Jason Wright ran past Indiana defenders and into the Northwestern record books in the Wildcats’ 41-37 win over the Hoosiers Saturday at Ryan Field.
The junior running back rushed for 219 yards on 23 carries — averaging 9.5 yards per carry — and four touchdowns. The Hoosiers couldn’t stop him in the first half, when he had 98 yards, and it only got worse after halftime.
Wright’s four touchdowns tied a single-game NU record — the only Cats to achieve the feat were Damien Anderson (who did it three times), Darnell Autry and Mike Adamle. Wright’s fourth score, a seven-yard run with 2:17 left in the fourth quarter, was the game-winner.
“I was just thinking about getting into the endzone,” Wright said.
Wright’s 219 yards put him at 1,106 yards for the season. He is only the eighth NU player to gain 1,000 yards in a single season, a goal he set at the beginning of the year.
But, as usual, Wright was quick to divert the attention.
“I was really excited about (going over 1,000 yards), but at the same time, critical to my success is the O-Line,” Wright said. “Their improvement has been masked as improvement in my game. The better they’ve gotten, the bigger the holes are and the more yards I’ve been getting.”
Kicked out: After missing his seventh consecutive field goal, senior David Wasielewski got the boot. At halftime, NU coach Randy Walker told Brian Huffman, who usually handles the Cats’ kicks and punts, that he would do all the placekicking.
With 30 seconds left in the first half and the Cats looking to take the lead going into the locker room, Wasielewski missed a 40-yard attempt. Earlier in the half, Wasielewski missed an extra point after the Cats’ first touchdown.
Wasielewski was 11 of 13 on field goals last season but has been slumping since missing his second attempt against Ohio State on Oct. 5.
“This week at practice he was kicking fine,” Huffman said. “I don’t know if he missed any in practice. It’s probably in his head, and it’s something that you need to work your way through.”
Huffman said Wasielewski helped him at halftime and was rooting for him in the second half.
The sophomore’s first career field goal attempt came with 5:43 left in the game. With a chance to tie the score, the 22-yard attempt flew wide right.
“It looked like (place holder Kunle Patrick) had a hard time getting it, but he did get it down,” Huffman said. “It kind of threw me off a little bit, but it ended up being a fine hold and I should have gotten it.”
view from the bench: Linebacker Braden Jones and safety Dominique Price stood side-by-side on the Cats’ sideline on Saturday, both in uniform but with no place to go. Walker said Jones, a redshirt freshman, suffered a deep contusion in his shoulder in last week’s game and was unable to practice all week. He expects him to be available next week.
Price, who suffered a severely sprained ankle at Penn State, sat out his second consecutive game. Walker said the sophomore practiced most of the week, and the decision not to play him was a “close call.” He also expects him to be available next week.
The secondary took another hit when safety Mark Roush left the game with 6:29 remaining in the third quarter. After getting X-rays on his ribs, Roush returned to the sideline for most of the fourth quarter but did not re-enter the game. Walker was optimistic about Roush’s availability.
