Persa's four touchdowns lead Northwestern to 28-6 win over Rice

The Wildcats' third straight win was hardly pretty.

Northwestern's 28-6 victory over Rice on Saturday was filled with turnovers and missed opportunities, yet the Cats escaped just a win shy of bowl eligibility.

"We didn't play consistently today," junior wide receiver Demetrius Fields said. "I don't think that it was the same level as it was the previous two weeks."

Jeremy Ebert led the charge for the Cats (5-5), catching seven passes for a career-high 208 yards and two touchdowns. The senior wide receiver gained 90 of those yards on a pass from senior quarterback Dan Persa which hit Ebert in stride, following which he outran the Owls' secondary into the end zone to give NU an early 7-0 lead. The play was the second-longest passing play in school history and was Ebert's second consecutive game with a touchdown catch of over 80 yards.

"It's awesome, I haven't been able to do that since high school," Ebert said. "It's a pretty surreal feeling to just be running with only green grass in front of you."

Another one of Ebert's magnificent plays was a one-handed 33-yard catch after he was spun around. Fitzgerald called the catch "ridiculous," while Ebert said he saw the ball the whole way and just misjudged it as he went to make the catch.

"I saw it and I thought it was going to go over my other shoulder," Ebert said. "I turned and then I think the wind put it over the other shoulder, so I kind of just ended up being like a ballerina out there."

The receiver was instrumental in helping NU rack up over 500 yards of offense for the second time in three weeks. Persa had another strong game for the Cats, throwing for a career-high 372 yards and tying a career-high with four touchdown passes. The lone stains on Persa's day were two interceptions which were underthrown.

"I threw them pretty soft," the senior quarterback said. "I just got to get them out there."

The career games from Ebert and Persa are not a coincidence. The two are roommates and are now a part of the winningest class in school history. Fields said that both of their performances epitomize what the Cats have come to expect out of the pair. Persa said as nice as it is to be a part of the winningest class, there are more important things to focus on.

"We're real proud of it," Persa said. "But the same time we understand that we've still got a pretty good opportunity to finish the season the right way and we're more focused on that then being the all-time wins team."

NU's defense continued its recent improvement with a solid performance. The Cats forced five three-and-outs from the Owls and kept their offense in check. Rice had only one play of more than 20 yards, a reverse pass which went for 43 yards and set up the lone Owls' score.

Rice accumulated only 254 yards, including a measly 135 through the air. The Owls entered the contest averaging 216 passing yards per game. NU's defense was also effective in stopping the run, limiting running back Tyler Smith to just 84 yards on 21 carries. Smith entered the game averaging nearly seven yards per attempt.

"Our defense is really starting to come into its own," Fitzgerald said. "Starting to gain confidence, playing much better, having 11 heartbeats play as one."

The difference in the game, according to Rice linebacker Justin Allen, was in the amount of big plays NU's offense put up. The Cats had six plays that went for greater than 20 yards, five of which came in the passing game. Allen said big plays have haunted Rice all year.

"The big play has been our nemesis all season," Allen said. "We played them pretty tough and you can't win when you give up big plays. We just could not make the plays when it counted."

The win leaves NU one win shy of becoming bowl eligible for a program-record fifth straight year. Fitzgerald said a bowl game remains the Cats' goal and motivates them every day.

"We have an expectation of the way we should play," Fitzgerald said. "We have an expectation that we should play in the postseason. We didn't get it done in the month of October, but we're fighting and scratching and clawing to make this a November to remember."

joshuawalfish2014@u.northwestern.edu