potential to keep the Cornhuskers from the postseason altogether. Vitale dived into the end zone, with the play withstanding a video review.

"We've just got to make sure that we take care of the ball and that we're able to move the chains", Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. said.

Defense: (A): Dean Lowry (10 tackles, 2 sacks, 6 tackles for loss, 1 pass breakup), Anthony Walker (13 tackles, one TFL) and Nick VanHoose (72-yard pick-6) led the NU defense that is regaining its swagger. "Hannah Clark has been a cornerstone for this program for four years and I just wish we could have been a little bit tighter for her defensively today".

Northwestern gets a week off before hosting Penn State on November 7.

"He made a few huge plays with his legs", said Pat Fitzgerald. Coming off a strong performance last week in Minnesota and looking to add to it another as Northwestern came to town, the Huskers failed to capitalize on the opportunity, losing to the Wildcats 30-28.

That wasn't the case.

Armstrong finished completing 24 of his 48 passing attempts for 291 yards, a touchdown and an interception.