By: Charlie Spungin, NUSports.com
1st & Goal from the 6-yard line, 1st & 10 from the 15 twice and 1st & Goal from the 8: South Dakota State’s field position in its first four red zone trips of Saturday night’s game.
On those drives, Northwestern allowed just 12 total points, forcing a field goal each time. The Wildcats defined the ‘bend, don’t break’ mantra in the 34-18 win over the Jackrabbits, forcing South Dakota State quarterback Chase Mason to complete just 1-of-6 passes within the NU 20-yard line.
“Really good job by [Defensive Coordinator] Tim [McGarigle] and staff with a really good game plan,” Dan and Susan Jones Family Head Football Coach David Braun said. “With a quarterback like South Dakota State has, a consistent run game and their RPO, those guys are difficult to bend in that area of the field. I thought we came in with a great plan, executed well. It was pivotal to the outcome of the game.”
The thwarting defense stems from the team’s practice routine, emphasizing holding opposing offenses to three points rather than seven.
“Really just trusting our eyes, trusting our keys and what we see,” fourth-year defensive back Damon Walters said regarding what fueled the strong red zone defense. “During practice, what we harp on a lot is going up in the red zone, tight zone and just leaving them to no score or a field goal.”
The Jackrabbits broke through on their fifth red zone possession, scoring a touchdown to trim the Northwestern lead to 20-18. However, when the South Dakota State offense took the field for a two-point conversion attempt with hopes to tie the game, the play ended in a Walters interception.
Walters, who appeared in just three contests last season, made an emphatic return to the gridiron. He finished the contest with nine tackles, one interception and one pass breakup, becoming the second player in the Braun era to reach those numbers.
“I was really grateful to be able to be back on the field, playing with my guys and healthy,” Walters said. “Just excited to go back and play fast and play free. Last year was a really hard time for me, missing a lot of games, but just excited to be back.”
Walters broke out in the second half of his redshirt first-year season, starting in five games in the back end of the season. He finished tied for second in the Big Ten in tackles by a first-year and was the only rookie in the conference to post 40+ tackles and 3.5+ tackles for loss during the 2024 season.
Under Saturday night’s lights, Walters was part of a concerted defensive effort to slow Mason down. The Jackrabbit signal caller completed a career-low 47.9% of his passes (23-of-48), and it was the first time that the Wildcats have forced an opposing quarterback to a completion percentage below 50% since the 2023 season.
“There were a lot of really neat moments tonight, but that was pretty damn cool to watch [Damon] make the plays that he did and see him out there playing, doing what he loves,” Braun said. “It was a long road for Damon last year. It was tough on him. It was tough for his teammates to watch him navigate that. He loves the game of football.”