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Pat Fitzgerald, players discuss Northwestern’s thrilling comeback win over Nebraska
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Nebraska led Northwestern by 10 points with less than three minutes to play, but the Wildcats rallied in spectacular fashion, tying the game with 12 seconds left on a 99-yard touchdown drive with no timeouts left before going on to win 34-31 in overtime on Saturday afternoon.
The ‘Cats got a memorable performance from senior quarterback Clayton Thorson, who completed 41-of-64 passes for 455 yards, linking up with freshman J.J. Jefferson to cap a drive that goes down as the longest in school history.
With the win, Northwestern has now secured 10 of its last 11 Big Ten games, improving to 3-3 (3-1) with a legitimate chance to compete for a West division title.
Here are reactions from head coach Pat Fitzgerald and key players following the momentous road win:
Fitz to the podium at the postgame press conference.
— Inside NU (@insidenu) October 13, 2018
"Clayton's performance, Flynn's receptions, that's spectacular." Calls 99-yard drive a huge confidence-builder for the offense.
— Inside NU (@insidenu) October 13, 2018
"It was pretty cool. 99-and-a-half yards, that's pretty good."
— Inside NU (@insidenu) October 13, 2018
Fitz says he liked Thorson's response on the sideline after mistakes. "He just does it with class and humility."
— Inside NU (@insidenu) October 13, 2018
Fitz on Nagel: "I just think he's been relentless in his work ethic his entire career."
— Inside NU (@insidenu) October 13, 2018
Clayton Thorson: "I'll remember going down 10, seeing the guys, seeing the light in their eyes. That long drive was pretty special."
— Inside NU (@insidenu) October 13, 2018
Thorson: "We threw the ball 64 times and we only had two sacks…and one of those was on me."
— Inside NU (@insidenu) October 13, 2018
Nagel: "That's the most fun football game I've ever been a part of."
— Inside NU (@insidenu) October 13, 2018
Nagel: "These are moments you're going to remember the rest of your life."
— Inside NU (@insidenu) October 13, 2018
Tyler has covered college football on a freelance basis since 2010. In addition to Saturday Football, his work has been featured on ESPN Radio, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, Cox Media Group, Athlon Sports, and more.