Joseph Himon II scored two touchdowns, including a 22-yard game-ending TD reception in overtime, as visiting Northwestern pulled off a 26-20 victory over Purdue on Saturday at West Lafayette, Ind.
Purdue turned the ball over on downs to open overtime, gambling on a fourth-and-5 play, to set up Northwestern’s game-winning possession.
Himon rushed for 78 yards and one score, while Cam Porter added 17 rushing yards with a touchdown. Jack Lausch passed for 250 yards and Luke Akers made a pair of field goals as the Wildcats (4-5, 2-4 Big Ten) ended a two-game losing streak.
Northwestern ran for 122 yards, with 51 of those coming on Himon’s first-quarter rushing TD. Porter had eight receptions for 85 yards for Northwestern.
Hudson Card passed for 267 yards and a touchdown for Purdue in his return from concussion protocol as the Boilermakers (1-7, 0-5) saw their losing streak extend to seven games. Max Klare had six receptions for 78 yards and Jahmal Edrine had five catches for 54 yards with a touchdown for Purdue.
The Boilermakers were held to 47 yards rushing, with Devin Mockobee gaining 29 yards on 10 carries.
After the teams traded field goals in the opening 12 minutes of the game, Himon peeled off his 51-yard TD run with under a minute remaining in the first quarter. It was the longest of his college career, as the Wildcats took a 10-3 lead. Porter’s 1-yard TD run with 2:23 remaining in the first half gave Northwestern a 17-3 lead.
Purdue cut the deficit to one score when Edrine caught a 6-yard TD pass from Card with 25 seconds left in the opening half, cutting the deficit to 17-10.
Each team traded field goals after halftime, with Northwestern taking a 20-13 lead on Akers’ boot from 41 yards with 10:41 remaining in the game.
Card led Purdue on a 11-play, 75-yard drive, with Mockobee finishing it off on a 1-yard TD run to tie the score 20-20 with 5:16 to play.
Northwestern played without wide receiver Bryce Kirtz (undisclosed injury), while wideout Frank Covey IV departed in the first half with a knee injury.
