DETROIT — Preston Stone showcased his arm by tossing three touchdown passes, propelling Northwestern to a commanding 34-7 victory over Central Michigan in the GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field on Friday. Capitalizing on four turnovers, the Wildcats efficiently converted each into touchdowns.
With this triumph, the Wildcats (7-6) extended their impressive bowl game winning streak to six. Their last postseason defeat came in a 45-6 loss to Pittsburgh during the 2015 Outback Bowl.
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Meanwhile, Central Michigan (7-6) continued to struggle against Big Ten opponents in bowl games, having lost all three matchups, each at Ford Field. Their previous defeats include a 51-48 loss to Purdue in the 2007 Motor City Bowl and a 21-14 setback against Minnesota in the 2015 Quick Lane Bowl.
The Chippewas had an early chance to take the lead after halting Northwestern on a 4th-and-1 at the Wildcats’ 34-yard line. However, Cade Graham’s 43-yard field goal attempt fell short, keeping the game scoreless.
Midway through the second quarter, with the scoreboard still blank, Braden Turner intercepted a pass from Angel Flores at the Central Michigan 29-yard line. Just three plays later, Stone connected with Griffin Wilde on a 23-yard touchdown pass, putting Northwestern ahead 7-0.
Soon after the kickoff, Joe Labas, one of Central Michigan’s quarterbacks, fumbled on the first play, handing Northwestern possession at the Chippewas’ 18-yard line. Caleb Komolafe then powered in for a 2-yard touchdown run, extending Northwestern’s lead to 14-0.
Flores fumbled on first down, giving Central Michigan turnovers on three straight plays. Stone hit Lawson Albright for a 23-yard touchdown on the next play – Northwestern’s third touchdown in a span of 3:02.
Flores fumbled for the second time on Central Michigan’s first drive of the second half and Turner returned it 47 yards for a touchdown. Jack Olson missed the extra point to leave the score at 27-0. Stone hit Wilde for another touchdown in the quarter to make it 34-0.
Central Michigan avoided the shutout when Labas hit Brock Townsend for a 3-yard touchdown pass with 6:11 to play.
Takeaways
Central Michigan: The Chippewas turned the ball over four times – three fumbles and an interception – in a span of 12 plays spanning the second and third quarters. They only picked up one first down in that sequence.
Northwestern: The Wildcats scored four touchdowns with an average drive length of 17.5 yards, including Turner’s fumble-return touchdown. Their two longest drives in the first half – 48 and 44 yards – both ended in punts.
Up next
Central Michigan: Build an offense. Head coach Matt Drinkell built an outstanding defense in his first season after six years as an assistant coach at Army, but the Chippewas finished 93rd in scoring offense (23.8 points per game) and 107th in offensive yards per game (335.7). On Friday, they were overmatched against Big Ten opposition.
Northwestern: Find some playmakers in the transfer portal. It wasn’t a problem on Friday, thanks to the turnovers, but the Wildcats didn’t put together a sustained scoring drive until late in the third quarter. Central Michigan has a great MAC defense, but Northwestern struggled to average three yards on the ground.
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