Huskies' attempt is pointless
EVANSTON, Ill. - Appalachian State's shocking victory at Michigan yesterday showed that schools from the Football Championship Subdivision have a right to believe they can go into the home of a Division 1-A team and do what seems unthinkable. Northeastern's performance at Northwestern showed what usually happens in these matchups.
In the first meeting between the schools, Northwestern prevailed, 27-0. The Huskies had some chances to show they could play with the Wildcats, but three long drives in the first half failed to generate points and the Huskies did not do themselves any favors by committing some flagrant penalties.
"We played hard," said Northeastern coach Rocky Hager. "We didn't have as many thoroughbreds in the stable as they had."
Northeastern (0-1) had a promising start, marching from its 20 to Northwestern's 25 in 13 plays, with two third-down conversions. But the effort was hampered when quarterback Anthony Orio and running back Maurice Murray collided in the backfield on second down, leading to a 46-yard field goal attempt by Mat Johnson that fell short.
"It would have given us a tremendous boost for the emotions of our players," Hager said. "Maybe it would have kept the electricity [high enough] to light up the city of Chicago. We had a pretty good charge coming on to the field, and not being able to finish that drive probably took a little bit out of us."
The Wildcats responded on their first possession with a 72-yard drive that was capped when quarterback C.J. Bacher faked a handoff at the 5, rolled right, and took it in for the game's first points.
In the second quarter, with the Wildcats leading, 10-0, Huskies backup quarterback John Sperrazza spearheaded a drive that reached the Northwestern 25, but Johnson was short again, this time on a 42-yard field goal attempt.
Hager said after the game he has faith in Johnson, but the sophomore may have had problems adjusting to the natural grass surface.
Late in the second quarter, after Northwestern (1-0) had scored on a 2-yard pass from Bacher to Ross Lane to make it 17-0, Orio drove the Huskies to the Wildcats' 29, but his pass on fourth and 11 fell incomplete.
With the Wildcats facing third and 28 deep in their territory on their first possession of the second half, Bacher missed his target but Northwestern was awarded a first down as Huskies free safety Nate Thellen was called for unnecessary roughness. A late hit against cornerback Rashad Jordan later in the drive gave the Wildcats another 15 yards, leading to a 1-yard touchdown run by Tyrell Sutton.
Orio and Sperrazza combined to complete 19 of 32 passes for 151 yards. Murray's 48 yards on 16 carries moved him into fourth place in school history with 2,433 rushing yards. Linebacker A.J. Lillie had nine tackles and a sack for the Huskies, while safety Kevin Brown and linebacker Craig Kenney each had nine tackles.
Last year, Northwestern was embarrassed when 1-AA New Hampshire came to town and defeated the Wildcats. Northeastern defeated UNH later in the season.
"I'm sure they were cognizant that New Hampshire came here and had success and then they came to our place and we had one more [point] than they did," Hager said. "For that very reason we thought we could compete. We shot ourselves in the foot too many times."
Hager and his players said there were positives in the experience, as many players saw action, including five freshmen at one time.
"Playing a lot of young guys against a 1-A opponent is going to help us out at the end," Sperrazza said.
