Before the fumble, he had a great game.
Torri Stuckey, NU’s backup to the backup to the backup to starting running back Damien Anderson, got a feeling on Saturday for what it’s like to start — and what it’s like to feel the disappointment his teammates have encountered all season.
While Zak Kustok was busy setting school records, Stuckey put on a show from the backfield that the Wildcats hadn’t seen since they bulldozed Duke on Sept. 22.
“He is a hard-working, tough player, a young man who has battled through some injuries himself this year to get back into the fray,” NU head coach Randy Walker said. “And he played hard today.”
Rushing for 91 yards on 27 carries against the highly touted Bowling Green defensive line, Stuckey found room to bounce and weave around a Falcons front that had allowed only two rushing touchdowns on the season before entering Ryan Field. The Cats had three rushing touchdowns on Saturday, including a 3-yard burst by Stuckey in the fourth quarter that put the Cats ahead 42-28 with 3:44 remaining on the clock.
Stuckey was an up-and-comer for NU in 2000, participating regularly on special teams and holding a spot behind backup running back Kevin Lawrence and starter Damien Anderson. But a few nicks and bruises during training camp in Kenosha, Wis., kept him buried in the depth chart and struggling just to get back to the spot he held last season.
A series of injuries this season — Anderson’s torn labrum, Lawrence’s torn lateral meniscus, Noah Herron’s broken foot and Gilles Lezi’s broken leg — put Stuckey right back in the spotlight. And with the Cats out of bowl contention, the end of the 2001 season is a tryout for 2002 for many underclassmen.
Stuckey got off to a rocky start on Saturday. On NU’s first offensive play, he and Kustok rolled left on an option, and Stuckey let the pitch bounce off his hands. Kustok turned and dove backwards to recover the fumble for a 3-yard loss. The quarterback then kept the ball on every option for the rest of the game.
But barring the early slip-up, Stuckey’s performance was solid heading into the game’s final minutes. Sadly, his showing was marred on the Cats’ next drive.
With his team leading 42-35, Zak Kustok recovered an onside kick at Bowling Green’s 47. The Cats simply had to sit on the ball for 2:24 to notch the victory. On the second play of the drive, Kustok went over right end for a first down with 1:48 to play. Another advance past the chains and the Cats could kneel out the remaining seconds.
But on 1st-and-10, Stuckey got the ball and plowed into the Bowling Green line for a yard — forcing the Falcons to use their last timeout. Then Stuckey was handed the ball again. This time, the sophomore shifted left and found a gap over left tackle, where he saw daylight.
“I saw the end zone and I was headed for it,” Stuckey said.
He couldn’t quite figure out what happened next.
Stuckey made it to Bowling Green’s 24-yard line before the Falcons’ secondary collapsed on him. Safety Karl Rose popped the ball from Stuckey’s hands, and defensive end Ryan Wingrove jumped on it.
Walker said he didn’t see the play, and he didn’t talk to Stuckey when he came off the field.
“The ball should never come out,” Walker said. “There’s never an excuse for it coming out late, early or any other time.”
Agreed Stuckey: “The ball should always be tight.”
Stuckey watched helplessly as NU’s defense proceeded to let Bowling Green march downfield for the win.
“We just did a couple of things that kept us behind, like a fumbled snap or a dropped pitch on the option,” Stuckey said. “They were self-inflicted wounds. I didn’t feel like they stopped us all game.”
Kustok can attribute much of his success against Bowling Green to Stuckey’s performance. Unlike the start of their last seven games, the Cats established the ground game on their first drive, with Stuckey rushing for 16 yards on four carries. The play-calling combinations gave NU’s receivers more room to maneuver and set up Kustok with more space on draw plays.
