Northwestern Cruises Past Ball State in 30+ Point Homecoming Victory Against Ball State
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Northwestern secured a 30+ point victory Saturday afternoon in their final non-conference matchup of the season against Ball State.
The Wildcats and Cardinals met for just the second time in program history at the new Ryan Field, and Northwestern dominated from kickoff to the final whistle.
Northwestern delivered a commanding performance in its homecoming matchup, keeping its foot on the gas throughout the game and scoring on five of its first six drives.
Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and quarterback Aidan Chiles continue to build a strong connection in Evanston, with Northwestern’s high-powered offense once again on full display.
Chiles completed 17-of-23 passes, throwing for 272 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 32 yards and a touchdown.
Wide receiver Griffin Wilde was a huge part of Northwestern’s success offensively as he notched 144 receiving yards and a touchdown against the Cardinals.
Alongside Wilde, wide receiver Drew Wagner and tight end Alex Honig proved to be key targets for Chiles, with each hauling in a touchdown in the victory.
Northwestern continued to showcase its dominance on the ground, outrushing Ball State 164-90, with running back Caleb Komolafe leading the Wildcats rushing attack with 44 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, the Wildcats had an impressive outing, most notably logging nine tackles for loss. Northwestern also held Ball State scoreless in the second half of action.
Defensive back Robert Fitzgerald recorded his second interception of the season and returned it for his first career defensive touchdown. Linebacker Braydon Brus was also a huge piece of the defensive success Saturday afternoon, recording a team-high eight tackles
For Ball State, quarterback Keldric Luster completed 27-of-41 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown. However, his efforts were not enough to overcome the Wildcats, who maintained control for the entirety of the game on both sides of the ball.
The Cardinals came closest to narrowing the gap at halftime, when they trailed the Wildcats 31-14.
From that point on, however, Northwestern held them scoreless and continued to add onto their lead, resulting in a 30+ point blowout at Ryan Field.
Northwestern now wraps up non-conference play on a high note and will shift its focus to a challenging conference schedule ahead.
Next up for the Wildcats is a matchup against Michigan State, a familiar opponent for Chiles, who transferred to Northwestern from the Spartans. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT in East Lansing next Saturday.
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Gabriella Egozi is an accomplished journalism student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, passionate about sports media, writing, and broadcasting. She was born and raised in Miami, Florida, thus her passion for sports reporting originated from watching the Miami HEAT in the NBA Bubble. Gabriella has had experiences working as an intern for the digital team at NBC6 and Telemundo 51, as well as with CBS Sports at live sporting events, including the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Gabriella most recently was an intern at CNN on NewsNight with Abby Phillip in New York, assisting with production and content creation roles. At Northwestern, Gabriella serves as a sideline reporter, color analyst, writer and play-by-play commentator for Big Ten sporting events. Gabriella is a reporter for WNUR Sports, NNN Sports Night, The Daily Northwestern and BigTen Network StudentU Productions. Gabriella wants to pursue a career within sports media and hopes to continue to further propel her passions for storytelling and connecting communities through her work.