Within
the first five minutes of its game with Illinois, Northwestern went
from a bowl contender to a team which was playing its final game of the
year and will stay home for the holidays. The 'Cats suffered an
interception to begin the game, and the NU defense allowed a quick
Illini touchdown to dig the hole from which they watched the rest of
the game unfold, right to its 41 to 22 conclusion. Illinois,
winless against Northwestern since 2003, has re-claimed the Sweet Sioux
and with it the bragging rights of the state.
Make
no mistake: Illinois is a very good team, and the Illini came to the
field with an array of offensive weapons, and came out very
well-prepared specifically for NU. Illinois was not only
prepared, they were fired up, knowing what was on the line and hungry
to make it so. Northwestern, on the other hand, looked
emotionally dead-- flat, unconcerned and lethargic, so much so that the
ESPN commentators (when they weren't referring to NU's previous coach
as "Gary Walker") even mentioned how surprised they were to see the
Wildcats so listless on the turf. After the game Coach Fitzgerald
was blunt: "We got away from who we are and the way we practiced all
week. Credit the Illini. They played extremely well. We had
opportunities to get the job done, but we didn't. Put that on the
coaches. [Illinois] didn't do anything new today. They didn't do
anything we hadn't prepared for."
It was a bad day for most of the 'Cats. C.J. Bachér, in
addition to the pick that wrecked the opening drive, tossed another
interception in the second quarter, negating one of the few good plays
by the Wildcat defense (just two plays before, Illini quarterback Juice
Willliams had his pass picked by redshirt freshman cornerback Justan
Vaughn). The Wildcat offensive line, which had chaotic highs and
lows all season, had a monumental low against the Pumkinheads,
sputtering, sieve-like, and offering absolutely no protection for Bachér.
And the defense... Well, the performance of each of the defensive units
typified how things went for the defense all year. NU gave up
over 540 yards on the day, 321 on the ground. Attempts at
tackling, when a Wildcat defender was actually close to the ball
carrier, was more often than not a passing arm tackle that brushed the
rusher as he breezed by.
However, not all of the 'Cats were off. Stefan Demos put on a
punting clinic (averaging 49 yards and putting three deep into Illini
territory), and the special teams as a whole were improved from last
week. Tyrell Sutton looked good, averaging five and a half yards
per carry. He would have looked better had he received even
mediocre blocking support from the line. And NU's receivers also
were solid, especially Eric Peterman, who had 120 yards on ten
catches. It should also be noted that Bachér
did finish the day with a blistering 310 passing yards, which gave him
3,656 yards for the season, setting a new Northwestern passing record
(and breaking the record Brett Basanez set in 2005).
Northwestern finishes the year with six wins, the fifth time in the
last eight years that the program has finished with six (or more)
wins. The program has started to show consistency, and getting to
bowl eligibility is certainly a measurement for success. But it
speaks to how far Northwestern has come in the last 15 years when
success can still bring disappointment. And today's game
certainly does mark a disappointing end to a season which was spinkled
with disappointment.
Juice Williams prepares to recover an Illini fumble. AP Photos
