Oct. 04--Northwestern is mixing business with pleasure this season, thoroughly enjoying every moment of a 5-0 start that included a 27-0 domination of Minnesota in their Big Ten opener Saturday at Ryan Field.
Every aspect of the No. 16 Wildcats' arsenal stood out against a formidable opponent, as Northwestern blanked a Big Ten team for the first time since they shut out Wisconsin 35-0 on Oct. 21, 1995.
"A pretty darn good performance in all three phases today," coach Pat Fitzgerald said. "Explosive play on the punt return (of 55 yards by Miles Shuler to set up a second-quarter touchdown), took care of the ball offensively -- no turnovers.
"Then to see the way that our defense was able to pretty much make them one-dimensional and stop the run. ... I thought it was a pretty solid performance across the board."
Quarterback Clayton Thorson, who turned the ball over three times last week against Ball State, was in protect mode against the Gophers and completed 14 of 19 passes for 128 yards. He also scored twice on short runs.
"I felt good, I felt comfortable," Thorson said. "I had no turnovers. That was a positive. And we did a good job just executing, drive in and drive out. That's why we won."
Thorson was able to hand off to Justin Jackson 20 times, and Jackson rushed for 120 yards.
Thorson completed passes to eight receivers, including three each to Christian Jones and Dan Vitale.
"It's just the chemistry that comes with playing with someone for a certain amount of time," said Jones, a senior who missed last season with a knee injury but is beginning to show signs of his auspicious 2013 season when he caught 54 passes for 668 yards.
"We didn't have the summer and stuff like that to do it. But it just kind of comes along and creates itself."
The Wildcats notched a second shutout in a season for the first time since 1965, getting a fumble recovery and a touchdown from linebacker Anthony Walker early in the fourth quarter, an interception from cornerback Matthew Harris and three sacks.
"We're out here to have fun," said safety Godwin Igwebuike, who had a team-high nine tackles. "Obviously, the game is very serious. But at the same time we're out here to have fun."
"It's one more game next week (at Michigan)," Jones said. "Nobody really tries to look too far forward past who we have the next week. We just try to win that week, really.
"There is always going to be something that comes up. There's always going to be a tough opponent coming up in the Big Ten. Everybody is good."
fmitchell@tribpub.com
2-minute drill
In a rush: Justin Jackson followed his 184-yard game last week against Ball State with 120 more on 20 carries.
Defense never rests: Northwestern led the Big Ten and was ranked third in the nation in scoring defense (8.8 per game) before dropping their average to 7.0 Saturday.
Key early decision: Gophers coach Jerry Kill elected to go for it on fourth-and-7 at the Northwestern 31 late in the first quarter. A pass from Mitch Leidner intended for Drew Wolitarsky was incomplete.
Happy return: Miles Shuler returned a Minnesota punt 55 yards to set up Clayton Thorson's 5-yard touchdown run as the Wildcats took a 10-0 halftime lead.
Overruled: Solomon Vault maded an apparent one-handed 32-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter. But a replay challenge nullified the score and the Wildcats wound up settling for Jack Mitchell's 23-yard field goal.
Looking ahead: The Wildcats travel to Michigan next Saturday.
