Northwestern football? It has six wins and is bowl-eligible in October for the first time since 2015.
NU's 21 points in the first quarter? It's the most in the first quarter of a game against a Big Ten opponent since 2011.
Aidan Chiles? The first Northwestern quarterback to pass for three touchdowns and rush for two touchdowns against a Big Ten opponent this century.
The 'Cats passed some milestones on Saturday, surviving another game in Big Ten play and advancing to the next with its dreams of deep postseason play still alive and well.
Here are three takeaways from Northwestern's 28-point crusade of the Scarlet Knights.s
Last week, I called upon the coaching staff to dig into the 'Cats and continue to raise the standard following their nail-biting 24-21 win over Michigan State.
Fast forward a week, and that's exactly what NU did. Northwestern was ready to play from the get-go against Rutgers, and dominated the Scarlet Knights for all sixty minutes of action — a reversal from last week's sloppy performance.
And I had full confidence that this would happen, because this Northwestern football team has one of the best coaching staffs in the nation. No questions asked.
At the helm is David Braun, who has done a remarkable job turning the program around after it had a combined 4-20 record in the 2021 and 2022 seasons and was left out to die by the college football world following its hazing scandal in summer 2023. Since taking over following Pat Fitzgerald's July 2023 firing, Braun has gone 25-20, leading NU to wins in two bowl games (Las Vegas Bowl in 2023 and GameAbove Sports Bowl in 2025) and is officially on his way to a third with the 'Cats' Saturday win over Rutgers.
However, what really makes this Northwestern coaching staff special is its depth from top to bottom.
There's Chip Kelly — who I've spent my time giving flowers in previous "three takeaways" articles — one of the most well-known coaching figures in the entire sport, who the 'Cats somehow managed to tuck away as their offensive coordinator just a year after he was an offensive coordinator in the NFL.
The 62-year-old New Hampshire graduate has brought a level of innovation and creativity to NU's offense that, frankly, Evanston has never seen before, turning the unit into one of the most fun to watch in the entirety of the sport.
Defensive coordinator Tim McGarigle has done a decent job leading the defense this year. He has worked hard to overcome the 'Cats' nagging injuries in the secondary, and has them positioned as the No. 8 scoring defense in the Big Ten, allowing 16.6 points per game.
"I should probably keep this a secret, but Tim McGarigle is one of the best defensive minds in the country, hands down," said Braun about Northwestern's second-year DC. "Special. I love working with him."
Quarterbacks coach Jerry Neuheisel, who joined the 'Cats in the offseason following eight years at UCLA, has done an unbelievable job working alongside Aidan Chiles, and has been identified by pundits as a prime candidate to become an offensive coordinator next season.
Running backs coach Aristotle Thompson currently has NU's ball carriers averaging 5.2 yards per carry this season, just a year after leading 'Cats rushers to a yards-per-carry average of 4.6 — NU's highest mark of the decade — during his first year in Evanston.
And defensive line coach Ross Kolodziej, who joined the program in January, has brought 13 years of collegiate coaching experience to the Wildcats' defensive front and is loved by Northwestern's big boys.
"Every single week we're just dialed in," said Michael Kilbane about the defensive coaching staff in the postgame press conference. "Like Coach McGarigle, Coach Kolodziej and all our defensive staff are so good at just putting together a plan that allows us to create strong pressures and rushes that attack weaknesses."
This special NU team is made possible by the men behind the X's and O's.
Though Rutgers only mustered 14 points against McGarigle's unit, those who watched the game know that the Scarlet Knights were able to move the sticks against the 'Cats for a lot of the game.
Rutgers mounted SEVEN drives into NU territory on Saturday, averaging over five yards per play and totaling 344 yards of offense. However, the 'Cats' defense — which now ranks seventh in the nation in points per scoring opportunity allowed (average opponent points scored on drives that reach its 40-yard line) — was able to keep the Scarlet Knights off the scoreboard due to explosive playmaking late in drives.
On RU's first drive of the third quarter, it marched down inside NU's 35-yard line and decided to go for it on fourth-and-5 at NU's 33. Sean Ashenfelder had time in the pocket, but wasn't able to find an open receiver and eventually tried to crease a ball into the hands of Vernon Allen III down the middle of the field. However, NU defensive back Montae Pate was all over Allen III in coverage and did a great job of breaking off Allen III's route to high-point an Ashenfelder overthrow and haul in an interception.
Pate's interception was just one example of the NU defense's stellar playmaking during critical moments in the game. On the following drive, Kobie McKinzie sacked Ashenfelder on an RU fourth-and-goal from the NU 7-yard-line to turn the Knights over on downs. Three drives later, a Jalen Lewis interception at NU's own 19-yard-line iced the game for the 'Cats.
The 'Cats finished the game with three takeaways, and are now tied for 16th in the country in takeaways per game (1.7). They also had four sacks, its season high in the category.
However, is Northwestern's explosive defensive identity a good thing?
While it's no doubt great that NU has lots of playmakers on the defensive end, I would rather have a consistent defense than an explosive defense… and the 'Cats' defense has not been able to consistently stifle opposing offenses.
According to statrankings.com , in all of college football, Northwestern now ranks tied for 57th in explosive play rate allowed (11.0%) and 42nd in expected points added allowed (10.8), meaning the 'Cats also give up their share of explosive plays and have allowed opposing offenses to be decently efficient on a play-to-play basis.
While NU's explosive defensive plays kept Rutgers from running up the score on Saturday, Northwestern may not be afforded the same luxury in its future games. No matter the praise David Braun and co. had for their defense, there's still room to raise the standard.
Northwestern's run game was somewhat stood up for just the second time all season when it played Michigan State last week. The 'Cats averaged just 3.2 yards per carry in East Lansing and didn't break free for a run over 20 yards.
It marked NU's second-straight Big Ten road game having relative difficulty running the ball and it caused some concern over the 'Cats' ability to replicate their explosive rushing performances on bigger stages.
The 'Cats shut those questions down fast against Rutgers, rattling off 283 yards, its second-highest rushing total of the season, on 6.9 efficiency.
Caleb Komolafe was the Wildcats' leading ball carrier, turning in 13 carries for 150 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown run that put the 'Cats up 28-3 late in the second quarter:
Northwestern also saw major contributions on the ground from its quarterback. Chiles posted his single-game career high in rushing yards against Rutgers, scrambling 12 times for 83 yards. Like Komolafe, Chiles also rattled off a big touchdown run, executing a quarterback keeper to perfection late in the fourth quarter and taking the rock 37 yards to the house:
Kelly's offense totaled nine explosive rushing plays (gains of 10 or more yards) on the day, four of which were gains of 30+ yards. The performance added to the growing reputation of NU's rushing attack, which has asserted itself as one of the best in college football. And the stats back it up: the 'Cats currently rank ninth in D1 in explosive rush rate (18.1%) and second in the Big Ten in rushing yards per game (204.6).
Granted, this rushing performance was against Rutgers, who has allowed 49 explosive rushes this season (the most in Division I), but the takeaway remains clear: Northwestern's offense is still built on pounding the rock.
