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If
last Saturday's win against the Nevada Wolfpack didn't epitomize NU
football-- as it is currently played and loved-- then no game does, or
ever could. The Wildcats' crazy 36 to 31 triumph had all the
landmarks: a frustrating first half, when it seemed NU could do nothing
well; late surges by the 'Cats; a ground game that fired the
afterburners just when needed (this time courtesy of Brandon Roberson); a
defense that couldn't make a stop to save its skin (Nevada smugly went
three for three on fourth-down conversions) until absolutely necessary--
and then proceeded to make a series of eye-popping plays to save the
game; and the wild will-to-power, quarterback-unleashes-hell ending that has become a true
Northwestern tradition (please refer to #41 on the Traditions List for verification).
Just
as it did the week before with the Northeastern game, the Big Ten
Network started its coverage at NU by televising Coach Fitz's comments
to the players. "We set the pace! We take it to them!
. . . We make a big play, press on!" Fitz instructed the team.
Unfortunately, Nevada came out and set the pace instead, controlling
the ball
on offense, and on defense the 'Pack stymied the Wildcat O. For a
long
stretch of the game it seemed like Bachér and his receivers were
not in synch, and the offensive line was still bereft of its mojo, lost
since last week.
Matters seemed to take an even further downward-- and frightening--
turn in the second quarter, when Tyrell Sutton went down and then
slowly limped from the field. The NU ground game, which had not
been used to any extent before Sutton's injury, lurched to a
halt. However, all three of the Wildcat running backs-- Omar
Conteh, Roberson, and Sutton-- had good games. Sutton, due to the
play calling in the first half and due to his injury, had only 14
rushing yards, but he did catch five passes for 59 yards, including an
impressive 32 yarder. And, when the game was on the line,
Roberson looked fantastic and lightening-fast, finding opportunities
even when the offensive line provided none.
By the end of the second quarter, however, there didn't seem to be many
opportunities at all for the 'Cats, or at least any that NU seemed
capable of exploiting. Down by ten points-- the amount NU was
favored-- the 'Cats put together a decent drive with two minutes to go
that was anchored by the big pass play to Sutton. Then, on third
and 11 near midfield, Bachér
flashed the first hint of the Zak Kustokian performance to come, and he
rumbled out of the pocket for 14 yards, setting up an Amado Villarreal
field goal. It should be noted that the special teams'
performance against Nevada was spectacular. Villarreal and Stefan
Demos both had great games.
After its lead was trimmed to a touchdown, and with less than a minute
to go, Nevada orchestrated a drive that was a dagger to the Wildcat
defense. A first down pass was followed by a broken play that
sent the Nevada quarterback scrambling with no time on the clock.
It seemed the half would end right there, and the Wildcat secondary was
totally out of position. Then Nevada launched a bomb, and
everyone at Ryan Field knew the result of the play the moment the ball
left Nick Graziano's hand. The 'Cats limped into the locker room
down two touchdowns.
It seemed that Nevada's lead would widen in the third quarter, as they
began driving at will; that will, however, was snapped by Reggie
McPherson's interception. The pick set up another Wildcat field
goal, and-- with momentum returning-- the Wildcat defense stopped the
'Pack on the succeeding drive. Roberson and Bachér
set the pace and took it to Nevada on the next drive, which included an
explosion run by Roberson and another Kustokian rush by Bachér.
A goal line push by Roberson, and a touchdown catch by Conteh in the
fourth quarter capped 17 unanswered points for NU.
But the surge seemed pointless late in the fourth quarter, when Nevada
began a balanced and successful air and ground attack, driving down for
the lead score in just over 30 seconds. NU, in its bid to reclaim
the lead, attempted a fourth down play which-- unlike Nevada's three--
failed. Nevada, holding onto a four-point lead, tried to grind
time off the clock, but was forced to punt, and NU had the ball, 80
yards to go, and 1:12 remaining, with no timeouts.
Queue the wayback machine. Like so many game-ending drives in
1996, 2000, and since, the Wildcat coaches and players found the skill
and will to craft another wild finish. And, like many of those
spectacular endings, this one was witnessed by only a few faithful
fans. The crowd (only a meager 17,000 to begin with; NU fans
might have had some lame excuses last week, with Labor Day and a
Division I-AA opponent, but there was no such flimsy excuse to be
absent from the Nevada game. None.) had thinned considerably just
before NU's last drive. Why? Were these fans not yet born
in 2005, when Iowa looked to bury the knife in NU with only a couple of
minutes to go? Why buy the dinner when you don't stay for the pie?
Bachér: nine-yard pass to Rasheed Ward.
Bachér: 23-yard pass to Kim Thompson.
Bachér: scramble for 20 yards.
Bachér: rush for 15 yards.
Bachér: incomplete pass, immediately followed by...
Bachér: ESPN highlight reel touchdown pass to Ross Lane.
Ross Lane? Oh, yeah. The guy who made the game-winning
completion against Iowa in 2005, the play that half of NU's fans didn't
see either.
The Wildcat defense, not to be outdone by Mr. Bachér,
stepped up with seconds to go and crushed Nevada, sending their
quarterback into the endzone turf for NU's first scored safety since
the 2001 Iowa game.
A wild finish, another lesson to NU's fans, and a bigger lesson to the
team (one that, if the team is lucky, is retaught at least once every
two or three years): the will to win is the way to win. Press on.
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