Northwestern football has become an expensive venture as of late. If you caught Saturday’s loss to Minnesota you either paid a jacked-up 15 dollars to sit in the student section, or you have ESPN-Plus to catch games that nobody else wants to see.
Either way, you saw NU play its best football of the year — maybe of the past two years — then quit.
It looked pretty much the same from the press box, where people were actually being paid to watch the game, but rest assured the commentary was much harsher that what you heard on TV and probably more bitter than what you heard in the stands. Press row, after all, is full of disgruntled journalists who deal with the Cats’ losing on a daily basis. You know in the fourth quarter when you left the game or started flipping channels? We were still taking notes and complaining about the press box food (no beans!). And after the game, when you headed home to drink beer (again) and watch the Cubs game, we were still writing about NU’s collapse.
It’s not normal practice to write about the people who cover the game, but after a game this miserable exceptions have to be made. And since nobody else had an explanation for what happened here’s the perspective from press row:
We saw it, too, and we were shocked into silence. Northwestern came out on fire, moving the ball up the field with confidence.
The defense also looked solid, denying Minnesota a first down and prompting one writer to ask the question everyone was thinking:
“Could this be the resurrection?”
As it turned out, no.
By the end of the first half the Cats were down 21-17, and the only bright spot of the second half was a 39-yard field goal by Spearfish, S.D., native Slade Larscheid.
“They’re going crazy in Spearfish,”one sportswriter commented.
Less than a minute into the second half, Northwestern fans everywhere were ready to go crazy as Abdul-Khaliq and Jared Ellerson connected for their second touchdown of the game. Running back-turned wide receiver-turned cornerback Jeff Backes blew the coverage on both plays, leading to a facetious prediction.
“Next week Jeff Backes will be … (dramatic pause) … quarterback!”
After two interceptions, Brett Basanez (not yet replaced by Backes) completed a pass to Jason Wright for 37 yards, eliciting this exchange:
“That was actually a good decision by Brett.”
“Imagine if he actually hit him in stride.”
“Hey, let’s take things one at a time, guys.”
Immediately after that play Basanez was sacked, then he threw two incomplete passes before the Cats kicked the ball away. Sophomore Erryn Cobb halted a 12 yard return by Minnesota’s Marion Barber III, then celebrated the play by jumping up and down above Barber.
“Just quit,” advised one seasoned reporter. “You’re fucking losing by 10 points.”
Not for long. On that possession Abdul-Khaliq completed a pass for five yards, which elicited a “Hey! A pass for less than 8 yards!” and a “Hey! A pass for less than 80 yards!” Then he completed a 32-yard pass, and three plays later, on a 31-yard option to Barber III, the Gophers scored again.
“Have they even been in the redzone yet,” one bewildered scribe asked. “Or have they just decided to forego that region?”
With 7:06 remaining in the third quarter, the inevitable appeared to be happening: backup qb Alexander Webb, with his 4.5 40 time, was about to enter the fray.
Exclamations of “Webb alert!” and “It’s about time” became null as Basanez returned and carried the ball (unsuccessfully) on the first play.
“Brett Basanez called his own number for a gain of three yards,” the announcer said.
“Yeah,” a voice called out. “9-1-1.”
Basanez was then sacked for a loss of nine.
By the fourth quarter the stands were nearly empty, and the jokes had stopped. Bored, I pondered eating a rock-hard press box cookie.
“What, this isn’t making you sick enough?”
Good point. I skipped on the cookie, and wished I had skipped out on the game after the first quarter. But at least I didn’t pay 15 bucks to be there.
