CHAMPAIGN – How?
Northwestern’s 34-28 loss to Illinois on Thursday capped a six-game losing streak that swept the once 4-1 bowl game contenders to the basement of the Big Ten. Paired against mind-numbing losses to Indiana, Iowa and Bowling Green, the Wildcats’ performance echoes the question that so many headache-suffering scribes have penned this season: How?
How did the Cats tack on more offensive yards against the Fighting Illini than anyone else did all season?
How did fourth-string running back Torri Stuckey rush for bigger gains against Illinois than starter Damien Anderson could muster in any of his six Big Ten games?
How did quarterback Zak Kustok find energy to create 298 yards of total offense after setting a new school record with 532 yards just five days earlier?
“It would have been easy at some point in the season for those guys to chuck it in,” NU head coach Randy Walker said.
But they didn’t, at least not on Thanksgiving.
With nothing to play for and nothing to lose, the Cats (4-7, 2-6 Big Ten) put together their best effort in eight weeks in the loss to Illinois (10-1, 7-1) before 45,755 fans in Memorial Stadium.
For once, the Cats got all the breaks.
On Illinois’ first possession of the game, running back Rocky Harvey fumbled the ball through the end zone, resulting in a touchback for NU. Then on the Illini’s next possession, the Cats held them to a 34-yard field goal.
NU had a chance to tie minutes later, but placekicker David Wasielewski botched a 34-yard field goal attempt.
When the breaks shored up, NU felt around in its old bag of tricks. After Kurt Kittner put Illinois ahead 10-0, Kustok took over on his own 36-yard line and engineered a drive that included six quarterback draws, moving the ball down to the Illinois 20. Then Kustok chucked a wobbler to wideout Sam Simmons as he ran a slant through the Illini end zone.
On the touchdown toss, Simmons outsmarted the Illini secondary and doubled back on his route in order to make the catch. Three seasons as one of Kustok’s top targets taught the senior receiver that not every pass comes whistling right to its target.
“It kind of hung up there for a little while and I had a chance to make a play on the ball,” Simmons said. “Playing with Zak for all these years, I know what he’s capable of, and sometimes the ball has a tendency to hang up there.”
Another missed kick from Wasielewski kept the score at 10-6.
Then Kustok and Kittner traded blows in the next two drives.
Ignoring the double coverage by NU’s faltering secondary, Kittner lobbed a 33-yard touchdown pass to Walter Young to give Illinois a 17-6 lead.
On the ensuing drive, Kustok found a streaking Ronnie Foster down the left sideline on a 30-yard strike to set up the Cats on the Illinois 3-yard line. A quick Kustok lob to wideout Jon Schweighardt narrowed Illinois’ lead to 17-13.
The Cats had another shot to reach the end zone when they got the ball back on their own 13-yard line with two minutes to play in the half. But Walker, feeling a little battle-weary from three-and-outs and shanked punts, ran out the clock.
After watching Purdue, Indiana and Iowa trot to the locker room with commanding leads, Walker admitted he was content with a four-point deficit.
“I have a healthy respect for Illinois and Kurt Kittner,” Walker said. “I’d rather not give them the ball back if I can help it.”
In the third quarter, a 52-yard field goal and two more Kittner touchdown passes gave Illinois a 34-13 lead, its biggest advantage of the afternoon.
But where they had thrown in the towel in previous games, the Cats continued to fight in the fourth quarter.
First, Simmons re-routed himself again, retreating to grab a 25-yard touchdown pass from Kustok.
Then, after the Illini came up short on a 47-yard field goal, Kustok led the Cats back into opposing territory. On a 4th-and-10 at the Illinois 41, Kustok stepped back to pass as the secondary converged on him with a blitz.
Lined up in the slot, wideout Kunle Patrick skirted the Illinois cornerback and headed for the corner of the end zone. As he was being hit, Kustok heaved the ball to the wide-open Patrick, who made the easy catch and jogged into the end zone without a defender in sight.
The Cats lined up for an extra point, but holder J.J. Standring pitched the ball to Wasielewski, who slipped into the end zone for a two-point conversion, bringing NU within six points of Illinois with 5:49 left to play.
Another big stop by NU’s defense set up the Cats’ offense with an adjusted two-minute drill — 88 yards to the end zone with 2:18 on the clock.
On 2nd-and-10, Kustok looked to his right and rifled a ball that bounced off Patrick’s fingertips as he was streaking — unguarded — down the seam toward the end zone.
“The ball got in the sun and I couldn’t adjust well,” Patrick said.
On the next two plays, Kustok threw the ball incomplete under pressure, giving possession— and the win — to Illinois.
After the game, Walker seemed more distraught about losing his senior class than dropping his sixth consecutive game.
“You look at Zak or Napo (Napoleon Harris) or Kevin (Bentley), and you don’t want to see them ever walk out of here,” Walker said. “I couldn’t be prouder of a bunch of guys who really hung in there through some very difficult times.”
