Scores

Final/OT

Northwestern 37

(3-4, 1-2 Big Ten)

Indiana 31

(1-6, 0-3 Big Ten)

12:10 PM ET, October 11, 2003

Memorial Stadium, BLOOMINGTON, IN

1 2 3 4 OT T
NW 17 7 0 7 637
IND 0 14 10 7 031

Northwestern 37, Indiana 31 (OT)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) -- Jason Wright ran for 141 yards and four touchdowns, including the winner in overtime, as Northwestern beat Indiana 37-31 on Saturday.

The Hoosiers (1-6, 0-3 Big Ten) got the ball first in overtime and were in position to take the lead when they drove to the 13. But Matt LoVecchio's pass to Travis Haney was tipped and intercepted in the end zone by Brian Heinz. The Wildcats (3-4, 1-2) then won it with Wright's 4-yard scoring run.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis had 25 carries for 136 yards and three touchdowns for Indiana, which was looking to win its first Big Ten game since the 2002 conference opener against Wisconsin. Indiana had 531 yards of total offense, including 327 yards rushing.

The Hoosiers had a chance to win in regulation, getting the ball at their own 46 with 1:30 to play. But coach Gerry DiNardo elected to keep the ball on the ground, and Bryan Robertson's 54-yard field-goal try with time running out was well short.

Northwestern nearly squandered a big lead for the second week in a row. Last week, the Wildcats took a 14-0 halftime lead against Minnesota, but ended up losing 42-17.

Northwestern took a 17-0 lead against Indiana when Brett Basanez hit Brandon Horn on a 77-yard TD pass at the end of the first quarter.

Indiana finally got on the board in the second quarter on a 9-yard TD run by Brian Lewis.

Wright and Green-Ellis traded touchdown runs in the second quarter that put the score at 24-14.

The Wildcats appeared to be in control after racking up 299 total yards in the first half against Indiana's 92nd-ranked defense.

But after getting roundly booed for its performance in the first half, the Indiana defense stiffened in the third quarter, forcing three-and-outs on Northwestern's first four possessions.

The uncharacteristically stout defense allowed the Hoosier offense to mount a comeback.

LoVecchio's 55-yard pass to Courtney Roby set up Robertson's 22-yard field goal and Green-Ellis broke off a nifty 27-yard TD run on the next possession to tie it at 24-24.

Green-Ellis added his third TD of the game, a 2-yarder, to give Indiana a 31-24 lead with under 12 minutes to play.

But Mark Philmore broke off a 60-yard punt return that set up Wright's 1-yard scoring run that tied it at 31 with 4:46 to play.

Lewis had 21 carries for 128 yards and one touchdown for Indiana.

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Team Stat Comparison

 
NW
IND
1st Downs2025
Total Yards383531
Passing191204
Rushing192327
Penalties10-587-45
3rd Down Conversions9-174-13
4th Down Conversions1-11-1
Turnovers02
Possession46:0228:58

Passing Leaders

NorthwesternC/ATTYDSAVGTDINT
Basanez13/201919.610
IndianaC/ATTYDSAVGTDINT
LoVecchi...13/2020410.202

Rushing Leaders

NorthwesternCARYDSAVGTDLG
Wright321414.4415
Basanez10323.2016
IndianaCARYDSAVGTDLG
Green-Ellis251365.4327
Lewis211286.1142

Receiving Leaders

NorthwesternRECYDSAVGTDLG
Philmore5418.2013
Patrick33612.0028
IndianaRECYDSAVGTDLG
Roby48220.5055
Johnson34715.7039

Scoring Summary

FIRST QUARTERNWIND
FG8:34SLADE LARSCHEID 32 YD FG
Drive info: 12 plays, 62 yards.
30
TD4:25JASON WRIGHT 1 YD RUN (SLADE LARSCHEID KICK)
Drive info: 5 plays, 26 yards.
100
TD1:09BRANDON HORN 77 YD PASS FROM BRETT BASANEZ (SLADE LARSCHEID KICK)
Drive info: 3 plays, 80 yards.
170
SECOND QUARTERNWIND
TD13:41BRIAN LEWIS 9 YD RUN (BRYAN ROBERTSON KICK)
Drive info: 6 plays, 79 yards.
177
TD7:40JASON WRIGHT 13 YD RUN (SLADE LARSCHEID KICK)
Drive info: 12 plays, 80 yards.
247
TD4:55BENJARVUS GREEN-ELLIS 1 YD RUN (BRYAN ROBERTSON KICK)
Drive info: 7 plays, 68 yards.
2414
THIRD QUARTERNWIND
FG12:02BRYAN ROBERTSON 22 YD FG
Drive info: 5 plays, 62 yards.
2417
TD5:23BENJARVUS GREEN-ELLIS 27 YD RUN (BRYAN ROBERTSON KICK)
Drive info: 11 plays, 78 yards.
2424
FOURTH QUARTERNWIND
TD11:54BENJARVUS GREEN-ELLIS 2 YD RUN (BRYAN ROBERTSON KICK)
Drive info: 6 plays, 37 yards.
2431
TD4:46JASON WRIGHT 1 YD RUN (SLADE LARSCHEID KICK)
Drive info: 4 plays, 6 yards.
3131
OVERTIMENWIND
TD0:00JASON WRIGHT 4 YD RUN
Drive info: 6 plays, 25 yards.
3731