strike again when Hare found Brown again, this time from 59 yards to give NIU a 16–7 lead with 7 minutes left. Northern Illinois scored again to make it 23–7, and the Wildcats would make things interesting when Zack Oliver, replacing an injured Trevor Siemian, would hook up with Pierre Youngblood-Ary for a 54 yard score. The Wildcats converted the two-point conversion to make it a one score game at 23–15, however the Huskies would recover Northwestern's onside kick to win the game. Northwestern would enter their bye week 0–2. Western Illinois Coming off a bye week, Northwestern needed a win to avoid an 0–3 start heading into conference play. They got on the board quickly as freshman running back Solomon Vault ran it in from 1 yard out to give the 'Cats a 7–0 lead. Western Illinois would respond just as quickly as Joey Borsellino caught a 4 yard touchdown pass from Trenton Norvell, tying the game at 7–7. After Ifeadi Odenigbo sacked Norvell and recovered a fumble, Vault would score again in the second quarter, this time from 14 yards out and the Wildcats had a 14–7 lead going into halftime. From there the Wildcats were able to control the game in the second half, en route to a 24–7 victory. Trevor Siemian didn't do a lot through the air, going just 15/25 for 117 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions, but the Wildcats were able to run the ball very effectively, combining for 166 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Northwestern defense also had a terrific today, getting 4 sacks and forcing 4 Western Illinois turnovers. It was just Northwestern's second win in their last 11 games, dating back to last season. The Wildcats headed into Big Ten conference play 1–2. Penn State Considered a double-digit underdog going into the game, Northwestern shocked many and got off to a quick start against Penn State. Northwestern drove the ball down the field on their opening drive but Jack Mitchell missed a 44 yard field goal. However, on their next two drives, Northwestern would get into the end zone twice, with Trevor Siemian running it in from 1 yard out both times. Sam Ficken would kick two field goals to cut the Northwestern lead to 14–6 after three quarters. But the Northwestern defense would come up big yet again, with true freshman linebacker Anthony Walker intercepting Christian Hackenberg on the