DETROIT — Preston Stone led Northwestern to victory with three touchdown passes, capitalizing on four turnovers to secure a 34-7 win over Central Michigan in the GameAbove Sports Bowl, held at Ford Field on Friday.

The Wildcats, now 7-6, celebrated their sixth consecutive bowl game victory. Their last postseason defeat came in the 2015 Outback Bowl against Pittsburgh, where they lost 45-6.

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Central Michigan, also ending the season 7-6, has yet to secure a bowl win against a Big Ten opponent, especially at Ford Field. Their previous losses include a 51-48 defeat by Purdue in the 2007 Motor City Bowl and a 21-14 loss to Minnesota in the 2015 Quick Lane Bowl.

Early in the game, Central Michigan had a chance to score first after halting Northwestern on a 4th-and-1 play at the Wildcats’ 34-yard line. However, Cade Graham’s 43-yard field goal attempt went astray.

With the score still tied midway through the second quarter, Braden Turner intercepted a pass from Angel Flores at the Central Michigan 29-yard line. Seizing the opportunity, Stone connected with Griffin Wilde on a 23-yard touchdown pass just three plays later, putting Northwestern ahead 7-0.

Joe Labas, the other half of Central Michigan’s quarterbacking duo, fumbled on the first play after the kickoff to give Northwestern the ball on the Chippewas 18. Caleb Komolafe scored on a 2-yard run to put Northwestern ahead 14-0.

Flores fumbled on first down, giving Central Michigan turnovers on three straight plays. Stone hit Lawson Albright for a 23-yard touchdown on the next play – Northwestern’s third touchdown in a span of 3:02.

Flores fumbled for the second time on Central Michigan’s first drive of the second half and Turner returned it 47 yards for a touchdown. Jack Olson missed the extra point to leave the score at 27-0. Stone hit Wilde for another touchdown in the quarter to make it 34-0.

Central Michigan avoided the shutout when Labas hit Brock Townsend for a 3-yard touchdown pass with 6:11 to play.

Takeaways

Central Michigan: The Chippewas turned the ball over four times – three fumbles and an interception – in a span of 12 plays spanning the second and third quarters. They only picked up one first down in that sequence.

Northwestern: The Wildcats scored four touchdowns with an average drive length of 17.5 yards, including Turner’s fumble-return touchdown. Their two longest drives in the first half – 48 and 44 yards – both ended in punts.

Up next

Central Michigan: Build an offense. Head coach Matt Drinkell built an outstanding defense in his first season after six years as an assistant coach at Army, but the Chippewas finished 93rd in scoring offense (23.8 points per game) and 107th in offensive yards per game (335.7). On Friday, they were overmatched against Big Ten opposition.

Northwestern: Find some playmakers in the transfer portal. It wasn’t a problem on Friday, thanks to the turnovers, but the Wildcats didn’t put together a sustained scoring drive until late in the third quarter. Central Michigan has a great MAC defense, but Northwestern struggled to average three yards on the ground.