Kain Colter led Northwestern with 175 yards of total offense (105 rushing, 38 passing, 32 receiving).Kain Colter led Northwestern with 175 yards of total offense (105 rushing, 38 passing, 32 receiving).

Northwestern Rally Falls Short Against Texas Tech In TicketCity Bowl, 45-38

Jan. 1, 2011

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Site: Dallas, Texas (Cotton Bowl)
Score: Texas Tech 45, Northwestern 38
Records: NU (7-6, 3-5 Big Ten), Texas Tech (8-5, 3-5 Big XII)
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DALLAS -- Trailing 31-9 midway through the third quarter, Northwestern staged a furious rally at the inaugural TicketCity Bowl, outscoring Texas Tech 29-14 over the game's final 26 minutes. But the deficit proved to be too great as the Wildcats fell to the Red Raiders 45-38 in their second-consecutive New Year's Day bowl appearance.

True freshman Kain Colter posted his best outing in a Northwestern uniform, racking up a team-high 105 yards on the ground on 18 carries with a pair of touchdown scampers. He also completed three-of-six passes for 38 yards through the air in addition to catching a 32-yard pass. Evan Watkins finished 10-of-21 for 76 yards and a touchdown as well for the Wildcats while also rushing for score as well.

As an offensive unit, Northwestern tallied a season-best 229 yards on the ground on 50 carries. Adonis Smith complemented the effort from Colter by finishing with 61 yards on 11 carries, with Stephen Simmons tallying 31 yards on nine carries.

Jeremy Ebert led the Wildcat receiving corps with three catches for 34 yards with Demetrius Fields adding three catches for 31 yards and a touchdown for Northwestern.

Texas Tech opened the scoring midway through the first quarter when it turned a short field into a short field goal. The Red Raiders pushed their lead after the first to 10-0 on a 13-yard scoring pass late in the period.

Northwestern got on the board in the second quarter, keeping the ball mainly on the ground during a 15-play, 78-yard drive capped by a Kain Colter one-yard rush. The snap on the point-after was fumbled to keep the score 10-6.

Texas Tech answered right back, scoring on a throwback lateral to the quarterback that went for a 13-yard rushing touchdown before driving one last time for a TD with 11 seconds to go, taking a 24-6 lead into the locker room.

The third quarter was a wild one on the scoreboard, with both teams combining for 32 points. Northwestern forced a fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half, converting the turnover into an 18-yard Stefan Demos field goal, but Texas Tech got an 86-yard touchdown run on the next play from scrimmage to make the score 31-9 with 11:05 left in the third.

A heavy dose of ground game again spelled touchdown for Northwestern on the ensuing drive, with Colter scoring again on a 15-yard rush before he found Josh Rooks on a two-point conversion pass to make it 31-17 with 6:12 to go in the third. After Texas Tech scored another touchdown, Northwestern recovered an onside kick attempt and needed just two plays to punch it in on a four-yard Evan Watkins' rush, making the score 38-24 with 1:52 to go in the period.

Northwestern forced a three-and-out on Texas Tech's next possession, then drove 67 yards before Watkins found Demetrius Fields for an 18-yard touchdown on fourth-and-four, cutting the deficit to 38-31 with 10:33 left to play.

Texas Tech kept punching, extending its lead back to 45-31 with 7:13 left during a drive that saw Hunter Bates, NU's leading tackler with 11 at that point, carted off the field with a major leg injury.

Fittingly, it was the defense that kept hope alive for the Wildcats as Jordan Mabin intercepted a pass from Taylor Potts and returned it 39 yards to the endzone, pulling Northwestern back to within seven at 45-38 with 5:37 to play. After holding the Red Raiders on their ensuing possession, Northwestern got the ball back 76 yards away from the endzone with 25 seconds remaining. But a Texas Tech interception with nine seconds remaining thwarted Northwestern's final comeback attempt.

Defensively, Quentin Davie led the Wildcats with 15 total tackles, complemented by 14 from Nate Williams. Bates (11) and Brian Peters (10) both finished with double-digit tackle totals for Northwestern.

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