Sept. 18, 2006
NU FB Game Notes vs. Nevada
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The Game
With a quarter of its regular season in the books, Northwestern heads west this week to take on the University of Nevada in a nationally televised game on ESPN2. Kickoff is set for 7:06 p.m. CT (5:06 p.m. Nevada time) this Friday, Sept. 22. This is the Wildcats' final nonconference game before opening Big Ten Conference play next week.
The Nevada game also marks the first of three straight road contests for the 'Cats, who opened the season with a road win at Miami (Ohio). After Friday's visit in Reno, Northwestern begins conference play at Penn State before wrapping up its longest road stretch in six years at Wisconsin.
The Wolf Pack scored a convincing 28-10 victory over Colorado State Saturday night to earn their season's first victory. Nevada had opened the year with defeats at WAC power Fresno State (28-19) and nationally ranked Arizona State (52-21).
Nevada, which won a share of the WAC title in 2005 and posted a 9-3 record, has veterans returning at every key position and are led by senior quarterback Jeff Rowe. An all-conference selection last year, the 6-foot-5, 225-pound QB is in his fifth year and has thrown for 6,511 career yards and 42 TD's. This season, Rowe has completed 54-of-85 passes for 556 yards, 5 TD's and 3 INT's. Wide receiver Caleb Spencer, who has caught 67 passes each of the last two years, is Rowe's favorite target. Spencer has 17 catches for 169 yards (9.9 ypc) in 2006. Mike McCoy is one of the Wolf Pack's big-play receiving threats, having caught five passes for 95 yards (19.0 ypr). Three of his five catches have gone for TD's. Robert Hubbard, who ran for 719 yards last year, has 262 yards (87.3 ypg) this season.
Defensively, Nevada is holding its opponents to 333.0 yards per game. Linebacker Joshua Mauga is the Wolf Pack's top tackler with 17 hits after three games. He also has a pair of TFL's. Outside linebacker Ezra Butler has 16 tackles as well as an interception and a fumble recovery. Defensive end Charles Wilson leads Nevada up front with 12 tackles, 1.5 TFL's, a forced fumble and a blocked kick.
Northwestern bounced back from its loss to New Hampshire, the nation's top-ranked I-AA team, by beating Eastern Michigan 14-6 this past Saturday at Ryan Field. The Wildcats' defense was the story of the game, holding EMU's spread offense to just 134 yards of total offense and five first downs. Eastern Michigan's longest drive of the day -- 19 yards -- came after an NU turnover and resulted in one of the Eagles' two field goals.
Northwestern's offense, which was guided by redshirt freshman Mike Kafka (Chicago, Ill./St. Rita) in the first half and redshirt freshman Andrew Brewer (Tulsa, Okla./Jenks) in the second half, produced touchdowns on its two opening drives of the first and third quarters.
The Series With Nevada
Series Record: First Meeting
At Evanston: First Meeting
At Reno: First Meeting
Last Result: First Meeting
Series Streak: NA
Series Notes: This is the first game of a home-and-home series with the Wolf Pack. Nevada will visit Ryan Field next year (Sept. 8) ... This is Northwestern's third game versus a Western Athletic Conference (WAC) foe. Northwestern's only other
WAC opponent has been Hawaii, in 1998 and 2004, both in Honolulu. The Wildcats won the 1998 game and lost the 2004 contest.
The Broadcasts
Radio -- WGN will carry the game, but the broadcast will be heard on a tape-delayed basis (following the conclusion of the Cubs' baseball game). The radio broadcast can be heard live via the internet at wgnradio.com. The pregame show begins at 6:30 p.m. Dave Eanet (play-by-play) and Ted Albrecht (analyst) call the action. WNUR (89.3), NU's student radio station, also will carry the game live. The contest is also available on the XM Satellite Radio network. (Channels 197-199).
Television -- ESPN2 is televising the game to a national cable audience. Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (analyst), Trevor Matich (analyst) and Heather Cox (sideline) call the action.
Kickoff Set For Penn State Game
The Big Ten Conference has announced that Northwestern's Sept. 30 game at Penn State will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT. ABC will televise the contest.
(For a complete set of game notes, download the PDF above.)