Northwestern Wildcats vs Duke Blue Devils Match Player Stats On Sep 19, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Sep 19, 2015

DURHAM, N.C. -- Solomon Vault returned the second-half kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown and No. 23 Northwestern used a smothering defense to defeat Duke 19-10 on Saturday afternoon at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Northwestern (3-0) never led in the first half, but the momentum turned quickly and the Wildcats forced Duke (2-1) into 11 punts.

After Vault's return, the extra-point kick was blocked. The Wildcats tacked on Jack Mitchell's 44-yard field goal on its next drive for a 12-7 lead.

Duke, which trailed for the first time this season, moved into Northwestern territory and converted a fourth down, but came up short on a fourth-and-7 from the Wildcats 32.

Later, Ross Martin's 38-yard field goal for Duke on the second play of the fourth quarter cut the margin to 12-10.

Northwestern running back Warren Long ran 55 yards for a touchdown on just his second carry of the game as the Wildcats built a 19-10 edge with 12:31 remaining.

Duke was primed to take possession near midfield with just less than six minutes left, but a muffed punt resulted in the Wildcats keeping the ball and Duke with only one timeout left.

Northwestern had only 57 yards of total offense in the first half, but the Wildcats found their way on the ground in the second half.

Running back Justin Jackson finished with 120 rushing yards on 35 carries for Northwestern, which won for the 19th time in its last 21 September games.

The Wildcats won despite gaining just 70 yards through the air.

Duke had 152 yards of offense in the second half. Linebacker Anthony Walker led the defensive charge for the Wildcats.

Duke's first touchdown was set up by safety DeVon Edwards' interception on Northwestern's first possession. Edwards made a 24-yard return to the Wildcats' 26.

Duke quarterback Thomas Sirk ran in for the score from 5 yards out on a third-down scramble. That marked the first touchdown allowed by Northwestern this season.

Duke moved to the Northwestern 11 late in the second quarter before 6-foot-6 defensive end Dean Lowry batted a Sirk pass and made an interception.

The Wildcats were forced to punt, but on Duke's next snap running back Shaun Wilson fumbled and so Northwestern had the ball at the Duke 40. That resulted in Mitchell's 37-yard field goal 1:23 before halftime.

Both teams punted a total of seven times in their first two games combined. They each booted the ball away seven times in the first half Saturday.

NOTES: Northwestern leads the series 9-8. This was the first meeting since 2008. ... The last meeting came in Duke coach David Cutcliffe's first season, with Northwestern winning 24-20. ... Northwestern played with a national ranking for the first time since October 2013. ... Duke had a 12-game regular-season winning streak against nonconference opponents snapped. ... Northwestern has won in its last six trips to Durham. ... Duke is 24-135-6 all-time against nationally ranked opponents, though it defeated then-No. 22 Georgia Tech last season and then-No. 24 Miami in 2013.