EVANSTON, ILL -- Quarterback Clayton Thorson had a huge passing day as Northwestern cruised past Bowling Green 49-7 Saturday at Ryan Field.
A 20-yard touchdown run by BG’s josh Cleveland tied the game at 7-7 with 3:09 left in the first quarter. However, Northwestern kicked its offense into high gear for a 35-7 halftime lead.
After a scoreless . . .
Thorson, a junior, connected on 23 of 30 attempts (76.7%) for 370 yards with two TDs. It was a bounce-back performance for Thorson, who was limited to 120 passing yards in a loss to Duke the previous week. He had 352 yards against Nevada in the Wildcats opener.
Northwestern (678 total yards) also produced 303 yards through the ground game. Justin Jackson led the way there with 18 carries for 121 yards.
Bowling Green used two quarterbacks. James Morgan completed 15 of 26 for 166 yards, while freshman Jarret Doege found receivers on 12 of 18 attempts, good for 90 yards.
Twelve Falcons caught passes, with Jared Wyann, Teo Redding and Scott Miller grabbing three apiece. Cleveland logged 12 carries for 54 yards and a score to lead BG rushers.
Bowling Green will be on the road again next Saturday when it meets Middle Tennessee.