Northwestern makes a quarterback switch to help save its season

CEDAR RAPIDS — With his team getting blasted on the road and the season getting away, the head coach decided to make a quarterback change for the second half.

He stuck with that change the following game.

No, it’s not the Iowa Hawkeyes being talked about here. It’s actually their opponent Saturday.

Northwestern has turned to sophomore Brendan Sullivan to lead its offense. He has replaced incumbent Ryan Hilinski, who had taken every snap up to his team’s 42-7 loss Oct. 8 against Wisconsin.

Hilinski had completed 27 of 38 passes in NU’s season-opening win over Nebraska in Ireland and threw for 435 yards in a loss in its next game to Duke. But the Wildcats were becoming increasingly stagnant offensively, which prompted head coach Pat Fitzgerald to make a move.

“It’s as much to try and give us a spark, try to get some things going,” Fitzgerald said. “I made a decision at some point probably late last week that that was what we were going to do.”

Northwestern had a week off between its game against Wisconsin and last Saturday’s game at Maryland. Sullivan is much more of a mobile quarterback than Hilinski (sounds familiar again, eh?), and he rushed for 53 yards and a touchdown in a 31-24 loss.

Northwestern had 229 rushing yards against the Terrapins. A Michigan native, Sullivan completed 18 of 24 passes for 143 and a TD, throwing two interceptions, including one late in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats were attempting to tie a back-and-forth game.

“There were some mistakes I know he’ll want back, that he’ll want to correct,” Fitzgerald said. “But I thought he was gritty, played tough and made a bunch of big, big plays. His first start, he’s going to learn a ton. To come on the road, he gave us every opportunity to win. I’m really proud of him.”

“(The preparation) wasn’t different at all,” Sullivan said. “You prepare every week like you’re going to be the starter. So it’s just the same mindset, same everything.”

Sullivan said not trying to do too much with his feet was integral.

“I think just being comfortable in the pocket was huge,” he said. “Using my legs when I needed to instead of just relying on them and scrambling around when I didn’t have to. I think that’s the biggest thing that I improved upon. Obviously it wasn’t the result that we wanted, but it was fun playing football and getting my first start.”

Both Fitzgerald and Sullivan lauded Hilinski for his attitude after being benched. A junior from California, Hilinski was a starter at South Carolina before transferring last season to Northwestern.

He started five games in 2021.

“Equally as proud of Ryan,” Fitzgerald said. “He was one of the first guys as (Sullivan) came off the field to help him. The competition was really close. I don’t think I was hiding anything coming out of training camp. Obviously we don’t want our record to be where it’s at, and we felt that making a change at this time was the right decision for the club.”

“He was my number one supporter on the sideline,” Sullivan said. “I don’t know if I’d have been able to go through that game without that guy. He’s the first one to catch me when I get off the field, the first one to pick me up, the first one to hype me up. A great person, and I’m glad that he’s the one that’s out there and being that guy for me.”

Northwestern (1-6) has lost six in a row, but two of those have been by seven points, another by three, another by eight and another by 10. The Wildcats just haven’t been able to make plays on either side of the football when needed.

“Northwestern, the first thing I'd say, their record is very misleading from my standpoint. Outside of one game, they've been extremely competitive and in every game,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. “And not surprising, they're playing with great effort. They made a quarterback switch last week, which seemed to give them a little bit of a jump on the offensive side. Played a really good game against Maryland.

“The bottom line is this: Coach Fitzgerald, ever since he's been there has built a really successful program. Been very good since '06 when he took over. Clearly have an identity. And their guys understand what they do.”

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