EVANSTON, Ill. – Indiana State was unable to overcome the physical rushing game of host Northwestern on Saturday afternoon at Ryan Field as the Sycamores fell to the Wildcats, 24-6.
 
The Sycamores (1-1) surrendered two early touchdowns in the first half before the defense settled down into a slugfest within the trenches throughout the contest. Indiana State limited Northwestern (1-1) to just 29:38 in the time of possession battle, but NW's Evan Hull was the difference-maker in the contest with 22 carries for 126 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
 
Indiana State's allowed just nine first downs over the final 45 minutes of the game after surrendering nine in the first quarter in a dominant performance against the Wildcats. Matt Thompson paced the Sycamores defense with a career-high 12 tackles and 2.0 tackles for loss, while Inoke Moala added two more tackles for loss to his totals on the season.
 
The Sycamores offense tacked on a late touchdown in the fourth quarter with Anthony Thompson finding Zach Larkin by himself in the middle of the end zone from nine yards out to put the Sycamores on the board  late in the contest. Thompson finished 21-of-34 from the field for 132 yards and a touchdown.
 
Rontrez Morgan was Thompson's primary target on the field with the senior wideout tying a career-high with nine receptions for 41 yards. Michael Haupert added five catches for 33 yards, while Phazione McClurge came on strong in the fourth quarter with a three-catch, 26-yard game.
 
Hull was the workhorse back for the Wildcats as Northwestern put together 209 rushing yards on the game. Anthony Tyus III added 71 yards on 10 carries, while quarterback Hunter Johnson was 9-of-16 through the air for 66 yards and an interception.
 
Defensively, Northwestern was paced by Chris Bergin's eight tackles and a tackle for loss in the game, while Adetomiwa Adebawore added 1.5 sacks and 1.5 tackles for loss in the backfield.
 
How They Scored

• Northwestern took the opening possession down the field with Evan Hull capping the 11-play, 75-yard drive with a three-run touchdown plunge up the middle at the 9:48 mark to put the Wildcats ahead 7-0 in the first quarter.
• The Wildcats added their second score of the first quarter with 1:42 remaining in the first quarter as Hunter Johnson found Malik Washington down the right sideline for a 29-yard touchdown pass to put NW ahead 14-0 and end a seven-play, 92-yard drive.
• A 49-yard Brandon Joseph punt return set up a Northwestern 47-yard field goal from Charlie Kuhbander on the Wildcats' first drive of the third quarter and extended the NW lead to 17-0 with 12:17 to play in the third quarter.
• Hull added his second touchdown of the game with a 13-yard carry up the middle at the 7:37 mark in the fourth quarter to put the score at 24-0. The Northwestern score was set up by a 19-yard punt return by Raymond Niro III as the Wildcats started the drive on the INS 30-yard line.
• Indiana State scored a late touchdown with 3:32 remaining in the contest as Anthony Thompson capped off a nine-play, 75-yard drive with a nine-yard scoring pass to Zach Larkin. The drive was aided by a roughing the passer penalty on 4th-and-4 that set up the INS touchdown three plays later.

Inside the Numbers

• Northwestern controlled the rushing game totals with 209 total rushing yards on 46 carries.
• Field position played a key to the game on Saturday afternoon with the Wildcats posting four punt returns for 166 yards, including back-to-back 50-plus yard returns in the third quarter that set up short fields for Northwestern.
• The Sycamores out-gained the Wildcats through the air, 138-66, on the day with Anthony Thompson finding seven different receivers in the passing game.
• Travis Reiner averaged 40.9 yards per punt over his nine punts on the day.
• The Sycamores and the Wildcats both struggled on third-down conversions with INS going 4-of-15 from the field, while NW went 5-of-13.

News & Notes

• Indiana State fell to 0-17 all-time against the current membership of the Big Ten with the loss to Northwestern.
• The Sycamores and Wildcats' Saturday contest was the first game between the two programs in their respective histories.
• The loss snapped Indiana State's three-game winning streak that dated back to Nov. 16, 2019 against Youngstown State.
• Saturday marked the first time Indiana State was held under 100 yards rushing in a game this season and first time since Oct. 26, 2019 when the Sycamores were held to 79 yards against Illinois State.
• Rontrez Morgan tied an individual career-high with nine catches in the contest equaling his total against South Dakota State back on Oct. 6, 2018.
• The Sycamores defense posted 11.0 tackles for loss in the game, tying for the second-most team tackle for loss total in the Curt Mallory coaching era with the 11.0 TFL game against Kansas on August 31, 2019.
• Four different Sycamores recorded their first catches of the 2021 season with Michael Haupert, Phazione McClurge, Matt Sora, and Henry Woodcock all hauling in their first catch of the year.
• Indiana State held Northwestern's offense under 100 passing yards in today's game, marking the first time the Sycamores defense held an opponent under the century-mark since Nov. 2, 2019 against Southern Illinois.
• Matt Thompson recorded the first 10-tackle game of his collegiate career in the loss.
• Inoke Moala has recorded multiple tackles for loss in each of the two games played this season.

Postgame Press Conference


Up Next
Indiana State remains on the road next weekend as the Sycamores make the trip to Roy Kidd Stadium in Richmond, Ky. For the September 25 kickoff. Game time between the Sycamores and the Colonels is set for 7 p.m. and will be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
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