DALLAS (FWAA) – The Northwestern Wildcats went into Happy Valley and got their first win over Penn State since 2015 with a statement 22-21 victory. Playing turnover-free and limiting Penn State to its lowest yardage this season, the Wildcats earned the Pop-Tarts Crazy Good Team of the Week for games the weekend of Oct. 11, as selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America.
This is the sixth time for Northwestern (4-2, 2-1 in the Big Ten) to receive the award by the FWAA and the first time since 2020 when it beat then-No. 10 Wisconsin, 17-7.
Northwestern’s third straight win came thanks in large part to its defense, which held Penn State to just 137 passing yards and its lowest total yardage (274) of the season. The Wildcats also got two takeaways for the first time this season, one of them on special teams. The dominant stop crew allowed quarterback Preston Stone to manage the game without posting stellar stats and get a happy return in his return to Happy Valley.
Stone, a graduate student who ended his SMU career last season in a loss at Penn State in the first round of the College Football Playoff, found his groove early, completing 9-of-15 first-half passes for 101 yards and a touchdown as the Wildcats stayed close trailing 14-13 at halftime. He was 6-6 with 68 passing yards and a touchdown on NU’s first two scoring drives.
Both defenses took over in a punt-heavy second half, but Northwestern took advantage of a muffed punt return by Penn State to get a field goal and a 16-14 lead. Penn State scored a counterpunch to go ahead 21-16, but Stone and the Wildcats managed the game-winning drive, an 11-play, 75-yard drive march capped by a nine-yard rushing score from Caleb Komolafe. A missed two-point conversion left the 22-21 score.
The Wildcats’ defense came up with a stop on Penn State’s next possession to seal it. Northwestern held Penn State to 21 points, an offense that came in averaging 38.6 per game. NU has held its opponent to fewer points than its average in all six games this season.
It was Northwestern’s first win over Penn State since a similar count in their 2015 game, a 23-21 NU win. The Wildcats’ last win at Penn State came a year earlier in a 29-6 victory in 2014.
Northwestern picked up its 70th win since 2000 in a game decided by seven points or fewer. Only LSU (73) has more wins in games decided by seven points or fewer during that span.
The Wildcats return home Saturday to face Purdue at 3 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network.
Since 2002, the FWAA has named a National Team of the Week. Coming into the 2025 season, 284 teams have been honored, including 101 different Division I programs. Each honored team will receive a custom Pop-Tarts "care package" along with a hand-crafted game ball made in America by Dallas-based Big Game USA, the nation's leading manufacturer of custom footballs.
The other National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Oct. 11 were:
- Indiana (6-0): The Hoosiers ended a 46-game all-time streak of losing on the road against top-five opponents with a 30-20 win over No. 3/2 Oregon at sold-out Autzen Stadium, also snapping Oregon’s 23-game regular-season winning streak and 18-game home winning streak. Following ties at 10-10, 13-13 and 20-20 in the fourth quarter, Indiana scored the last 10 gutsy points to put the game away. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza finished 20-for-31 for 211 yards, much of it to wide receiver Elijah Sarratt (8 rec., 121 yds., TD). Kicker Brendan Franke hit a 58-yard field goal to tie the school record and set the Autzen Stadium record.
- Texas (4-2): The Longhorns toppled No. 6 Oklahoma, 23-6, in the Allstate Red River Rivalry Saturday at the Cotton Bowl. Quarterback Arch Manning completed a season-high 21 passes on 27 attempts for 166 yards and a touchdown, including a sparkling 11-for-12 on third-down passes for 117 yards and the score. Texas shut out the Sooners in the second half and held a top-10 opponent without a touchdown for the first time since 1979 when the Longhorns blanked then-No. 5 Missouri, 21-0.
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Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,100 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.