2006 Northwestern Wildcats

2006 Northwestern Wildcats Season, Game Recaps, Scores and Reviews

Nov. 18
Northwestern 27 ... Illinois 16
In a game of runs, Northwestern got out to a 14-0 win on a two-yard Andrew Brewer run and an eight-yard Terrell Jordan scoring catch. Illinois came back with 16 straight points, all in the second quarter, highlighted by a 86-yard Rashard Menendhall run, but the Wildcats scored the final 13 points on two Joel Howell field goals and two-yard Tyrell Sutton run. The Northwestern defense held Illinois to just seven first downs and QB Juice Williams to just four of 17 passing for 65 yards.
Player of the game ... Northwestern RB Tyrell Sutton ran for 110 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries and added five receptions for six yards.
Stat Leaders: Illinois - Passing: Isaiah Williams, 4-17, 65 yds
Rushing: Rashard Mendenhall, 5-113  Receiving: Chris James, 2-52
Northwestern - Passing: C.J. Bacher, 22-30, 269 yds
Rushing: Tyrell Sutton, 34-110, 1 TD  Receiving: Shaun Herbert, 4-77
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The Wildcats got through the season. Considering all the turmoil, to end up with a shockingly easy win over Illinois is exactly what head coach Pat Fitzgerald can use throughout the off-season. A young team needs all the positives it can get, and beating Iowa and Illinois over the last three weeks shows how far things have come. One thing this win proved; when Tyrell Sutton is rolling, the offense controls the game. He needs to be even more of a workhorse next year.

2006 Schedule CFN Prediction: 4-8 2006 Record: 4-8 Preview 2006 predicted wins
8/31	at Miami Univ. W 21-3
9/9	New Hampshire L 34-17
9/16	Eastern Mich W 14-6
9/22	at Nevada L 31-21
9/30	at Penn State L 33-7
10/7	at Wisconsin L 41-9
10/14	Purdue L 31-10
10/21	Michigan State L 41-38
10/28	at Michigan L 17-3
11/4	at Iowa W 21-7
11/11	Ohio State L 54-10
11/18	Illinois W 27-16

2005 Schedule CFN Prediction: 4-7 2005 Record: 7-5 Preview 2005 predicted wins
9/3	Ohio  W 38-14
9/10	Northern Illinois W 38-37
9/17	at Arizona State L 52-21
9/24	Penn State L 34-29
10/8	Wisconsin W 51-48
10/15	at Purdue W 34-29
10/22	at Michigan St W 49-14
10/29	Michigan L 33-17
11/5	Iowa W 28-27
11/12	at Ohio State L 48-7
11/19	at Illinois W 38-21
12/30	Sun Bowl UCLA L 50-38

Nov. 11
Ohio State 54 ... Northwestern 10
Ohio State had little trouble getting out to a 21-0 first quarter lead and was up 33-10 at halftime helped by three Troy Smith touchdown passes, including two to Brian Hartline, and a 46-yard interception return for a score from Brandon Mitchell. Smith hit Ted Ginn with a 34-yard touchdown pass with three seconds to play in the first half to spark a run of 27 unanswered points. Northwestern scored on a eight-yard Tyrell Sutton touchdown catch and a 29-yard Joel Howells field goal.
Player of the game ... Ohio State QB Troy Smith completed 12 of 19 passes for 185 yards and four touchdowns with an interception
Stat Leaders: Northwestern - Passing: C.J. Bacher, 17-28, 212 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Tyrell Sutton, 12-57. Receiving: Tyrell Sutton, 7-75, 1 TD
Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 12-19, 185 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Chris Wells, 11-99, 1 TD. Receiving: Brian Hartline, 3-47, 2 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Northwestern walked into a buzzsaw when Ohio State came to town. The Buckeyes were coming off the close shave against Illinois and were going to be fully focused in the dress rehearsal for the Michigan game. The silver lining in the loss was a nice game from C.J. Bacher throwing accurately, even with two interceptions, and a nice all-around day from Tyrell Sutton. For the young team, beating Illinois next week will be vital to build off of going into the off-season. Bacher needs to keep playing well to continue to establish himself as the main man.

Nov. 4
Northwestern 21 ... Iowa 7
Northwestern forced three turnovers with a big day from the defense and a balanced performance from the offense getting a five-yard Tyrell Sutton touchdown run in the first quarter, a seven-yard scoring catch from Eric Peterman in the second, and a 34-yard Terrell Jordan touchdown run late in the fourth to put it away. Iowa never got on track and had problems getting a big play only scoring on a three-yard Damian Sims run in the third quarter.
Player of the game ... Northwestern RB Tyrell Sutton ran 28 times for 168 yards and a touchdown and caught five passes for 35 yards
Stat Leaders: Iowa - Passing: Drew Tate, 18-27, 147 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Albert Young, 18-72.  Receiving: Dominique Douglas, 7-77
Northwestern - Passing: C.J. Bacher, 19-29, 218 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Tyrell Sutton, 28-168, 1 TD. Receiving: Ross Lane, 5-52
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Who would've ever guessed that Northwestern could've beaten a team like Iowa by being more physical on the lines? The defense pitched a near-perfect game keeping Drew Tate and the Iowa offense under wraps almost all game long, while the offense came up with a perfectly balanced attack showing exactly what it's supposed to do when all the parts are humming. Tyrell Sutton was due to break out, while C.J. Bacher showed that he really could be the quarterback of the future. Now the Wildcats have to keep up the momentum to survive at home against Ohio State next week.

Oct. 28
Michigan 17 ... Northwestern 3
In the rain, Michigan slogged its way to the win with a three-yard Mike Hart touchdown run, and 14-yard scoring catch from Adrian Arrington, and a 30-yard Garrett Rivas. The defense held Northwestern to -13 rushing yards and only gave up a 38-yard Joel Howells field goal in the third quarter. The Wildcats turned it over four times. 
Player of the game ... Michigan LB David Harris led the team with six tackles, two tackles for loss, one interception and one sack..
Stat Leaders: Northwestern - Passing: C.J. Bacher, 20-41, 204 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Tyrell Sutton, 7-6. Receiving: Tyrell Sutton, 6-55
Michigan - Passing: Chad Henne, 10-20, 116 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Mike Hart, 20-95, 1 TD. Receiving: Steve Breaston, 3-34
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Even though the Wildcats weren't good against Michigan, at least they held tough against the nation's number two team. The defense was strong enough to keep the Wolverines from bombing away, while the offense was able to crank up a few passing yards. To win, there has to be some semblance of a running game; -13 yards isn't going to get it done. The problems from the six-game losing streak aren't going to get any better with Iowa and Ohio State up next.

Oct. 21
Michigan State 41 ... Northwestern 38
Michigan State staged the greatest comeback in D-I history rallying from down 38-3 midway through the third quarter. Down 3-0, the Wildcats cranked out a 38-point run with three touchdown passes from C.J. Bacher and a halfback option scoring pass to Shaun Herbert. Herbert's second scoring grab of the day on a five-yard pass with 9:54 to play in the third quarter appeared to be more than enough for the win, but MSU's Drew Stanton went nuts throwing two touchdown passes, including a brilliant nine-yard on-the-run strike to T.J. Williams,  and ran for a 12-yard score. The special teams got into the act with a 33-yard blocked punt for a touchdown from Ashton Henderson. Northwestern still had a shot to run out the clock, but Bacher was intercepted by Travis Key with just over three minutes to play leading to a 28-yard game-winning kick from Brett Swenson.
Player of the game ... Michigan State QB Drew Stanton completed 27 of 37 passes for 294 yards and two touchdowns with an interception and ran nine times for 37 yards and a touchdown
Stat Leaders: Michigan State - Passing: Drew Stanton, 27-37, 294 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Jehuu Caulcrick, 9-39. Receiving: Kerry Reed, 9-101
Northwestern - Passing: C.J. Bacher, 15-29, 245 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Tyrell Sutton, 21-172. Receiving: Shaun Herbert, 6-54, 2 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... How could a painful season get even worse? Northwestern found a way in the brutal loss to Michigan State with a complete, total team collapse over the final 25 minutes. It's a shame that the team finally got a great passing game from a quarterback with C.J. Bacher throwing for 245 yards, and got the best game yet this season out of Tyrell Sutton, but couldn't close. To make things worse, top tackler Nick Roach, arguably the one player the team couldn't afford to lose, got carried off hurt. Now comes road games at Michigan and Iowa followed up by a date with Ohio State that should keep thing spiraling downward.

Oct. 14
Purdue 31 ... Northwestern 10
Purdue cranked out 510 yards of total offense with Curtis Painter bombing away for 448 through the air with touchdown passes to Dustin Keller and Jake Standeford. Northwestern got within four in the first half on a 43-yard Joel Howells field goal, and then Purdue closed out with 17 unanswered points finished off by a three-yard Painter touchdown run late in the fourth. Purdue cranked out 31 first downs to Northwestern's 13.
Player of the game ... Purdue QB Curtis Painter completed 35 of 49 passes for 432 yards and two touchdown with an interception. He also ran for a score.
Stat Leaders: Northwestern - Passing: Andrew Brewer, 7-11, 58 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Tyrell Sutton, 10-82. Receiving: Tyrell Sutton, 3-2
Purdue - Passing: Curtis Painter, 35-49, 448 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Jaycen Taylor, 13-58, 1 TD. Receiving: Greg Orton, 13-144
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The Wildcats have to find a way to get the ground game going. Andrew Brewer was fine throwing the short passes against Purdue, but he wasn't able to loosen up the back seven and had no room to move with the safeties cheating up. Tyrell Sutton had one big run, but he only had ten carries and wasn't established enough early on. Brewer running the ball was no match to keep up with the Purdue passing attack. This might be a young team, but at this point in the season, it should start being more effective on both sides of the ball.

Oct. 7
Wisconsin 41 ... Northwestern 9
Wisconsin RB P.J. Hill rumbled for 249 yards highlighted by a 60-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Northwestern pulled within one in the first half on a field goal and a one-yard Andrew Brewer touchdown run, but the extra point failed and the game never was close after. John Stocco threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Luke Swan, Dywon Rowan ran for a four-yard score, and Joe Stellmacher picked off a pass for a touchdown as part of a 31-point Badger run to close things out.
Player of the game ... Wisconsin RB P.J. Hill ran 35 times for 249 yards and a touchdown
Stat Leaders: Northwestern - Passing: Andrew Brewer, 10-24, 94 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Andrew Brewer, 13-80, 1 TD. Receiving: Eric Peterman, 3-26
Wisconsin - Passing: John Stocco, 16-21, 220 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: P.J. Hill, 35-249, 1 TD. Receiving: Travis Beckum, 8-107
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Where's Tyrell Sutton? The Wisconsin defense did a good job of closing down the run and the game got out of reach in the second half, but Sutton needs the ball in his hands more than ten times. Whether it's with the pass or getting forced the ball in the ground game, Sutton is the team's best weapon, not the quarterbacks, and he has to be used. Andrew Brewer ran well, but he didn't show enough passing the ball to keep Mike Kafka on the bench once he's healthy.

Sept. 30
Penn State 33 ... Northwestern 7
Deon Butler caught 11 passes for a school-record 216 yards and Tony Hunt ran for three touchdowns as Penn State rolled over Northwestern. The Wildcats stayed alive early with a one-yard Tyrell Sutton touchdown run following three Nittany Lion field goals, and then the floodgates opened. Hunt scored from one, 14, and six yards out, and Kevin Kelly ended up hitting field goals from 34, 22, 33 and 36 yards out. The Penn State defense also got into the action thanks to LB Sean Lee, who came up with sack and an interception to snuff out back-to-back Wildcat drives.
Player of the game ... Penn State WR Deon Butler caught 11 passes for 216 yards
Stat Leaders: Penn State - Passing: Anthony Morelli, 19-33, 288 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Tony Hunt, 28-137, 3 TD. Receiving: Deon Butler, 11-219
Northwestern - Passing: Andrew Brewer, 13-30, 157 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Andrew Brewer, 17-41. Receiving: Ross Lane, 4-66
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The offense needs Mike Kafka back. Penn State's defense was going to be strong no matter what, but Northwestern needed all its top players to have a shot to keep it close. Andrew Brewer didn't pose nearly enough of a passing threat to open things up for the running game; Tyrell Sutton isn't getting any room to move. This is playing like a young team that's going to need to keep taking its lumps throughout the year. For now, finding one thing it can do well, like trying to get the ground attack going, would be a start.

Sept. 22
Nevada 31 ... Northwestern 21
Nevada's offense was able to stay one step ahead of Northwestern's running game, but it was the Wolf Pack defense that came through to close out the game as Joe Garcia intercepted two passes with his second going for a 24-yard touchdown with just over two minutes to play. The Wildcats rumbled for 246 yards with Tyrell Sutton, Terrell Jordan and Mike Kafka each running for short scores. Nevada got two touchdowns out of Robert Hubbard and two touchdown passes from Jeff Rowe in the see-saw game.
Player of the game ... Nevada DB Joe Garcia made six tackles and two interceptions with one going for a score  
Stat Leaders: Nevada - Passing: Jeff Rowe, 17-22, 197 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Robert Hubbard, 32-156, 1 TD  Receiving: Caleb Spencer, 8-79
Northwestern - Passing: Mike Kafka, 9-21, 122 yds, 3 INT
Rushing: Mike Kafka, 12-111, 1 TD  Receiving: Shaun Herbert, 4-48
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Mike Kafka ran extremely well against Nevada, but he has to find some semblance of consistency in the passing game. The three interceptions proved to be a killer, and the team isn't anywhere near good enough to overcome five turnovers to win. The defense wasn't bad, and it got to Nevada QB Jeff Rowe four times, but it couldn't slow down the short to midrange Wolf Pack passing game. The D will have to come up with a few turnovers to battle on the road against Penn State and Wisconsin over the next few weeks. 

Sept. 16
Northwestern 14 ... Eastern Michigan 6
Northwestern's defense carried the day holding Eastern Michigan to 134 total yards of offense and stopping two fourth quarter drives with interceptions. Mike Kafka ran for a six-yard score to start off the scoring for the Wildcats, and a third quarter, one-yard run from Andrew Brewer put it away. EMU only managed two Andrew Wellock field goals.
Player of the game ...Northwestern RB Tyrell Sutton ran for 91 yards on 18 carries.  
Stat Leaders: Eastern Michigan- Passing: Tyler Jones, 6-16, 37 yds, 2 INTs
Rushing: Pierre Walker, 10-35  Receiving: Eric Deslauriers, 3-12
Northwestern - Passing: Mike Kafka, 10-18, 76 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Tyrell Sutton, 18-91  Receiving: Shaun Herbert, 6-37
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The Northwestern defense proved that it has the potential to be special as the season goes on. Eastern Michigan has a few dangerous weapons, but it was only able to come up with five first down and 47 passing yards. There's a quarterback issue now with Andrew Brewer showing that he can be a good all-around playmaker with his legs as well as his arm. The passing game worked, and now there has to be more deep passes to open things up for the running game.

Sept. 9
New Hampshire 34 ... Northwestern 17
Northwestern couldn't handle New Hampshire's Ricky Santos who ran for three, one-yard scores and threw two touchdown passes to David Bell. Northwestern took a late first quarter lead on a six-yard Tyrell Sutton touchdown run, but New Hampshire went on 21-3 the rest of the way. The Wildcats turned it over three times and couldn't get the ball back from New Hampshire in the fourth quarter.
Player of the game ... New Hampshire QB Ricky Santos completed 18 of 24 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns and ran 11 times for 34 yards and three scores.
Stat Leaders: Northwestern - Passing: Mike Kafka, 19-32, 173 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Tyrell Sutton, 14-99, 1 TD. Receiving: Tyrell Sutton, 4-35
New Hampshire - Passing: Ricky Santos, 18-24, 206 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Chris Ward, 21-53. Receiving: Keith Levan, 7-77
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Talk about taking the wind out of your sails. All the emotion of the first home game after the death of Randy Walker, and all the excitement over what the Wildcats were able to do in the opener against Miami University got taken away by New Hampshire's Ricky Santos and his pinpoint passing. Northwestern had a hard time getting enough of a pass rush in the second half to disrupt the UNH offense and it struggled to keep the chains moving. A Big Ten team with a line like Northwestern's shouldn't go 0-for-4 on fourth downs.

Aug. 31
Northwestern 21 ... Miami University 3
On a night that both teams honored the late Randy Walker, Northwestern showed off a defense that played better than it did all of 2005 by holding Miami to 255 yards of total offense and allowing only two of 12 third down conversions. After a scoreless first half, NU's Erryn Cobb blocked a punt and returned it for a score. Tyrell Sutton caught a 19-yard touchdown pass and Terrell Jordan ran for a four-yard score to put it away for the Wildcats. Miami only managed a 22-yard Nathan Parseghian field goal.
Player of the game ... Northwestern QB Mike Kafka completed 13 of 17 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown and ran 17 times for 93 yards..
Stat Leaders: Northwestern - Passing: Mike Kafka, 13-17, 104 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Mike Kafka, 17-93. Receiving: Shaun Herbert, 4-32
Miami University - Passing: Mike Kokal, 16-26, 182 yds
Rushing: Mike Kokal, 15-38. Receiving: Ryne Robinson, 9-143
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Taking the raw emotion of the moment and the game out of it, Northwestern played with a toughness on defense it didn't show all of last year holding the Miami running game to a mere 73 yards. The D never allowed the RedHawks to get into any sort of rhythm, and new head coach Pat Fitzgerald deserves credit for what looks like a possible turnaround. Now the team has to use the New Hampshire and Eastern Michigan games to get the offensive line and the ground game after Tyrell Sutton and Terrell Jordan struggled. QB Mike Kafka had a great game, but he has to start taking more shots down the field.

2006 Northwestern Preview

Northwestern Preview | Offense | Defense | Depth Chart | Further Analysis

The program had to deal with the tragic death of Rashidi Wheeler a few years ago, and now it'll have to go on without the man who helped make Northwestern football relevant.

Of course, Gary Barnett got the ball rolling with a shockingly tough defense and a powerful running attack, and then Randy Walker tweaked the formula with one of the first forms of the spread offense and an attitude that allows the little-engine-that-could battle every big-time team that has the Northwestern game mentally penciled in as a win.  

Now the program has to deal with more tragedy as Walker suddenly passed away from an apparent heart attack. He was 52.

He was just starting to get his just due as one of the best head coaches in America considering he won with little of the talent the big time schools were able to get.

You're not supposed to win when you have the worst defense in America, and you're certainly not supposed to be competitive in a conference like the Big Ten when you can't stop the run. You're not supposed go to bowl games, beat teams like Wisconsin, Purdue, and Iowa, and come within a big-time clutch play of beating Penn State when your pool of possible top recruits can fit in a phone booth. But Walker was able to get the job done more often than not.

Everyone gushes over guys like Pete Carroll, Urban Meyer and Charlie Weis; try winning 14 Big Ten games in three years at one of the world's premier academic institutions with an undergraduate population of under 8,000 and a fan base that barely fills up half of a glorified high school stadium. So how does Northwestern get the job done, and how does it go on without its driving force?

Looking at it purely in football analysis and taking the emotional equation out of it, it's about getting good linemen, tough players who know their roles, and a quarterback who can run the show efficiently. It's no coincidence that the team's success over the years came when it have a veteran signal caller. Steve Schnur was the heady passer who led the way during the initial Big Ten title years, Zac Kustok was Alex Smith before Alex Smith, and Brett Basanez improved over his four years to the point of being one of the nation's leaders in total offense. That's why there's a big concern for a huge dip this year.

C.J. Bacher, Andrew Brewer, and Mike Kafka are going to have to be Basanez without the three years of starting experience. There's a fantastic line to work behind and Tyrell Sutton to put all the pressure of the offense on his shoulders, but without the nation's seventh-ranked passing game to keep things moving, another big season might be hard to come by.

It's never right to trivialize a death by saying it could possibly have anything to do with a football team's success, but this is still a good enough team to win plenty of games and throw a few scares into the contenders. Obviously, no team will have to go through this season more on its mind.

The Schedule: The Wildcats could be in big, big trouble if they stumble in losable early road games against Miami University and Nevada. Starting out the Big Ten season at Penn State and at Wisconsin isn't a positive, and a two-game road trip to Michigan and Iowa should crush bowl dreams. If that wasn't bad enough, they come home to face Ohio State and has to deal with improved Michigan State and Purdue teams. NU misses Minnesota and Indiana.

Best Offensive Player: Sophomore RB Tyrell Sutton. Sutton gained 970 yards in his first seven games coming within 30 yards of being in the same breath as Marshall Faulk, Emmitt Smith, and Adrian Peterson as the only backs to gain 1,000 in seven games as a true freshman. Even so, he made a name for himself as both a runner and a receiver catching 44 passes to go along with his 1,474 rushing yards and 16 scores.

Best Defensive Player: Senior CB Marquice Cole. One of the Big Ten's best cover-corners, Cole has 4.3 speed and a great nose for the ball. He became a top all-around defender last year turning into a good open-field tackler while breaking up ten passes and picking off five passes.

Key player to a successful season: Sophomore QB C.J. Bacher. Andrew Brewer and Mike Kafka are in the mix for the starting job, but it'll likely be up to Bacher to be the one who gets the keys to the offense. He has seen a little bit of work and has the tools to grow into the job, but he can't just worry about limiting mistakes; he has to make big plays for the Wildcats to be in the mix for a bowl game

The season will be a success if ... the Wildcats win seven games and go back to a bowl. It's possible if they win every game they have a reasonable shot in. At Miami University, New Hampshire, Eastern Michigan, at Nevada, and Illinois all have to be victories, and then there has to be a win over teams like Michigan State and Purdue along the way.

Key game: Sept. 22 at Nevada. The defending co-WAC champions will see this nationally televised Friday night game as a chance to showcase themselves on national TV. With road games ahead at Penn State and Wisconsin, Northwestern must beat the Wolf Pack to avoid a possible three game losing streak and for a likely 4-0 start before facing the tough Big Ten schedule.

2005 Fun Stats: 
- Sacks: Northwestern 12 for 45 yards - Opponents 11 for 82 yards
- Fourth down conversions: Opponents 17 of 23 (74%) - Northwestern 11 of 20 (55%)
- Interception return average: Northwestern 14.5 yards on 20 interceptions - Opponents 4.7 yard on nine interceptions.

The Last Time Northwestern…
…played in a bowl game…2005 (Sun Bowl vs. UCLA)
…missed a bowl game…2004
…pitched a shutout…1997 (Oklahoma)
…was shutout…2003 (Ohio State)
…scored 50 points…2005 (Wisconsin)
…went undefeated…never
…won a conference title…2000 (share, Big Ten)
…had a 3,000-yard passer…2005 (Brett Basanez)
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…2005 (Tyrell Sutton)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…1998 (D’wayne Bates)
…had a first-round draft choice…2005 (DT Luis Castillo)