EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — The lakefront location with the boats bobbing just a short pass from the temporary and intimate stadium and the Chicago skyline off in the distance created an unforgettable backdrop.
A season-opening win made it all the more memorable for Northwestern.
Mike Wright led three scoring drives, Robert Fitzgerald intercepted a pass in the final minute and the Wildcats won the first game in their lakefront home, beating Miami (Ohio) 13-6 on Saturday.
Miami had the ball on the Northwestern 35 when Brett Gabbert tried to hit Reggie Virgil. Fitzgerald picked off the pass at the 25, helping the Wildcats open their second season under coach David Braun on a triumphant note.
They did it in an environment as unique as any, before a sellout crowd of 12,023 not counting the boats.
“I don’t know if there’s anything to compare it to,” Braun said. “I mean, it’s just so unique. It was awesome. The stands were packed. We had a sellout, primarily purple in the stands.”
Braun called it “one of the most unique settings in all of college football.” And who could argue?
The stadium where the Wildcats will play the majority of their home games the next two seasons while their new digs are built about a mile west has a bit of a high school or small college feel, albeit with a postcard view. The capacity is far fewer than at the old Ryan Field (47,000) and the new one (35,000) being built on that site, let alone other venues in the Big Ten.
“I was actually really jealous, I wanted to actually go tailgate because I saw how cool that stuff looked back there,” receiver Bryce Kirtz said. “But I had to play.”
As for playing in such a small venue?
“The culture of this team is you can put the ball in the middle of the street,” Wright said. “We’ll go out there and go play.”
Wright completed 18 of 30 passes for 178 yards after winning a preseason competition for the starting job. The Mississippi State transfer also ran for 65 yards and a touchdown.
Wright lost a fumble at the goal line trying to score late in the first half. But he also delivered the first TD in the stadium with a 13-yard run early in the third quarter, giving Northwestern a 10-3 lead.
“We were shooting ourselves in the foot. When you take a deep breath and realize you’re moving the ball, just go execute the game plan, you feel good about it,” said Wright, wearing a Justin Fields high school jersey. The two are friends from the Atlanta area.
Kirtz had 91 yards receiving.
Mac Uihlein added two sacks, and Northwestern opened with a win coming off a surprising 8-5 season. The Wildcats also got some payback for a loss to the RedHawks two years ago.
Miami, which went 11-3 and won the Mid-American Conference championship last year, simply couldn’t get its offense going. The RedHawks managed just 267 yards.
Gabbert, back for a sixth season after missing the final six games because of a leg injury, was 22 of 37 with 227 yards. But he got picked off twice and sacked four times.
Cade McDonald caught eight passes for 105 yards.
THE TAKEAWAY
Miami (Ohio): The RedHawks will need more from their offense if they’re going to build on what they did last year.
Northwestern: The defense swarmed Gabbert, particularly in the early going, and never really let Miami find its rhythm.
UP NEXT
Miami (Ohio): The The RedHawks have a week off before hosting Cincinnati on Sept. 14.
Northwestern: The Wildcats will try to get some payback for a 38-14 loss at Duke last season, when they host the Blue Devils next week.
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