Northwestern shuts out Purdue 19-0 as Pat Fitzgerald makes 1st appearance at NU since firing

Preston Stone passed for two touchdowns, Jack Olsen kicked a pair of field goals and Northwestern cruised past sliding Purdue 19-0 on Saturday for its fourth straight win.

Joseph Himon II rushed for 87 yards on 22 carries and Caleb Komolafe ran for 67 yards before leaving with an upper-body injury in the third quarter for Northwestern (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten).

Northwestern raced out to a 13-0 lead at halftime, then kept the Boilermakers' offense in check to send them to a fifth consecutive loss overall and 13th straight in conference play. The Wildcats have their best record through seven games since coming out 6-1 in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

"We're going to take it one week at a time, be on a mission to go 1-0 each week. I'm not going to put a ceiling, but the second we start to get comfortable, we expose ourselves to regression," NU head coach David Braun said. "It's time for us to shift our focus to Nebraska."

Northwestern limited Purdue to 11 first-down conversions while consistently advancing to 25 of their own.

Stone threw for 132 yards on 11-for-26 passing. Olsen has eight field goals on the season, all in the last four last four weeks. Griffin Wilde has TD receptions in four straight games.

The Boilermakers (2-5, 0-4) sputtered offensively after running up 456 total yards in a mistake-filled 27-20 loss at Minnesota last week.

Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne was limited to 31 yards on 5-for-10 passing before exiting with an apparent upper-body injury early in the second half. Backup Malachi Singleton threw for 187 yards with a key interception.

Malachi Thomas led Purdue in rushing with 34 yards. Corey Smith made a 48-yard reception early in the third quarter then fumbled it as Purdue was shut out for the first time this season after being blanked three times last year.

The Wildcats scored on their first three possessions.

Fitzgerald returns to NU

For the first time since his firing in the summer of 2023, Pat Fitzgerald made a public appearance at NU.

Fitzgerald was on the field with the 1995 Wildcats Rose Bowl team, which celebrated its 30th Year reunion during Saturday's game.

Fans and NU players' families chanted "Fitz! Fitz! Fitz!" as Fitzgerald left the field. Braun said Monday he hoped Fitzgerald would make an appearance on Saturday.

"Fitz is one of the most iconic Northwestern football players of all time, one of the best coaches to do it here," Braun said on Monday. "Really hopeful he's a full participant in Saturday's celebration."

With the win over Purdue on Saturday, Braun has tied Pat Fitzgerald for the most Big Ten wins in a coach's first three seasons at Northwestern with 10.

The takeaway

Once again, mistakes hurt. Purdue was assessed eight penalties for 85 yards and committed two fumbles.

Northwestern delivered a solid start-to-finish effort against Purdue after a 22-21 win at Penn State last week when Komolafe rushed for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to win it. If Komolafe's injury is serious, it would be a big blow as the dynamic redshirt sophomore running back has helped filled a gap for Cam Porter, who's out for the season.

Up next

Purdue: Hosts Rutgers next Saturday.

Northwestern: Plays at Nebraska on Saturday.