Northwestern Gets to 4-0 Behind Career Games From Ramaud Chiaokhia-Bowman & Rush Defense

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Northwestern improved to 4-0 for the first time since 1996 with a 27-20 victory over Purdue on Saturday. Indiana grad transfer Peyton Ramsey threw three touchdowns for the ‘Cats, all to senior wide receiver Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman. His touchdowns were from 5, 8, and 18 yards out. Check em out!

On the day, Chiaokhiao-Bowman finished with a career-high eight catches and 85 yards. Going into the game, he hadn’t caught a touchdown all season, and his three touchdowns were two more than his career TD reception total (1).

Chiaokhiao-Bowman is also impressive off the field. He participated in a student-athlete discussion about race relations on Big Ten Network after the George Floyd murder, which you can see below.

The Cats’ defense also stood up, especially on third down and against Purdue ball carriers. They held Purdue’s offense to just two yards rushing on 17 attempts — 0.1 yards per carry — and 4-of-17 on third down. Coming into the game, the Cats had the third-best rush defense in the conference, allowing 121.7 rush yards per game. The Boilermakers were averaging 94.5 rush yards per game before their matchup vs. Northwestern.

Ironically, back in 1996 when Northwestern started 4-0, their head coach Pat Fitzgerald was a standout linebacker. He won back-to-back Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year awards in 1995 and 1996. They wound up going 9-3 in 1996 with an appearance in the Citrus Bowl.

Northwestern has already beaten Maryland, Iowa, Nebraska, and Purdue, setting the stage for a huge game against Wisconsin this coming week at Ryan Field in Evanston.