Welcome to the New Era

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Wow.

There are no words that can describe the atmosphere. You had to be there.

Northwestern just made a statement to the college football world that Evanston is home to a football school.

That student section. In-freaking-sane. From the moment Penn State’s special teams came out to warm up, the noise began.

And that entrance. Of all the famously known college football entrances, this one is for sure up there. Hell’s Bells into Thunderstruck with a live guitarist was just beautiful.

From the moment the players ran the length of the field, they immediately began hyping up the Wildcat Wall. The standing-only student section proved to be worth it, and the players got really into it.

Caleb Komolafe said postgame that celebrating with the student section was the most memorable part of the game, and it wrapped up as a night to remember. And don’t get me started on Don’t Stop Believin’. Northwestern may have its Jump Around or Mr. Brightside. Everything was executed to perfection to cap off a dominant win.

Speaking of execution, Northwestern ran for 414 yards, the most in a game for the Wildcats since 2003. Komolafe and Joseph Himon II each rushed for over 150 yards and broke off explosive play after explosive play. Aidan Chiles threw the ball just 14 times, but he didn’t need to do that much with the rushing attack playing at this level. Northwestern’s offensive line played a huge role, so much so that Chiles said, “I’m going to take them out to eat for sure.”

Even with injuries galore, including being down Luke Dehnicke, Damon Walters, Braden Turner and Josh Fussell, who was seen on crutches and with a boot on his right foot postgame, the Wildcats dominated in their stadium opener.

Northwestern’s defense also got in on the action, limiting Penn State to 291 total yards, 13 points and picking off Rocco Becht twice. Last week, Northwestern rushed for just 53 yards and allowed 271. Penn State rushed for only 48 in this game and were outgained by a full year (365 yards). I’m really excited to watch the film on this one to dive deeper into what worked so well for the ‘Cats’ rushing attack.

I still have chills from being at that game, and that stretches beyond being an InsideNU writer. It was different. It was special. This stadium will revolutionize the sport, and Northwestern won’t “sound like a library” going forward.

Welcome to the new era of Northwestern football. As coach Braun said, “Why not us?”

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