Jeff Backes played old teammates at a new position in Saturday’s 27-16 loss to Ohio State. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Backes made his first start of the season because Northwestern coach Randy Walker wanted to get the 5-foot-9 running back on the field.
Backes, who has 4.3 speed in the 40, had slipped to third on the depth chart at running back. So Backes practiced — and played — at wide receiver this week.
Backes caught four passes for 32 yards in the first half and was the team’s leading receiver heading into halftime.
“He’s gaining on it,” Walker said of Backes’ Saturday performance as a wideout.
Backes made his presence felt in the first quarter when he caught a quick slant and spun off a tackler for 18 yards. Later in the second quarter the Cats went to Backes on consecutive plays. He gained five yards on a wide-receiver screen and then picked up a first down on a 3rd-and-3 with an 11-yard grab on another quick slant.
In the second half, Backes made only one catch — a wide-receiver screen where he literally ran into an old teammate, Ohio State defensive end Simon Fraser. Fraser and Backes, buddies since elementary school, led Upper Arlington High School to a 15-0 record and a state championship their senior year.
Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, who recruited Backes, was impressed with the freshman’s versatility but expressed some surprise at the position switch.
“I really thought his future was as a guy coming out of the backfield,” Tressel said. “He’s a very tough guy and is very good on special teams.”
READY AND WAITING: Coming into Saturday’s matchup, Ohio State’s game plan was to have 230-pound running back Maurice Clarett pound the ball into the ground. The only problem was NU safeties Dominique Price and Mark Roush were ready for him.
Price and Roush consistently edged up to the line of scrimmage to support the run, and they made big plays for the Cats’ defense.
“Today their safeties made the plays and did a good job making tackles,” Ohio State quarterback Craig Krenzel said. “They knew we’re a power running team and they were dedicated to stopping the run with the safeties.”
Price, a sophomore from Kentucky, led NU in tackles with six solo stops and nine assists. Price also forced two fumbles and recovered one by stripping the ball away from Clarett, who had not turned the ball over coming into the game.
While Price supported the run, Roush patrolled deep down the field. The junior had two tackles and four assists to go along with a fumble recovery on the Ohio State nine-yard line in the first quarter.
CAREER DAY: After playing a superb first half and a mediocre second half last weekend against Michigan State, NU quarterback Brett Basanez buckled down on Saturday and completed 16 of 25 passes after halftime.
The redshirt freshman had a career-high 283 yards passing on a career-high 45 attempts in the game, despite completing only eight passes in the first half.
“For a redshirt freshman he played a great game,” Ohio State linebacker Matt Wilhelm said. “He kept our defense on our toes and made some good plays.”
