Perhaps unsurprisingly, the main reason Northwestern was able to notch its eighth win of the season this past Saturday versus Purdue was the success of the Wildcats' running game, which has had an up-and-down season. Offensive coordinator Mick McCall established the run early on. Five of the seven plays on NU's opening drive were runs, and all were successful.
Our own Ian McCafferty broke down quarterback Clayton Thorson's big runs from the game already, but more important is that Justin Jackson is back on track, and Warren Long is once again a significant part of the offense.