Friday night will forever be etched in Northwestern history as the Wildcats opened their
new $875 million stadium with a statement 34-13 victory against Penn State.

After spending the past two seasons playing at their temporary lakeside field,
Northwestern marked a new chapter in program history, opening the state-of-the-art
new Ryan Field.

A sea of purple filled the 35,000-seat stadium, while the student section dubbed the
“Wildcat Wall” remained packed and loud throughout the game.

The Wildcats entered Friday night looking to bounce back from a narrow road loss to
Indiana, and they did just that, delivering a performance to remember against the
Nittany Lions.

Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly is no stranger to coaching on the biggest stages, and
that experience showed in his play-calling Friday night.

Northwestern logged 413 rushing yards against Penn State, its highest single-game
total on the ground since facing Illinois in 2003.

For the Nittany Lions, the defensive breakdown marked a great difference from their performance through the first few games of the season. Penn State entered Friday’s matchup allowing just 113.2 rushing yards per game before Northwestern dismantled its run defense.

The running back duo of Caleb Komolafe and Joseph Himon II led the charge
offensively, combining for 350 rushing yards.

Despite only throwing for under 100 yards and all touchdowns coming on the ground, Northwestern quarterback Aidan Chiles continued his strong play this season.

He completed 10-of-14 passes for 93 yards, while adding a rushing touchdown in the
victory.

The Wildcats emphasized the importance of starting fast as they jumped out to a 10-0
first-quarter lead and never trailed in the matchup.

The Nittany Lions cut into the lead early, but the stifling Northwestern defense shut
down any offensive momentum for Penn State.

Penn State was held to 291 total yards, and a season-low 48 rushing yards. The Wildcats limited the Nittany Lions to just 2.2 yards per carry.

Additionally, Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht completed 26 of his 41 passes, and threw two interceptions. He only recorded one touchdown that came in the fourth quarter.

The Northwestern defensive efforts were highlighted by their two interceptions and Kobie
McKinzie’s team high 10 tackles.

The Wildcats secured their first conference win on a historic and unforgettable night for
the program.

Next up, Northwestern will host Ball State on Saturday, their final non-conference
opponent of the season.

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.