Nov. 18, 2002
NU-Illinois Game Notes in PDF Format
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GAME 12
Illinois (4-7, 3-4) at Northwestern (3-8, 1-6)
Date/Time: Saturday, Nov. 23, 2002/11:10 a.m. CST
Site: Ryan Field, Evanston, Ill.
Capacity/Surface: 47,130/Natural Grass
Television: ESPN Plus
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Dave Eanet, play-by-play; Ted Albrecht, analyst)(also on wgnradio.com); WNUR 89.3 FM
The Game
Northwestern will honor its seniors this Saturday, Nov. 23 when it hosts downstate rival Illinois in the final game of the 2002 season. The Wildcats are recognizing 11 players in a pregame ceremony. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CST. The game is being televised regionally by ESPN Plus. Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play), Randy Wright (analyst) and Jim Barbar (sideline) will describe the action.
The Fighting Illini are coming off a heart-breaking 23-16 overtime loss to second-ranked Ohio State. Illinois' John Gockman drilled a 48-yard field goal with three seconds to go to force overtime, but in the extra session, the Illini could not counter after OSU scored a touchdown in the first OT period. A victory against the Buckeyes would have kept Illinois in contention for a postseason bowl game.
Although there are no bowl berths on the line this weekend, Illinois and Northwestern are playing for state bragging rights as well as the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk Trophy. In 1945, the staff members of the two student newspapers conceived the idea of a wooden Indian trophy, "Sweet Sioux." Three years later, the wooden Indian was replaced by the tomahawk trophy, which is still representative of the rivalry. Since the advent of the trophy in '45, Illinois holds a 30-23-2 edge in the series. Northwestern won the first trophy game by a 13-7 count. After starting 1-5, Illinois turned its season around with three wins in its next four outings. The Illini defeated Purdue (38-31 in OT) and Indiana (45-14) at home, and won at Wisconsin, 37-20. In the last five weeks, Illinois' only setbacks were an 18-7 road loss to Penn State and Saturday's overtime loss to Ohio State.
Besides Senior Day, Saturday is also "Fan Appreciation Day." Throughout the first and second quarters, randomly selected seat locations will be displayed on 'Cat Vision-the videoboard at the northeast side of Ryan Field. Fans who present game tickets that match the winning seat locations will win a variety of prizes ranging from basketball tickets to football merchandise.
The Series with Illinois
Series Record: Illinois leads 50-40-5
At Evanston: Illinois leads 26-23-3
At Champaign: Illinois leads 24-17-2
Current Win Streak: Illinois, 1
Last Meeting: Nov. 22, 2001 (Illinois 34, Northwestern 28)
First Meeting: 1892 (Northwestern 16, Illinois 16)
Series Notes: The previous two years, the winner of the Northwestern-Illinois game has captured at least a share of the Big Ten championship. In 2000, NU defeated Illinois 61-23 for a share of the title, while last year, the Illini held off the Wildcats 34-28 to earn an outright championship ... The Wildcats have won four of the last seven meetings.
The Last NU-Illinois Meeting
Nov. 22, 2001 -- Although Northwestern came up on the short end of a 34-28 loss to 10th-ranked Illinois, the Wildcats turned in a spirited effort against their downstate rivals. With several key players sidelined due to injury, the short-handed Wildcats gave the Fighting Illini a scare, getting possession of the ball with less than three minutes to go and down six points. Northwestern, however, could not gain a first down on its final series and turned the ball over to Illinois, which ran out the clock to preserve the win.
The Wildcats trailed 17-13 at the half, but fell behind 34-13 after getting outscored 17-0 in the third quarter. A 25-yard touchdown pass to Sam Simmons and a 41-yard scoring reception by Kunle Patrick, however, got the Wildcats back in the game. NU's short-handed defense stopped the Illini on their final three possessions to give the 'Cats an opportunity to knock off the eventual Big Ten champion.
The loss overshadowed a career-high 127-yard rushing performance by Torri Stuckey and a career-best four touchdown passes from Zak Kustok. Kustok threw for 266 yards and mustered 298 yards in total offense. Illinois quarterback Kurt Kittner countered with a 387-yard passing performance. He completed 33-of-43 passes for four touchdowns.
Senior Salute
Eleven seniors are playing their final collegiate game against the Illini. The 11 are: Vincent Cartaya (Miami, Fla./Belen Jesuit), Raheem Covington (Pine Hill, N.J./Overbrook), Brandon Evans (Kennesaw, Ga./Harrison), Onaje Grimes (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Shaker Heights), Ben Kennedy (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North), Austin King (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian), Kevin Lawrence (Montreal, Quebec/Avon Old Farms, Conn.), Jeff Roehl (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg), Jon Schweighardt (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton-Warrenville South), David Wasielewski (Odessa, Fla./Tampa Jesuit) and George Woods (La Mirada, Calif./La Mirada).
The NU-Iowa Recap
Nov. 9, 2002 -- Playing their final road game of the season, the Wildcats could not slow down Heisman Trophy candidate Brad Banks as Northwestern lost to the sixth-ranked Hawkeyes, 62-10. After falling behind 14-0 in the opening minutes -- a missed onside kick and a unsuccessful fourth-down play led to Iowa's first two scores -- the Wildcats came back and cut the Hawkeye lead in half on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Brett Basanez (Arlington Heights, Ill./St. Viator) to Ashton Aikens (Detroit, Mich./Detroit Country Day) with 8:18 to play in the first quarter. The scoring drive was set up by a 49-yard kickoff return from Jeff Backes (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington)-the longest kick return against Iowa this season.
Northwestern forced a three-and-out on its next defensive series and the 'Cats' offense was back in business again. Starting on its own 45-yard line, NU drove to the Iowa 33-yard line and faced a fourth-and-six play. The Wildcats went for it, but Kunle Patrick (Brooklyn, N.Y./Poly Prep) could not hold on to a Basanez pass, which would have been good for a first down. Iowa took over on downs and used 14 plays to march 67 yards for a touchdown and a 21-7 lead. Northwestern could not muster more than a field goal the rest of the way while the Hawkeyes scored on their next five possessions to put the contest out of reach. Patrick finished with a team-best five receptions for 62 yards and extended his string of games with at least one catch to 33. That tied Northwestern's career record, which is held by D'Wayne Bates (1995-98). Basanez completed 19-of-29 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown.
Northwestern Head Coach Randy Walker
Randy Walker is in his fourth season at Northwestern after spending the previous nine years (1990-98) at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. In just his second year 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 2000 efforts 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 77-62-5 career record in 13 seasons and a 18-27 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 48-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 that Miami has produced: Paul Brown, Woody Hayes, Ara Parseghian, Bo Schembechler ... and the list goes on.
Five NU Players Named to Academic All-District Team
Last Thursday, five Wildcats were honored by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), earning Verizon Academic All-District honors. Three of the five players earned first-team recognition and are candidates for Academic All-America honors. Those three are: Austin King, Dominique Price (Jeffersontown, Ky./DuPont Manual) and Jason Wright (Diamond Bar, Calif./Diamond Bar). To be nominated, the student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.20 or higher cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale). No athlete is eligible until he has reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at his current institution.
Two other NU players received second-team academic all-district honors: Luis Castillo (Garfield, N.J./Garfield) and Jeff Roehl.
Northwestern Receives AFCA 2002 Academic Achievement Award
Northwestern University's football program is receiving the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) 2002 Academic Achievement Award, which is presented annually by the Touchdown Club of Memphis. NU recorded a 100 percent graduation rate for members of its football squad when all members of its freshman class of 1996-97 earned a degree. Northwestern's win is the second for the school, and it has been honored every year it has been eligible for the award. The Wildcats also earned the honor in 1998 with a 100 percent rate. Northwestern earned honorable mention honors in 1999, 2000 and 2001. Prior to 1998, the award honored only members of the College Football Association. Since 1998, when the award was expanded to include all Division I-A conferences, Big Ten schools have been honored 23 times, with the Wildcats winning the award twice.
Freshmen Figures
With his third full recruiting class on board, head coach Randy Walker has a high percentage of young players on scholarship. This year, 45.8 percent of NU's scholarship roster is comprised of freshmen or redshirt freshmen.
More Youthful Facts
With the loss of Pat Durr (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles), just four seniors were in the lineup from games two (TCU) through nine (Purdue): three on offense (Jon Schweighardt, Austin King and Jeff Roehl) and one on defense (Raheem Covington). The past two games, NU started a fifth senior, Vincent Cartaya, at MLB. The remainder of the lineup for the past two games included three juniors, six sophomores and eight freshmen. In 2000, when NU captured a share of the Big Ten crown, it had five seniors, 11 juniors, six sophomores and no freshmen in its starting lineup. Eighteen NU players have made their first collegiate start this year.
Injury Update
Safety Dominique Price (Jeffersontown, Ky./DuPont Manual), who injured his left ankle at Penn State and tried to make a comeback at Iowa (he played two plays), is probable for Illinois. Backup quarterback Derell Jenkins (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook), who broke his left hand at Iowa, is doubtful.
Two Northwestern players are out for the season. Freshman quarterback Alexander Webb (Dallas, Texas/Highland Park) lacerated his liver after taking a hard hit to the stomach in the Sept. 7 game against TCU. Webb was hospitalized for nine days, but the injury did not require surgery. Middle linebacker Pat Durr underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Friday, Sept. 13. The surgery revealed a tear to his ACL, which was repaired. Both Webb and Durr are applying for a medical hardship.
The Wright Stuff
Jason Wright continues to put together a season worthy of All-Big Ten honors. Although he was held to 32 rushing yards at Iowa -- his season low against a Big Ten opponent -- he continues to rank among the league's leaders in several statistical categories. In Big Ten games only, Wright ranks fourth in rushing yards per game (109.9), second in touchdowns (8) and third in yards per carry (5.8). Against Indiana on Nov. 2, he earned a league-best third Big Ten Player-of-the-Week honor and established five career bests: rushing yards (196), yards per carry average (8.9), rushing TDs (four), all-purpose yards (285) and receiving yards (59). His rushing TD total tied the school's single-game mark, accomplished five previous times in NU history, and his all-purpose total fell 41 yards shy of the school record.
He now has totaled 1,115 rushing yards this season, which ranks seventh on NU's all-time single-season list. Wright is averaging 5.8 yards per carry, which ranks second all-time among NU players who totaled 1,000 or more yards in a season (second only to Damien Anderson's 6.6 ypc average in 2000).
Among all Division I-A players, he ranks eighth in kickoff return average (28.4 ypr), eighth in all-purpose yardage (165.9 ypg) and 34th in rushing average (101.4 ypg). In September, Wright became the first Big Ten player to be honored on both offense and special teams in the same season since 1997 when he earned Offensive Player of the Week honors after rushing for a career-high 186 yards and three touchdowns at Navy. (Iowa wide receiver Tim Dwight was the last Big Ten player to accomplish the feat in 1997.) Two weeks prior to the offensive honor, Wright was the Big Ten's Special Teams Player of the Week for his 191 kickoff return yards and his Big Ten-record 63.7 yards per return mark vs. TCU. In the TCU game, Wright shattered NU's single-game marks for longest kickoff return (100 yards, for TD), yards per kickoff return (63.7) and total kickoff return yards (191). The kickoff return average also was a Big Ten record. Wright's 100-yard touchdown return was Northwestern's first kickoff return for a TD in 108 games. (NU's Lee Gissendaner returned a kickoff 90 yards vs. MSU on Oct. 31, 1992.) In addition, it was the first kickoff return for TD scored on TCU since Oct. 8, 1986 (175 games). Wright's performance also helped NU set a single-game team mark with 270 return yards. Wright's string of 100-yard rushing games (three) earlier this season was the longest since a five-game streak by Anderson in 2000. He has six 100-yard games for the year and is now on the Doak Walker Award watch list.
Turning it Around
After suffering seven turnovers -- the most miscues by a Randy Walker-coached team -- in their 48-24 loss to TCU, the Wildcats have come back to post a +5 margin (20-to-15) in turnovers their last nine games. In its last nine games, NU has suffered just five lost fumbles.
Offensive Highs-and-Lows
The 'Cats' offense has purred at times this season, totaling 430 or more yards on five occasions. Northwestern had accumulated 430 or more yards in three straight games (Duke, Navy, Michigan State) -- the first time the Wildcats had done that since the seventh, eighth and ninth games (Purdue, Minnesota and Michigan) of the 2000 Big Ten championship season. NU had 545 yards against Navy and 522 vs. Minnesota. Four times, however, the 'Cats have been held to 275 yards or less of offense: Air Force (221), TCU (275), Penn State (202) and Purdue (268).
All-Stars Austin King and Jeff Roehl
Senior Jeff Roehl (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) has accepted an offer to play in the East-West Shrine Game, set for Jan. 11, 2003 in San Francisco's Pacific Bell Park. He has started all 34 career games at NU. Classmate Austin King (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian) has accepted an invite to the Hula Bowl Maui Classic on Feb. 1, 2003. He has started 42 career games at center, including 30 in a row from 1999 to 2001. Earlier this season, King was named to the Rimington Award Watch List, which honors the top center. Both King and Roehl were named to the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) preseason All-America Watch List.
Now This is Special
Last year, the Wildcats ranked 11th in the Big Ten and 96th nationally in kickoff return average. Northwestern averaged 18.1 yards per return. This season, led by Wright and Jeff Backes (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington), the Wildcats are first in the Big Ten and 11th nationally. Wright ranks eighth and Backes ranks 13th in the latest national statistics. As a team, NU is averaging 24.1 ypr. Texas leads the nation with a 26.9 mark.
Kunle is Streaking -- Can Break NU Record vs. Illinois
Dating to his freshman season, receiver Kunle Patrick (Brooklyn, N.Y./Poly Prep Country Day), has caught at least one pass in 33 consecutive games. That equals NU's career record, held by D'Wayne Bates (1995-98), who presently plays for the Minnesota Vikings. Patrick has the longest consecutive games streak in the Big Ten and the longest nationally by any non-senior.
Basanez Among Nation's Top Frosh QB's
Brett Basanez (Arlington Heights, Ill./St. Viator) ranks second nationally among all freshmen quarterbacks (true and redshirt) in passing yardage and total offense.
"Baz" at the Controls
Brett Basanez, who missed two games (Penn State and Purdue) while resting his broken left fibula, returned to action against Indiana and played the following week at Iowa. With Basanez in the starting lineup (eight games), the Wildcats are averaging 29.0 points per game.
Century Receivers
Junior Kunle Patrick and senior Jon Schweighardt became members of NU's "Century Club" for career receptions on Sept. 14 against Duke. Schweighardt and Patrick, who lead Northwestern this season with 49 and 42 receptions, respectively, are fifth and sixth on the all-time list with 138 and 132 catches. The two are also moving up on the career yardage list. Schweighardt, who leads NU in receiving yardage this season, has 1,552 yards (seventh place) and Patrick has 1,515 yards (eighth place).
'Cat Tails ...
* This year, it has been a hot-or-cold situation for the Wildcats when it comes to running the football. NU turned in sterling ground efforts vs. Minnesota (7.8 yards per carry), Navy (5.6), Indiana (6.2) and Michigan State (5.9). The Cats struggled, however, against Air Force (1.5), TCU (2.4), Penn State (0.3) and Iowa (2.8).
* NU has lost to eight teams with a combined record of 63-25 (.716).
* Jason Wright is responsible for picking up a team-best 63 first downs this year (out of a possible 217) for a 29.0 percentage. Jon Schweighardt has the next-highest total with 26 of his team-high 49 catches going for first downs.
* Running backs Jason Wright and Noah Herron (Mattawan, Mich./Mattawan) have combined for 37 receptions and 390 receiving yards this year.
* Under Walker, the 'Cats are 2-1 when coming off an open week.