SEATTLE (September 21, 2024) – Washington (3-1, 1-0 B1G) jumped out to an early lead and never looked back on its way to a 24-5 victory over Northwestern (2-2, 0-1 B1G) in the Big Ten opener for both teams at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium.
On a night where offense came at a premium for the ‘Cats, Joseph Himon II enjoyed a banner evening in the return game, racking up 150 yards across three kickoff returns. Himon’s total was aided by a career-best 96-yard scamper early on in the fourth quarter.
A.J. Henning reeled in a team-high five receptions for 41 yards on the night, while Jack Lausch chipped in 21 yards over 13 carries on the ground. Henning also picked up 39 yards on three punt returns, including a season-long 19-yard runback.
Xander Mueller starred on the defensive side of the ball for Northwestern, leading the Wildcats with eight tackles, two of which came for loss. Mueller also recovered a fumble with 9:26 remaining in the third quarter, a takeaway that led to an 18-yard field goal from Jack Olsen.
After missing last week’s 31-7 win over Eastern Illinois, Anto Saka made his presence felt early on, sacking Washington quarterback Will Rogers to bring an end to the Huskies’ opening drive of the night. Saka closed his night with three tackles, while Aidan Hubbard matched his stat line, also adding three tackles and one sack.
Luke Akers let fly with seven punts for 301 net yards, a career-best total, as he averaged 43.0 yards per attempt. Akers cracked the 50-yard mark on a pair of kicks, highlighted by a 54-yard effort in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.
Game Notes
» Himon is the first Wildcat to total over 100 kickoff return yards in a game since Riley Lees (106 yards) vs. Minnesota on November 23, 2019.
» Mueller came away with his second career fumble recovery in the third quarter.
» Henning has hauled in at least five catches in all four games this season. He has eight five-plus catch outings to his name since joining the Wildcats.
» Northwester struggled mightily on third downs, converting on only two of its 13 attempts.
» Rogers led the Washington passing attack, completing 20 of his 28 attempts for 223 yards and two touchdowns.
UP NEXT
Following its bye week, Northwestern returns to action on Saturday, October 5 when it welcomes Indiana to Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. A kickoff time and TV network designation will be announced at a later date.
