Northwestern Defense Steps Up in Dominant Win Over Penn State

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Northwestern’s offense will get plenty of attention after its dominant performance against Penn State, but the defense deserves just as much credit.

Despite entering Friday night dealing with several injuries, the Wildcats embraced a next-man-up mentality and delivered one of their best defensive performances of the season in a 34-13 win over Penn State.

Players were making plays all over the field.

Northwestern held Penn State to just 291 total yards, including only 48 rushing yards. The Nittany Lions averaged just 2.2 yards per carry and scored only two touchdowns all night. 

That performance against the run was especially impressive.

Penn State entered the matchup with plenty of talent in its backfield, but Northwestern never allowed the Nittany Lions to establish themselves on the ground. Carson Hansen led Penn State with just 19 rushing yards, while Jabree Wallace-Coleman Peoples finished with 13.

The defensive line deserves plenty of credit for that.

Northwestern consistently controlled the line of scrimmage, closed running lanes and put pressure on quarterback Rocco Becht. Penn State was forced into obvious passing situations throughout the night, especially after falling behind early.

Even with Penn State trailing for most of the game, the Nittany Lions still finished with only 243 passing yards.

Becht completed 26-of-41 passes for 243 yards and one touchdown, but Northwestern also intercepted him twice. 

Braydon Brus came away with one of those interceptions and put together an impressive all-around performance. Brus finished with nine tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss, a pass breakup and an interception.

Robert Fitzgerald added the second interception late in the fourth quarter, putting the finishing touches on Northwestern’s dominant night. Fitzgerald also recorded four tackles and a pass breakup. 

It was exactly the type of performance Northwestern needed considering the injuries surrounding the defense.

The Wildcats have had to deal with several key players appearing on the availability report over the past few weeks, forcing different players to step into bigger roles.

Against Penn State, that next-man-up mentality showed. There was not one player carrying the entire defense. Northwestern received contributions from every level.

Kobie McKinzie led the Wildcats with 10 tackles. Brus was everywhere. Fitzgerald made another big play in the secondary, and the defensive front consistently made Penn State uncomfortable.

Most importantly, the entire unit seemed to click.

Penn State scored its first touchdown after recovering a Northwestern fumble and taking possession at the Wildcats’ 34-yard line. Outside of that short-field opportunity, Northwestern made the Nittany Lions work for almost everything they got.

Penn State did not score again until the fourth quarter. By then, Northwestern had already built a 31-7 lead.

That says a lot about this defense.

The offense dominated on the ground and controlled the game, but Northwestern’s defense repeatedly got the football back and prevented Penn State from building any momentum.

Holding a Big Ten opponent to 13 points, 48 rushing yards and forcing two interceptions is impressive on any night.

Doing it while dealing with injuries and opening a brand-new stadium makes the performance even more encouraging.

David Braun has continued to emphasize having players ready when their opportunities arrive. Friday night was a perfect example of what that can look like.

Northwestern needed players to step up and they did.

The Wildcats now move forward with a defense that has shown it can overcome injuries, stop the run and create turnovers against Big Ten competition.

And if Northwestern can continue getting performances like this from its defense, the Wildcats are going to be a difficult team to deal with moving forward.

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