STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Northwestern quarterback Tony Stauss lay face first on the turf after the Wildcats’ final offensive play of the game — a play that told the story of both the quarterback’s and the offense’s performance in Saturday’s 49-0 loss to Penn State.
Stauss was running for his life with four defenders on his tail when the wet ball slipped out of his hand. He unsuccessfully dove to recover it and, as it bounced around, several Cats bungled attempts to pick it up before a Penn State defender fell on the ball.
Stauss is the first to admit he made mistakes, but he was under pressure and received little assistance from his teammates, who could amass only 88 yards on the ground.
“Quarterbacks are ultimately judged by putting the ball in the endzone, and we didn’t put the ball in the endzone,” NU coach Randy Walker said. “But the one thing I did see is he kept fighting and kept battling today.”
Stauss had the battle scars after the game to prove it. When the 6-foot-1 sophomore left the field, the No. 11 on his jersey was barely visible underneath the grass stains and chalk. He had fresh scratches and bruises on both of his arms.
Besides the wounds, Stauss had very little to show for himself after the game. It was the second time he has started for the Cats this season, and in both games the team lost by 49 points and the offense failed to score with him under center.
“It’s unfortunate that we have played so bad behind him,” senior wideout Jon Schweighardt said. “He deserves better than that and the results are not a product of Tony’s play.”
Despite not putting the Cats into the endzone, Stauss put his name in the NU record book for the best completion percentage in a single game. Stauss connected on 29 of 42 passes, a 69-percent mark that broke Zak Kustok’s 68.8-percent record set in a win over Minnesota last year.
The 29 completions for 193 yards also placed Stauss fifth all-time on the single-game completions list.
“He did well out there and threw the ball well,” senior center Austin King said. “Obviously the offensive linemen could have done a better job protecting him and giving him more time.”
Stauss got the start because redshirt freshman Brett Basanez, who has started at quarterback in NU’s past six contests, sat out the game with a fractured fibula. The Cats’ line had not allowed Basanez to be sacked in the previous two games and had allowed only nine sacks all season prior to Saturday.
The Nittany Lions sacked Stauss five times and often forced him to get rid of the ball early.
“I think a lot of the sacks were probably my fault because I think I held the ball a little too much,” Stauss said. “I thought I could have played a lot better. There were some shots I had and just flat out missed.”
One of Stauss’ most costly miscues came at the end of the first half when he overthrew junior wideout Kunle Patrick deep down the field and the pass was intercepted, killing a drive that had reached Penn State territory.
Stauss had little success throwing the ball deep all day. Only six of his 29 completions were for more than 10 yards, and only two of those were in the first half. His longest completion of the game was a 17-yard pass out in the flat to sophomore running back Noah Herron.
Stauss knows he needs to create more big plays if he starts next week, which is a possibility since Basanez’s status is still uncertain, according to Walker.
“Making some big shots in big clutch moments is what makes this offense go,” Stauss said. “I missed a couple of them at big times this game.”
