Saturday, September 29, 2012 12:00 PM (ET)

Recap: Northwestern 44, Indiana 29

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 29, 2012

Northwestern 44, Indiana 29: Kain Colter accounted for 294 of a school-record 704 yards of total offense and ran for a school record-tying four touchdowns as the host Wildcats withstood a second-half rally to win in the Big Ten opener for both.

Colter, Northwestern's regular starting quarterback, started the game at wide receiver and posted career bests with nine receptions for 131 yards as the Wildcats (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) raced to a 27-0 third quarter lead before holding off a furious surge by the Hoosiers (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten).

He added a career-high 161 yards on 14 carries to help the Wildcats improved to 5-0 for the third time in the last five years.

Northwestern amassed 394 yards on the ground, as the Wildcats topped Indiana for the eighth time in the last nine years. Colter ran for a pair of touchdowns in each half and Venric Mark added a career-high 139 yards and a score as the NU option carved up the Indiana defense. Sophomore quarterback Trevor Siemian earned his first career start and threw for a career-best 308 yards, completing 22 of 32 passes with an interception.

Indiana, which trailed 20-0 at halftime and by 27 early in the third quarter, closed to within 37-29 early in the fourth quarter after a 2-yard touchdown run by D'Angelo Roberts and a successful two-point conversion. The Hoosiers would get the ball back following a turnover but could not sustain a drive and Colter's fourth score of the game, a 22-yard run, sealed the Wildcat win.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Colter's first-quarter interception was his first in 138 attempts dating back to the 2011 season opener. NU, which had two interceptions in the game, was one of nine teams in the FBS that had not thrown an interception heading into play today ... With Colter and Mark both topping 100 yards rushing, it marked the first time since 2003 that Northwestern had two players top the century mark in the same game ... Indiana kicker Mitch Ewald missed a 20-yard field goal in the first quarter, snapping his FBS-best streak of 24 straight field goals he had made inside of 40 yards. It was also the first time this season IU has not scored when in the red zone.

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