Northwestern 29, Penn State 6
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, September 27, 2014
Where: Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania
Temperature:
73°
Head Official:
Shawn Smith
Attendance:
102910
By SportsDirect Inc.
Northwestern 29, Penn State 6: Trevor Siemian threw for 258 yards and ran for three touchdowns as the visiting Wildcats knocked the Nittany Lions from the unbeaten ranks in a Big Ten contest.
Siemian completed 21-of-37 passes and was intercepted once while Dan Vitale registered 113 yards on seven receptions for Northwestern (2-2, 1-0 Big Ten). Freshman linebacker Anthony Walker picked off a pass and returned it 49 yards for a score and Siemian’s 1-yard touchdown run sealed it with 7:22 remaining.
Christian Hackenberg went 22-of-45 through the air for 216 yards – 100 from DaeSean Hamilton on six catches – for Penn State (4-1, 1-1). Northwestern allowed only 60 yards rushing – many of them after the game was decided – and beat the Nittany Lions for the first time since 2004 to snap a six-game losing streak against them.
Northwestern took a 14-0 lead in the opening quarter on a pair of Siemian 1-yard dives and also failed on a fake field-goal attempt deep in Penn State territory. The Nittany Lions settled down and drove 55 yards after a roughing the kicker penalty to set up Sam Ficken’s 42-yard field goal with 5 seconds left to close within 14-3 at halftime.
Ficken’s 36-yard field goal pulled Penn State within 14-6, but Walker stepped in front of a Penn State receiver and rumbled to the end zone for a crushing score on the first play of the fourth quarter. Hackenberg fumbled on the next play from scrimmage to set up Jack Mitchell’s 23-yard field goal for a 23-6 lead with 13:06 remaining.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Wildcats CB Matthew Harris left the field on a stretcher during the third quarter after taking an apparent shot to the head when trying to make a tackle on Hackenberg near the left sideline. … Penn State had not given up a point in the first quarter during its first four contests and was averaging 11 points against overall. … Northwestern WR Tony Jones, who missed the last two games with a leg injury, came back to record three receptions for 31 yards.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
Northwestern |
|
Penn State |
Justin Jackson
|
Player |
Bill Belton
|
15 |
Attempts |
8 |
50 |
Yards |
25 |
3.3 |
Avg Yards |
3.1 |
0 |
Touchdowns |
0 |
0 |
Long |
0 |
Receiving
Northwestern |
|
Penn State |
Dan Vitale
| Player |
DaeSean Hamilton
|
7 |
Receptions |
6 |
113 |
Yards |
100 |
16.1 |
Avg Yards |
16.7 |
0 |
Touchdowns |
0 |
0 |
Long |
0 |
Team Stats Summary
|
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sck |
FF |
Northwestern
|
361 |
103 |
258 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
4.0 |
1 |
Penn State
|
266 |
50 |
216 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
1.0 |
0 |