Quarterback Jack Lausch passed for 227 yards and two touchdowns and rushed seven times for 62 yards in his starting debut to lead Northwestern to a 31-7 win over Eastern Illinois on Saturday night in Evanston, Ill.
A.J. Henning caught seven passes for 117 yards and a touchdown for Northwestern (2-1), which bounced back from a double-overtime loss against Duke a week ago. Cam Porter carried the ball 15 times for 77 yards and a touchdown, and Joseph Himon II finished with five carries for 49 yards and a score.
Pierce Holley completed 17 of 31 passes for 167 yards, one touchdown and one interception for Eastern Illinois (1-2). Eli Mirza caught the Panthers’ lone touchdown.
The Wildcats outgained the Panthers 450-207 and finished with 22 first downs compared with 13 first downs for Eastern Illinois.
Northwestern opened the scoring with 1:22 remaining in the first quarter. Porter took a direct snap in the backfield, eluded a defender and found the end zone for a 1-yard score.
Eastern Illinois evened the score at 7-7 with 10:37 to go in the second quarter. Holley connected with Mirza for a 13-yard touchdown to cap a 13-play, 75-yard drive.
Northwestern seized a 14-7 lead with 13 seconds left before halftime. Himon took a handoff, broke a tackle and sprinted up the middle of the field for a 32-yard score.
The Wildcats built their lead to 24-7 by the end of the third quarter.
Jack Olsen started the second-half scoring with a 46-yard field goal to make it 17-7.
Lausch made it 24-7 when he found Henning for a 3-yard touchdown with 2:39 remaining in the third quarter. It marked Lausch’s first career passing touchdown.
Lausch struck again, this time on a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Marshall Lang, to increase Northwestern’s lead to 31-7 with 6:58 left in the fourth quarter. It was Lang’s first touchdown reception of the season and the fourth of his career.
–Field Level Media
