Northwestern
began its 2007 campaign with a convincing win against Division I-AA
Northeastern, blanking the Huskies 27-0-- the first NU shutout win in a
decade. The win helped assuage the memories of last year's loss
to New Hampshire and provided a stark contrast to what was happening in
Ann Arbor, as the Wolverines were falling to Appalachian State.
Before
the game, Big Ten Network cameras in the Wildcat locker room showed
Coach Fitzgerald telling his team, "emotionally, you're ready; let's
sustain it for sixty minutes. . . Mentally, this is as good a week of
preparation as we've had going into the opener since I've been
here. Now physically, let's go out and play Northwestern
football." Fitz raised the "Trust Yourself" board and exclaimed,
"When we raise it up here, men, like we do on Game Day, it's time to
trust yourself, stick together-- no matter what happens, stick
together-- play for the warrior next to you, and let's go regain
Northwestern respect. Let's go play Northwestern Football."
The 'Cats did just that, and they took command of the game at the outset, as Northeastern's
opening drive led to nothing but its first missed field goal of the
day. On NU's opening march, C.J. Bachér went six for six,
hitting Eric Peterman, Ross Lane, Tyrell Sutton and Rasheed Ward, while
Sutton ground out a few more yards on the ground and Bachér kept the ball and punched in the first score.
Sutton finished the day with 108 yards, adding one more rung in his ladder to the NU rushing records. Sutton and Bachér
both looked in control and at the top of their form. Bachér finished with 23 completions out of 29, for 243 yards. Despite a
few missteps by the offensive line (their mojo certainly being thrown
by missing starting center Trevor Rees, who was suspended for this
game, but will return next week), the offense looked strong.
In fact, this game showcased improvement in offense, defense, and
special teams. While the defensive line and the linebackers had a
slightly sluggish game, they stopped Northeastern when it
counted. Say what you will about the Huskies and their level of
talent; Northeastern was still an opponent that presented a worthy
challenge (they did
beat New Hampshire last year, after all...), and the 'Cats' defense
maintained the shutout. One player who thought the Wildcat
defensive line played very well was Northeastern running back Maurice
Murray: "I think [Northwestern] just came out there and played hard. I
think the defense had a great scheme. Their defensive line had a great
game. It was just a hard fought game."
The NU defensive backs were an order of magnitude better than they have
been during the last couple of seasons, and they swiftly neutralized
any deep threat Northeastern could have even potentially posed.
Although the defense did not snag any turnovers, they did manage some
nice break-ups (including Phillps' break-up, pictured at the top of the
page), and Sherrick McManis came up with six tackles, including two TFLs.
On special teams, the kicking, punting, and return teams all showed
substantial improvement.
Stay tuned for further summaries and analysis from jhodges and The Waterboy...
Wootton goes hunting. AP Photo
