It wasn’t very pretty, but Northwestern is finally in the win column in 2016. In their 24-13 victory over Duke, the Wildcats found success in both something old and something new.
The defense began to look a bit like its old self, as it was able to shut down Duke in the second half, but the offense was what led the team to victory, as Clayton Thorson unleashed three deep touchdowns.
In all of 2015, Northwestern only had three completed passes of 40 yards or more. On Saturday they had two in the second half alone. After attempting (and failing) to do so in the first two games, the Northwestern passing attack was finally able to truly stretch the field against Duke.