Northwestern quarterback Dan Persa completed 18 passes in 28 attempts for 218 yards and two touchdowns and the Wildcats hung on after a late Indiana touchdown for a 20-17 win over the Hoosiers.
Persa left the game in the fourth quarter after suffering an apparent concussion. He was shown on the Big Ten Network TV broadcast standing on the sidelines, helmet still on and the announcers reported that they were told Persa "just had the wind knocked out of him." Hopefully, that’s all it is — but given all the concussions around the NFL this year, it would be prudent to take every precaution regarding Persa’s health.
Indiana QB Ben Chappell complete 30 of 54 passes for 308 yards. He threw for one TD and had one interception and also ran for a touchdown.
Jeremy Ebert caught five passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns for Northwestern. Ben Chappell connected on 30-of-54 passes for 308 yards and one touchdown with one interception for Indiana.
The only points of the first quarter came on a 23-yard field goal by Indiana's Mitch Ewald.
Early in the second quarter, Northwestern took a 7-3 lead on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Persa to Ebert.
With 48 seconds remaining in the first half, the Hoosiers grabbed a 10-7 advantage on a five-yard touchdown run by Chappell. The Wildcats quickly drove down field in the waning seconds of the quarter, and Stefan Demos booted a 23-yard field goal as time expired to knot the score at 10-10.
With 8:30 remaining in the third quarter, Persa and Ebert hooked up for another touchdown. This time it went for 30 yards and gave Northwestern a 17-10 lead.
With just under seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Demos extended the Wildcats' advantage to 20-10 with a 45-yard field goal.
Indiana made things interesting in the final minute, as Chappell threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Duwyce Wilson. With 44 seconds left, the Hoosiers trailed 20-17, but the Wildcats were able to hold on for the narrow victory.
Northwestern heads to State College, Pennsylvania to face Penn State next Saturday with a 6-2 record (2-2 in the Big Ten). Indiana has not won a Big Ten game yet (0-4) and is 4-4 overall. Indiana will host current 18th-ranked Iowa next Saturday in Bloomington, Indiana.
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