Disgruntled “ahhs” filled the air of Ryan Field.
While referees discussed the what-nots of a thrown flag after Northwestern quarterback Zak Kustok sprinted 45 yards on an option to the Indiana 23-yard line, the Wildcats paced back to the original line of scrimmage as if admitting the wrongdoing. The almost-packed student section — most of them witnessing their first home game this season — and the 30,201 in attendance reacted with distress.
But Damien Anderson needed only seconds to bring cheers of U-Rah-Rah to the stadium.
The NU tailback upstaged Kustok and broke through on the next play for 73 yards and a touchdown. And as much as he hates attributing individual success to the No. 22 Cats’ bowl-searching season (5-1, 3-0 Big Ten), Anderson was the ultimate savior in NU’s 52-33 rout of Indiana (2-3, 1-1) Saturday.
“You can just see it in his eyes and the way he tries to work and the way he came to play today, ” NU coach Randy Walker said of Anderson, who carried 36 times for four touchdowns and 292 yards, a third career-high of the season and NU’s third-best single-game rushing total.
“He has a lot of pride,” Walker continued. “And most good ones, they want the ball every down. They don’t think anybody can tackle them.”
Take that word for word, because Indiana strong safety Joe Gonzalez had Anderson within tackling distance around the Hoosiers’ 20-yard line. Gonzalez dived for Anderson’s feet and actually touched him, causing Anderson to lose balance for a second.
But Anderson simply sprinted past Gonzalez to give NU a comfortable 21-7 lead in the second quarter. With a newly shaved head, Anderson talked calmly about his record-setting day — crediting his teammates above anything.
“My hat goes off,” Anderson said. “Zak would back me up with this, but (the offensive linemen are) doing a great job. It allows me to have a gaping room which a normal back wouldn’t have. You’ve got to make one guy miss or you’ve got to run the guy over. But our line is giving me a great chance.
“To tell you the truth, I try not to even pay attention to the stats. The accolades and everything, like I always say — they’re going to come. I mean, as long as we win, they’re going to come.”
Anderson, who collected 219 yards against Michigan State last week, became the first NU rusher to amass 200 yards in back-to-back games. Surpassing the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season (1,050 yards), Anderson climbed to third on NU’s all-time career rushing list with 2,715 yards, behind Darnell Autry and Bob Christian.
Saturday’s performance also had Anderson eyeing NU’s single-game rushing record — Mike Adamle’s 316-yarder set in 1969 — in the fourth quarter. But Walker decided to rest Anderson for the first series in the second quarter and the final 10 minutes of the game, and Anderson finished 24 yards shy.
“We don’t break records in the sixth game,” Walker said. “This is not a surprise to me. Couple great talent with a lot of want-to and a lot of right things and you’ve got a chance to be pretty good.”
The Cats offense has been nothing but explosive. NU has tallied 454.7 yards per game, good enough for 10th in the nation, and hit the 50-point mark for the first time since scoring 55 points against Michigan in 1958.
But NU lost focus at the end of the second quarter. Marvin Brown muffed an Indiana punt at the Cats 14-yard line and Indiana went in for an effortless touchdown.
Then NU backup tailback Kevin Lawrence fumbled Indiana’s pooch kickoff, though he recovered it. On NU’s final drive of the first half, receiver Roger Jordan bobbled a Kustok pass, almost forcing another turnover.
“There were a couple of points in the game where I was pretty concerned, and halftime was one of them,” Walker said. “I definitely thought we had lost a little momentum, lost a little edge as to the way we were playing. Obviously, it takes a little more than 11 to beat a football team. I challenged our team with that today: ‘Hey. There’s some guys we need stepping up. It’s going to take more than 11.'”
Known for his agile running at quarterback, Indiana’s Antwaan Randle El couldn’t find his rhythm all day. Randle El, who finished with 80 yards on 18 carries, did break open two runs for a combined 70 yards but that was about it.
Randle El completed 19 of 40 passes for 165 yards, but couldn’t lead his team, especially when it mattered most. After NU went into halftime bitter, the Hoosiers had an opportunity to attack the Cats on the first drive of the second half. After driving to the NU 44-yard line, NU cornerback Harold Blackmon intercepted Randle El’s lob pass on third-and-4.
“I think the mistake we made last year was to focus our game plan to stop Randle El,” NU linebacker Kevin Bentley said. “But one man can’t beat a football team, so we just decided to go at our responsibilities.”
But Kustok (9-for-17, 119 yards) was able to respond in the third quarter, hitting a slant route that Teddy Johnson turned into a 57-yard touchdown. It didn’t hurt, too, that Anderson kept his motor running — the Hoosiers personnel could only praise Anderson and shake their heads.
“Very few people have been able to tackle him one-on-one all year and we needed to do that if we were going to slow that offense down,” Indiana coach Cam Cameron said. “They didn’t do anything differently than they had done all year long.”
Added Walker: “We’re making the right kind of steps. We’re taking the right kind of approach to this football season.”
