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The Fighting Irish had not played a home game in more than a month before today; the Wildcats had not won across the same stretch. Needless to say, Northwestern and Notre Dame fans alike did not expect such a scene in South Bend.

Both teams scored rapidly; the early highlight being Everett Golson’s 61-yard touch down run 44 seconds into the game. For Northwestern fans, the moment of excitement might have been Matt Alviti’s two-yard touchdown rush.

The Wildcats did have some more bright spots on offense. Siemian established the pass game early on with a pair of receptions to the Dickerson brothers. With the pressure off of the run early in the game, Justin Jackson broke free for a 44-yard rush downfield. Treyvon Green outdid the freshman phenom with his own big run, notching 45 yards on one carry. The two Northwestern backs combined for 221 yards rushing.

There were nearly as many blunders as highlights in this contest.  Notre Dame’s special teams bobbled its first two kick off returns and even suffered a blocked PAT, which Nick VanHoose returned for two points.  The two teams combined for 10 turn overs, including three interceptions.

Northwestern’s offense had the worst of it, with two picks. The Irish also sacked Siemian twice for a loss of 17 yards .  Siemian’s passes were REPEATEDLY tipped, picked, and dropped. In fact, Tony Jones had three different passes—two with great separation and one in the end zone—that all should have been touchdowns in the first half.

Siemian found a few receivers along the way, including Cameron Dickerson for a 60-yard pass. The play stands as the longest by the Wildcats all year, replacing Dickerson’s 54-yard catch against Cal in August. This Wildcat reception also marks the largest single-play-gain by a Notre Dame opponent this season.  Kyle Prater also had a big game with 81 yards on 10 catches, one for a touch down.

Notre Dame’s William Fuller made some great plays, including a 42-yard reception; he grabbed 3 touch down passes along the way.

The run game seemed just as impressive. The two squads combined for 302 yards and 4 rushing touch downs in the first half alone.  The Wildcats ran for 52 more yards than the Irish, seemingly making the difference in the game.

Late in the game, Northwestern continued to contend with the Irish, although Notre Dame extended its lead to as many as 11 points.  The Wildcats battled back in the fourth quarter, going on a 14-6 run to force an overtime.

A strong defensive stand and wide field goal from Notre Dame set the stage for a Jack Mitchell miracle.

Mitchell had already drilled three of four kicks throughout the game, two of them from more than 40 yards out.

With an opportunity to seize victory, Mitchell came out for the kick and Brian Kelly promptly iced him, taking  a time out.

“I knew I had to rush and just get a swing in,” explained Mitchell,  adding “I felt comfortable after that.”

Coach Pat Fitzgerald called it “probably our most consistent kicking performance of the year,” saying that it “was obviously the difference going down the stretch.”

It goes without saying, Mitchell knocked through the dagger from 41 yards to give Northwestern the win 43-40.

Northwestern came into today’s contest as a true underdog.  Few expected the Wildcats to put up a strong fight with the Irish, but they held their own.

This is surely a tough loss for Notre Dame to swallow, considering the game was literally in their hands as time wound down, until a fumble.  As Coach Brian Kelly explained,  there were multiple mistakes that cost his team the game.

“We’re not making small errors, we’re making critical errors and on defense giving them 15 yards to hold on to drives and then, heck, one key third down we had ten guys on the field,” he said. “We had ten guys. We have a guy that’s a veteran that didn’t know he was supposed to be on the field. That’s unacceptable.”

These surprises and lucky breaks just seem to be the theme of Pat Fitzgerald’s squad: there is no rhyme or reason to the Northwestern Wildcats.

And with the “W” at Notre Dame, as Fitz reminded everyone, Northwestern could have a 13th game pop onto the schedule.

“We’ve advanced to another week to keep this team alive for post-season play.”

On a chilly day in South Bend, things heated up quickly between the Northwestern Wildcats and Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Both teams reached the end zone before 4 minutes had been played; the early highlight being Everett Golson’s 61 yard run 44 seconds into the game. For Northwestern fans, the moment of excitement might have been Matt Alviti’s two-yard touchdown run.

Northwestern applied good defensive pressure on that first Irish drive. But a big third down stop was not in the cards for the men in purple.

The Wildcats wasted no time getting their own offense up and running. Siemian established the pass game early on with a pair of receptions to the Dickerson brothers. With the pressure off of the run, Justin Jackson broke free for a 44-yard rush downfield. Treyvon Green outdid the freshman phenom with his own big run, notching 45 yards. The two Northwestern backs have combined for 132 yards in the first half alone.

30 minutes in and we are definitely not looking at a perfect game. Notre Dame’s special teams bobbled its first two kick off returns and even suffered a blocked PAT, which Nick VanHoose returned for two points.

Northwestern’s offense has had even worse luck. Siemian’s passes have been tipped, picked, and dropped. Tony Jones had three different passes—two with great separation and one in the end zone—that all should have been touchdowns.

Fitz didn’t feel the need to pull him from the field after the first two drops. Maybe that’s because Siemian’s other options weren’t much better: Austin Carr dropped one as well for a turn over on downs.

Siemian has found a few receivers along the way, including a 60-yard pass to Cameron Dickerson. The play stands as the longest by the Wildcats all year, replacing Dickerson’s 54-yard catch against Cal in August. That Wildcat reception also marks the largest single-play-gain by a Notre Dame opponent this season.

Yet the bright spot for both teams has definitely been the rush. The two squads combined for 302 yards and 4 rushing touch downs in the first half.

This game has certainly been anything but ordinary as the two teams are virtually identical, statistically speaking.

Brace yourself for a thrilling second half because the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, ranked 15th in the AP Poll, have only 7 more yards of offense than the Northwestern Wildcats and lead by a mere four points.

27-23 ND over NU with 30 minutes to play…

This is ANYONE’S game.

After an impressive 102-52  exhibition route of McKendree last week, Northwestern looked poised to start fast against Houston-Baptist Friday night. That was not the case, as the Wildcats overcame a tough first half to win 65 to 58 behind Alex Olah’s second career double-double.

The Huskies came out firing to begin the game, taking an early 10-2 lead they wouldn’t lose until late in the first half. Northwestern would make some noise — thanks to their new and exciting freshman class. Bryant McIntosh led all first-half scorers with 9 points and 4 assists, continuing his good play from the week before.

JerShon Cobb and Tre Demps struggled to find the net in the first half, both going 0 for 4. Joined by fellow freshman Vic Law, McIntosh helped keep the Wildcats in the game.

“The two freshman were fantastic,” Coach Collins said. “I thought B-mac really carried us for awhile. He’s a baller.”

The momentum changed with under five minutes to play in the first half as McIntosh seemed to get in rhythm. The Huskies countered with solid play of their own, giving them a three-point lead at halftime.

Alex Olah was the story in the second half with his more physical play. Coach Collins noticed something was off in the first half— and let him know during the break.

“[HBU] was bothering Alex early,” he said. “We had to take halftime to settle him down and get on him. At that position, we should have the advantage every night we play.”

Olah gave the Wildcats that advantage early in the second half. After collecting just 3 points in the opening half, he finished with 21. Last year, Olah was able to take over games when the ‘Cats were struggling. He did the same tonight, rising up to give the fans at Welsh-Ryan something to cheer about. His 10 rebounds were desperately needed as well after losing that margin to the Huskies 21 to 15 in the first half.

Olah said he knew he had to be more physical when he came out for the second half.

“I knew I was soft in the first half… so I just went out there and didn’t stop,” Olah said.

Despite Northwestern’s improved second half play, the Huskies wouldn’t go away. Senior Ricmonds Vilde led the Huskies in scoring, with 13 points and 10 rebounds. His double-double was a major reason the Huskies kept the Wildcats close until the last few minutes.

Northwestern is back in action Monday as they head East to take on Brown at 6pm. The ‘Cats begin the season playing six games in a twelve day stretch.

-Jacob Murphey

First Half Notes:

Northwestern begins it’s 2014-2015 campaign a bit rusty, ending the first half against Houston Baptist trailing 31 to 28.

Sharp shooting by the Huskies put the Wildcats in a quick 10-2 hole. The Huskies seemed at ease getting the ball into the basket: Ricmonds Vilde leading all men in orange with 8 points. The Huskies getting the majority of their points in the paint as well.

Northwestern, however, is having significant trouble maintaining possession on their end of the court— offensive fouls or quick misses commonplace in the first 20 minutes. Not surprisingly, the freshman have kept the ‘Cats in the game. Bryant McIntosh leading the Wildcats with 9 points in the first, with Vic Law also chipping in with 7 points of his own. Absent from the scoring list: JerShon Cobb and Tre Demps, both going 0 for 4.

A late surge in the half gave them the lead, but the ‘Cats were unable to capitalize on several opportunities. They’ll need to have an impressive second half in order to live up to pre-game expectations.

-Jacob Murphey

The Northwestern men’s basketball team begins its 2014-2015 regular season at home against Houston Baptist 7 p.m. tonight.

The Wildcats are looking to win their seventh-straight season opener and second under coach Chris Collins. Northwestern (14-19, 6-12 B1G last season) will be facing the Huskies for the first time ever.

Fans will finally get to see the regular season debut of one of the best freshman classes in school history, led by forward Vic Law. The St. Rita product is NU’s highest recruit and is a probable starter for tonight’s game. In Friday’s exhibition against McKendree, he scored 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting and grabbed 4 boards in a team-high 26 minutes played.

Guard Bryant McIntosh is the other probable freshman starting alongside Law. Much of the attention is on Law but McIntosh has impressed many since stepping onto campus. He went a perfect 6-for-6 from the field, scoring 15 points and adding 11 assists against McKendree.

The team is also returning six players from last year’s team, including likely starters JerShon Cobb, Sanjay Lumpkin and Alex Olah.

Cobb, last year’s second-leading scorer, will have to carry a bigger load on offense without guard Drew Crawford, who graduated from the program last season.

Houston Baptist enjoyed many years of being a perennial NAIA powerhouse until switching to Division I before the 2007-2008 season. Since then, the Huskies are 65-149. Ron Cottrell is entering his 25th season as the program’s head coach.

The Huskies return their leading scorer in guard Tyler Russell, who averaged 8.3 points per game last season.

Be sure to follow @nnnsports for tweets during the game and other online content.