ESPN College Football

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) -- Corey Wootton's interception in the fourth quarter stopped a scoring threat and Northwestern avoided another upset, hanging on for a 14-6 victory over Eastern Michigan on Saturday.

The Eagles were at the Northwestern 32 when Tyler Jones overthrew Eric Deslauriers in the end zone with about six minutes left. Wootton then picked off a pass at the 27, and the Wildcats left with a win one week after losing 34-17 to I-AA New Hampshire.

Deante Battle picked off Jones at the Northwestern 47 with about a minute left. Eastern Michigan (0-3) managed just 134 yards on offense and converted 2 of 15 third downs.

Tyrell Sutton led Northwestern (2-1) with 91 yards rushing, but the Wildcats had trouble moving the ball. They managed just 266 yards and switched quarterbacks.

Mike Kafka delivered a 6-yard touchdown run on the game's opening possession but was 10-of-18 for 76 yards with an interception. Andrew Brewer replaced his and led a 72-yard touchdown drive on the Wildcats' first possession of the second half, carrying it in from the 1 to boost Northwestern's lead to 14-6. He completed 6-of-8 passes for 76 yards.

With the score 7-6 after the Eagles punted to start the third quarter, Sutton carried six times for 44 yards as Northwestern increased its lead to eight. He started the drive with a 9-yarder and broke off runs of 19 and 10 yards. Brewer contributed a 10-yard run to go with that touchdown.

Although Saturday's game was the first between the programs, they weren't exactly strangers. Eastern Michigan coach Jeff Genyk was a Wildcats assistant for 12 years before being hired in December 2003, and five members of his staff either played or coached at Northwestern.

That and the fact that both teams were reeling added some interest to an otherwise nondescript non-conference game.

While Northwestern spent the week icing the sting of the New Hampshire game, Eastern Michigan was trying to regroup from 18-point and 32-point losses at Ball State and Michigan State.