Although it lost its starting QB heading into the second half, Northwestern delivered a stunning upset, as the Wildcats went into Lincoln and knocked off No. 10 Nebraska. The Wildcats were able to hold on for the surprising victory despite losing senior QB Dan Persa to an injured shoulder. However, sophomore QB/WR Kain Colter delivered in the clutch to propel Northwestern to its second consecutive win.
The real story of the game was the Northwestern defense, which managed to force timely turnovers throughout the game. The Wildcats did an excellent job of slowing down Nebraska RB Rex Burkhead, limiting him to only 57 yards rushing in the game and forcing a key redzone fumble.
In the absence of Persa, Kain Colter showed his ability to make big plays. Colter threw for 114 yards, including a huge 81-yard TD pass to Jeremy Ebert early in the 4th quarter. Colter also scored what proved to be the game-winning TD on a 1-yard run. That touchdown capped off 13-play drive that took 7:36 off the clock and included a key 4th down conversion by Colter.
In the loss, Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez played one of the best games of his career. Martinez completed 29/38 attempts for 298 yards and 2 TD's. Martinez also ran for 62 yards in the loss. With the loss, Nebraska fell out of first place in the Big 10 - Legends division.
For all your postgame information, be sure to visit Sippin' on Purple, SB Nation's Northwestern blog, and Corn Nation, SB Nation's Nebraska blog.