Northwestern earns comeback win against Utah in 2018 Holiday Bowl, 31-20

Photo by: Tri Le

By Lazaro Cruz

San Diego, Calif. – The Northwestern Wildcats rallied to upset the No. 20 Utah Utes, 31-20, behind three third-quarter turnovers that the Wildcats converted into 21 points in the 41st rendition of the Holiday Bowl.

The game started with an aerial show at SDCCU Stadium with four servicemen skydiving into the center of the field -- a performance that seemed to spur Utah into trying an aerial show of its own. Unfortunately, for the Utes, redshirt freshman quarterback Jason Shelley misfired on a couple of long pass attempts, including one that looked to be a surefire TD had he hit his wide-open target.

After a Utah punt, Northwestern fared no better, as they went straight at the Utes fifth-ranked rushing defense early, but without much success.

Utah scored first, as Shelley found wide receiver Jaylen Dixon for a 27-yard touchdown pass with about 6 minutes left in the first quarter to put the Utes up 7-0.  It was Dixon’s second touchdown catch of the year.

Photo by: Tri Le

Northwestern couldn’t get anything going against the Utah D, punting on both of their possessions. Rain then started coming down in usually sunny San Diego, but that didn’t seem to slow down the Utes. With less than two minutes remaining in the quarter, Shelley struck again, finding tight end and Southern California native Jake Johnson for a four-yard TD pass (also his second touchdown catch on the year). The first quarter ended with Utah up 14-0 and having all of the momentum.

For a moment early in the second quarter, it looked like Northwestern would get back in the game, as All-Big Ten linebacker Paddy Fisher stripped the Utes’ Dixon after the wideout attempted to run after a reception. But the Wildcats couldn’t do anything when they had the ball, going three-and-out on their ensuing possession.

The teams eventually combined for three field goals to end the half with Utah up 20-3.

Utah started the second half the same way it ended the first -- picking up first downs only to commit some type of mistake to allow Northwestern to stay in the game. This time it was Kelley’s turn on the mistake-carousel, as he threw an interception to the Wildcats’ linebacker, Blake Gallagher.

Northwestern quarterback Matt Thorson then went quickly to work, needing only two passes to get the Wildcats back on the board. First he hit wide receiver Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman for a 52-yard bomb, setting up his second pass to sophomore wideout Riley Lees for a four-yard touchdown.

Photo by: Tri Le

Utah’s lead was still ten points, but one could sense a change was coming. The teams traded punts before Utah started to get their offense back on track. With the ball at their own 31-yard line, they used a combination of passing and rushing to get to the Northwestern six-yard line, only to commit another ill-timed mistake.

This time it was Northwestern defensive lineman Joe Gaziano strip-sacking Shelley with safety Jared McGee returning the fumble 82 yards for a touchdown. The return closed the gap to 20-17 and tied the Northwestern record for longest fumble return for a touchdown in school history.

Things didn’t get any better for the Utes, as they turned it over again on their next possession when Dixon fumbled after catching a pass. Cornerback Trae Williams jarred the ball loose and safety JR Pace returned it 34 yards to the Utah 31-yard line.

Working with a short field, Thorson didn’t take long to give the Wildcats a lead they would not relinquish. Surprisingly, he again only needed two passes to get his team back into the end zone. The second pass was a 20-yard toss to Trey Klock, who broke a tackle and rumbled untouched for the last 10 yards to score.

Northwestern was up 24-20, but they weren’t done yet. After another Utah three-and-out, the Wildcats leaned on their running game to kill some time off the clock. They ran on four of their next  six plays before a pass interference call against the Utes’ Javelin Guidry gave them a first-and-goal at the Utah 8-yard line. They went back to the ground on the next play with Riley Lees scoring on a run to the right-side after shedding a tackle attempt by a Utah defender. The extra point put the Wildcats up 31-20, capping an incredible third quarter that saw them score 28 straight unanswered points.

Photo by: Tri Le

There were several records set throughout the game. Northwestern’s long fumble return for a touchdown was the longest defensive scoring play in Holiday Bowl history, and the fifth longest overall scoring play in the Bowl’s storied history.  Fisher’s forced fumble in the second quarter was the ninth of his Northwestern career, setting a new school record.

Another new Northwestern record established during the game was the career passing yards record, as Thorson set the record with a 32-yard strike to wide receiver Kyric McGowan early in the second quarter. Thorson ended the night with 241 passing yards in the game, and 10,731 passing yards during his career at Northwestern.