Nov. 5, 2001
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GAME 9:
NORTHWESTERN (4-4, 2-4) vs. IOWA (4-4, 2-4)
Date/Time: Saturday, Nov. 10, 2001/11 a.m. CST
Site: Ryan Field, Evanston, Ill.
Capacity/Surface: 47,130/Natural Grass
Television: ESPN Regional (Wayne Larrivee, Randy Wright, Jim Barbar)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Dave Eanet, play-by-play, Ted Albrecht, color) (also on wgnradio.com)
The Game
Facing its first three-game losing skid since 1999, Northwestern returns to Ryan Field this Saturday, Nov. 10 for its final Big Ten home game of the 2001 season. Northwestern is welcoming the Iowa Hawkeyes, who like the Wildcats, share identical 4-4 overall and 2-4 Big Ten records. ESPN Regional is televising Saturday's contest. Calling the action is Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play), Randy Wright (color analyst) and Jim Barbar (sideline).
Although both teams have been eliminated from the Big Ten race, Northwestern and Iowa are each in the hunt for a postseason bowl berth. The winner of Saturday's game will need to win just one of its two remaining regular-season contests to become "bowl-eligible." Iowa is seeking its first bowl trip since 1997 when it played in the Sun Bowl while Northwestern is shooting for its second straight postseason bowl berth and fourth since 1995. Both the Wildcats and Hawkeyes opened the year 3-0 before losing four of their next five games.
Iowa is coming off a 34-28 loss at Wisconsin, which extended its Big Ten road losing streak to four games. This year's club, however, has proven to be the most competitive for third-year coach Kirk Ferentz. Iowa's four conference losses have come by nine, three, six and six points. Their two victories came over clubs (Penn State and Indiana) who own wins over Northwestern. Iowa is paced by quarterback Kyle McCann, who completes 63.0 percent of his pass attempts. The Hawkeyes also tout the Big Ten's top-ranked defense. Iowa is allowing just 308.6 yards per game and will tackle Northwestern's offense, which ranks first in the Big Ten. The Wildcats are averaging 440.6 yards per game. Although Iowa's offense is ranked eighth in the Big Ten in total offense, it is the league's most productive, leading the Big Ten with a 32.1 ppg average.
The Series with Iowa
Series Record: Iowa leads 43-18-3
At Evanston: Iowa leads 21-13-3
At Iowa City: Iowa leads 22-5
Current Win Streak: Iowa, 1
Last Meeting: Nov. 11, 2000 (Iowa 27, Northwestern 17)
First Meeting: 1897 (Iowa 12, Northwestern 6)
Series Notes: Northwestern has won the last three home meetings against Iowa-31-20 in 1995, 15-14 in 1997 and 23-21 in 1999 ... The two schools have met continuously since the 1971 season ... In the last four meetings between the Hawkeyes and Wildcats, neither team has scored more than 27 points in a game (Iowa won last year's game 27-17) ... Prior to last year's Iowa victory, NU had posted five straight wins in the series-the Wildcats' longest victory streak in the 64-game series.
The Last Meeting with the Hawkeyes
Nov. 11, 2000 -- On a day when Purdue stumbled and opened the door to a possible Rose Bowl berth for Northwestern, the Wildcats could not do their part and fell to the Hawkeyes, 27-17, in Iowa City. Midway through the second quarter, the score was tied 3-3, but then Iowa ran off 17 consecutive points to move ahead 20-3. Northwestern cut the advantage to 20-10 when Zak Kustok scored on a quarterback sneak late in the third quarter. Iowa, however, countered and upped the lead back to 17 points when Kyle McCann scored a 1-yard sneak of his own. Jon Schweighardt added a late 10-yard TD reception to make the final score a 10-point margin.
Iowa's defense held Northwestern to 377 yards, its lowest total in eight Big Ten games. Damien Anderson was kept in check, totaling 132 yards but no touchdowns. It was the first time in 10 games he failed to find the end zone. He also caught a team-leading five passes for 75 yards. Kustok completed 25 of 45 passes for 248 yards. McCann was 17 of 27 for 250 yards.
The Indiana Recap
Nov. 3, 2001 -- Unable to slow down Antwaan Randle El and the rest of the Hoosier offense, Northwestern never recovered from a dismal first half and fell to Indiana, 56-21, at Memorial Stadium. The Hoosiers scored 42 unanswered first-half points en route to their highest offensive output in the series' 72-game history.
After holding the Hoosiers on their first series, Northwestern surrendered five consecutive Indiana touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Wildcat offense could not get on track. Northwestern's first nine offensive possessions resulted in no points. Two drives, however, reached the Hoosiers' 1- and 2-yard lines, but turnovers, a fumble and an interception, prevented the Wildcats from getting on the scoreboard.
Northwestern finally broke through in the third quarter, scoring touchdowns on three straight possessions. A 1-yard quarterback sneak by Zak Kustok (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) snapped the shutout bid by the Hoosier defense. On their next series, Kustok found Jon Schweighardt (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton-Warrenville South) open in the corner of the end zone for a 10-yard scoring strike. IU countered with another score to move in front 49-14 before the Wildcats came back with one more score, a 6-yard pass play from Kustok to freshman receiver Ashton Aikens (Detroit, Mich./Detroit Country Day). The Wildcats finished with a season-high four turnovers to Indiana's one. The two teams finished with a combined 1,075 yards in total offense. The Wildcats totaled 513 yards in offense after being held to 143 yards in the first half.
Northwestern Head Coach Randy Walker
2000 Dave McClain Big Ten Coach of The Year
Randy Walker is in his third season at Northwestern after spending the previous nine years (1990-98) at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. In just two years with the Wildcats, Walker directed a stunning turnaround. After a 3-8 season in 1999, he engineered a complete overhaul of the Wildcat offense and the result was an 8-4 record, an Alamo Bowl berth and a share of the 2000 Big Ten championship.
Walker was recognized for his efforts last season by both his peers and the media, as he was named Dave McClain Big Ten Coach of the Year and the Region 3 Coach of the Year by the AFCA. Walker owns a 74-51-5 career record in 12 seasons and a 15-16 mark at Northwestern. Prior to gaining his first head coaching job at Miami in 1990, Walker spent one year as an assistant at Miami (1977), 10 years as an assistant at North Carolina (1978-87) and two years as an assistant at Northwestern (1988-89).
Walker came to Evanston with an impressive coaching resume already intact. The 47-year-old Walker departed Oxford as the winningest head coach in school history. His mark at Miami of 59-35-5 (.621) is even more impressive when you consider the coaching greats which Miami has produced: Paul Brown, Woody Hayes, Ara Parseghian, Bo Schembechler ... and the list goes on.
Walker graduated from Miami in 1976 with a bachelor's degree in social studies education and earned a master's degree in educational administration from his alma mater in 1981. He starred for Miami as a fullback, leading them to three-straight Tangerine Bowl victories. Upon graduation, Walker was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals, but returned to Miami to help as a graduate assistant and the next year became a full-time assistant in charge of running backs under Dick Crum. When Coach Crum departed for North Carolina, Walker joined him and spent the next 10 seasons as a Tar Heel. He coached various positions, ending up as the offensive coordinator. From there, he spent two seasons as Northwestern's running backs coach (1988-89) and, in 1990, took over as the head coach at Miami.
Remembering Rashidi
On Friday, Aug. 3, Northwestern suffered a tragic blow as senior safety Rashidi Ayodele Wheeler (Ontario, Calif./Damien) died while running a summer conditioning drill on campus. In his memory, the Wildcats are wearing a patch on their uniform with his initials, RAW. Also, for the first time in Northwestern football history, Wheeler's jersey number (#30) was retired. Wheeler's locker in the John Evans Club locker room is also being preserved with a glass case surrounding his jersey and helmet. Wheeler started 12 games at strong safety in 2000 and registered 88 tackles (59 solos) and three pass deflections.
Big Ten Conference Standings
2001 Standings Conference Games All Games Illinois 4 1 .800 7 1 .875 Michigan 4 1 .800 6 2 .750 Michigan State 3 2 .600 5 2 .714 Purdue 3 2 .600 5 2 .714 Ohio State 3 2 .600 5 3 .625 Wisconsin 3 3 .500 5 5 .500 Penn State 2 3 .400 3 4 .429 Indiana 2 3 .400 2 5 .286 Iowa 2 4 .333 4 4 .500 Northwestern 2 4 .333 4 4 .500 Minnesota 1 4 .200 3 5 .375
Injury Sidelines Damien Anderson
Senior running back Damien Anderson (Wilmington, Ill./Wilmington) will miss Saturday's game versus Iowa with a dislocated left shoulder. He will undergo further tests and treatments this week to determine his playing status for future games. Anderson had played in every Northwestern game since 1998, starting the last 32 games and 40 overall.
Damien Ascending On The Big Ten Rushing Chart
Damien Anderson has reached sixth place on the Big Ten's rushing list. He is 515 yards shy of the coveted 5,000-yard mark. Thus far in 2001, NU's first six Big Ten opponents have held Anderson to less than 100 yards rushing in each outing. The following is a look at the entire Big Ten top 10:
Rank Yards Name Years Played
1. 7,125 Ron Dayne (Wis.) (1,220 attempts) 1996-99
2. 5,589 Archie Griffin (OSU) (924) 1972-75
3. 5,299 Anthony Thompson (IU) (1,161) 1986-89
4. 4,887 Lorenzo White (MSU) (1,082) 1984-87
5. 4,654 Darrell Thompson (Minn.) (936) 1986-89
6. 4,485 Damien Anderson (NU) (953) 1998-present
7. 4,472 Anthony Thomas (Mich.) (924) 1997-00
8. 4,393 Jamie Morris (Mich.) (809) 1984-87
9. 4,212 Tico Duckett (MSU) (836) 1989-92
10. 4,178 Tyrone Wheatley (Mich.) (688) 1991-94
Turnovers Tell The Story
Once again, Northwestern is proving that if you win the turnover battle, the odds of winning a football game climb significantly. This season, the Wildcats are 4-0 when suffering fewer turnovers than the opposition and 0-3 when commiting more than the other school. Against Purdue on Oct. 27, the turnovers were even (one apiece) and NU lost a narrow decision (32-27). Versus Penn State on Oct. 20, the Wildcats suffered just one turnover, but it proved to be costly as PSU played an error-free game. Since coming to Northwestern, head coach Randy Walker is 12-1 when turning it over fewer times than the opponent. The Wildcats still rank 34th nationally in turnover margin despite suffering a season-high four turnovers against the Hoosiers.
61-1-1
Head coach Randy Walker is nearly unbeatable when his teams carry a lead into the fourth quarter. Since Walker began his head coaching duties at Miami University in 1990, he has compiled a 61-1-1 record when leading at the end of the third quarter. At NU, Walker is 12-0 with a fourth-quarter lead. The Oct. 20th game versus Penn State did, however, end his unbeaten mark (11-0) when leading at halftime as the Wildcats' coach. The Penn State game also marked the first time that, with the score tied (28-28) heading into the fourth quarter, a Walker-coached team lost a contest with the scored tied after three quarters. Earlier this season, the Wildcats came close to losing just the second fourth-quarter lead of Walker's career when Michigan State overcame deficits of 17-14 and 24-20 on Sept. 29. Northwestern pulled out the game 27-26 with a last-second field goal.
Say What?
When the Sept. 15 home game vs. Navy was canceled, that meant Northwestern had to begin the season with back-to-back road contests. (Northwestern has since added a game to its schedule, an 11 a.m. kickoff vs. Bowling Green on Nov. 17.) The Wildcats emerged from that opening stretch with victories at UNLV and Duke. Amazingly, the last time that Northwestern started a season with two road wins came nearly a century ago, in 1905.
Cardiac 'Cats Not Living Up To Nickname Of Late
Over the last year-and-a-half, Northwestern has deservedly earned its "Cardiac 'Cats" tag. On back-to-back weekends in 2000, the Wildcats threw a "Victory Right" pass to beat Minnesota on the game's final play before edging out Michigan the following week with a 54-51 victory. The winning score in the Michigan game came with 20 seconds remaining. They also pulled out a double-overtime win at Wisconsin.
In 2001, Northwestern pulled out a gut-wrenching victory over Michigan State on Sept. 29, which became its second "ESPN Instant Classic," game in as many years.
But in the last few weeks, the Wildcats' magic has disappeared, and for the first time in Randy Walker's Northwestern coaching tenure, the 'Cats have failed to win games that were decided by seven points or less. Northwestern fell to Penn State 38-35 before dropping a 32-27 decision at Purdue. Walker is now 7-2 in games decided by seven points or less at Northwestern.
Zak Attack -- Unitas Golden Arm Award Finalist
The orchestrator of the Big Ten's number-one offense is senior quarterback Zak Kustok. Kustok, who was named one of five finalists for the Unitas Golden Arm Award last week, developed into one of the nation's most consistent and dangerous signal callers in 2000. Kustok's lowest single-game completion percentage during the regular season was 51.2 percent (21 of 41 at Wisconsin). Until the season-opening 24-for-49 (49.0 percent) effort at UNLV, he had completed 50 percent or more of his pass attempts in 12 consecutive regular-season contests. In his last seven outings, Kustok has completed 153 of 255 passes for 60.0 percent. Last month against Minnesota, he set a career-best single-game completion percentage of .688 (22-of-32).
Another trait of Kustok's is his ability to keep mistakes to a minimum. Prior to suffering his first interception in eight games against Michigan State, Kustok attempted 277 straight passes without being intercepted-the longest streak of his career. He has tossed just five interceptions in 304 attempts this year, or one interception every 61 attempts. Kustok has the seventh-lowest interception percentage in the nation.
Dating to the 1999 season, Kustok has thrown at least one touchdown pass in the Wildcats' last 21 games. Kustok added another notch to his belt at UNLV when he rushed for a career-high three touchdowns. He also tossed a pair of TD passes, giving him a hand in all five NU TD's. Against Duke, he threw for 318 yards-four yards shy of his career high-and ran for 33 yards. Versus the Spartans, Kustok rushed for 105 yards and totaled 336 yards in total offense. On Oct. 20 against Penn State, he set career bests for total offense (413, third-best in NU history) and rushing yards (115) and equaled his rushing TD mark with three. Kustok ranks ninth nationally in total offense with a 290.2 ypg average. Besides total offense, he ranks first in the Big Ten in the category "points responsible for." Nationally, he ranks 12th in the "points responsible for" category. Besides the Unitas Golden Arm Award, Kustok is a contender for the Davey O'Brien Award, which honors the nation's top quarterback. Kustok ranks second in passing TDs at NU, fourth in completions and fifth in passing yardage. With his 115-yard rushing effort against Penn State, Kustok surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for career rushing. He now has 1,117 career yards and is the only quarterback in NU history to top the 1,000-yard mark. He also has 20 career rushing TD's, which ranks fourth on NU's all-time list.
Anderson/Kustok 10,000-Plus and Counting
The quarterback/tailback tandem of Zak Kustok and Damien Anderson became the Wildcats' top total offensive duo in school history Oct. 13 against Minnesota. Entering this weekend vs. Iowa, Kustok and Anderson have a combined 10,651 career yards. During the middle 1990s, when Northwestern captured two Big Ten crowns, quarterback Steve Schnur and tailback Darnell Autry combined for 9,335 yards-the previous best by a Northwestern duo. Kustok presently ranks third all-time in NU total offense with 6,166 yards while Anderson is sixth with 4,485 yards. Len Williams holds NU's career record with 8,029 yards.
Sam is in the Books
Sam Simmons (Kansas City, Kan./F.L. Schlagle), who was slowed in Northwestern's first two Big Ten games with a broken right ring finger, followed up his Big Ten Co-Special Teams Player of the Week performance (vs. Minnesota) with a career-best showing vs. Penn State. Simmons caught seven passes for a career-high 168 yards and one touchdown. The 168-yard performance was the 10th-best single-game figure in NU history. Simmons was held in check the past two weeks, catching two passes for 11 yards at Purdue and five receptions for 55 yards at Indiana.
He currently ranks eighth on the Wildcats' career receiving yardage chart (1,476 yards) and is seven receptions shy of reaching 100 on NU's all-time receptions list. Simmons presently ranks eighth on the all-time reception list with his 93 career catches.
Triple Trouble
Northwestern's three leading receivers--Kunle Patrick (Brooklyn, N.Y./Poly Prep Country Day), Sam Simmons and Jon Schweighardt--have combined for 123 receptions and 1,444 receiving yards. The trio is responsible for 65.1 percent of NU's receptions and 72.0 percent of its receiving yardage. Patrick leads with 44 receptions, while Schweighardt has moved into second place with 41 catches on the team reception list after grabbing a career-high eight passes (84 yards) at Indiana. Simmons has a team-best 585 receiving yards. The trio also has nine of the team's 12 aerial scores.
Injury Casualties
In the past few weeks, the Wildcats have taken a hit on the injury front, losing three players to leg injuries. Wide receiver Roger Jordan (League City, Texas/Clear Creek) is out for the year with a stress fracture in his right femur. Sophomore Matt Anderson (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere) suffered a right knee injury in the Penn State game and became the third defensive lineman to suffer a season-ending injury. At Purdue, fullback Gilles Lezi (Laval, Quebec/Cegep du Vieux) broke his left fibula.
In The Trenches
Generally regarded as one of the nation's better units, Northwestern's offensive line is anchored by a veteran group that features four players who garnered preseason honors: right guard Jeff Roehl (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg), center Austin King (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian), left guard Lance Clelland (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh) and left tackle Leon Brockmeier (Tallahassee, Fla./Lincoln). Right tackle Mike Souza (Kaneohe, Hawaii/Punahou) is the other returnee and he owns 35 career starts, the most among the five. Combined, the unit has 139 career starts. The quintet has remained intact for 20 straight games. According to The Sporting News and Lindy's, the offensive line is rated as the third-best group in the country. In September, King was one of 21 players named to the 2001 Dave Rimington Award watch list, which honors the country's top center.
Youth Movement
With its defense suffering some hits to injury, Northwestern defensive coordinator Jerry Brown has had to unleash some of his freshmen in recent weeks. Fortunately for Brown and the Wildcats, the youngsters are responding positively, despite their lack of experience. Two weeks ago at Purdue, two freshmen, Herschel Henderson (Houston, Texas/Clear Lake) and Luis Castillo (Garfield, N.J./Garfield), made their collegiate debut. Henderson, playing safety, was especially impressive, recording four tackles and a quarterback hurry. Another true freshman, Dominique Price (Jeffersontown, Ky./Dupont Manual), made his first collegiate start at strong safety that day. He totaled seven tackles and a forced fumble. Price followed up his Purdue performance with a career-high 11 tackles, his second career interception (17 yard return) and a pass deflection. Price did not start the game at Indiana.
Defensive Upgrades
While the Wildcats are still seeking improvements in their run defense, they have made great strides in the pass efficiency defensive category this season. Through eight games, NU ranks second in the Big Ten and 32nd nationally with a defensive pass efficiency rating of 108.56. Opponents are completing just 47.9 percent of their passes and have thrown 11 interceptions to 10 touchdown passes. Earlier this season, Northwestern went 15 quarters without allowing a touchdown pass. That streak ended when Minnesota connected for a late fourth-quarter TD on Oct. 13. Last year, NU's defense totaled 13 interceptions in 12 games. Thus far in 2001, the 'Cats have 11 picks in eight games. Interestingly, nine different players have interceptions.
Linebackers Lead The Way
Northwestern's top three tacklers are its three starting linebackers. Middle linebacker Billy Silva (San Diego, Calif./St. Augustine) has a slim lead over Kevin Bentley (North Hills, Calif./Montclair Prep) in total tackles, 100 to 97. In last week's NCAA defensive report, Silva ranked 11th nationally in total tackles and Bentley was 16th. Silva is one of 12 semifinalists for the Bronko Nagurski Defensive Player of the Year Award. Junior Pat Durr (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles) has 81 hits, including eight for a loss.
'Cat Tails ...
* Iowa is the first NU opponent in the past four weeks that did not have an open date prior to playing the Wildcats.
* The Wildcats' roughest quarter for reaching the endzone is the second: they are getting outscored 63-33. NU scored its first second-quarter touchdowns of the year in game six versus Penn State.
* Northwestern started the season 3-0, its best start to a campaign since 1962.
Up Next
The Wildcats play their final regular-season home game Nov. 17, hosting Bowling Green. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m.