A double-overtime loss at TCU in the season opener was disappointing. But when coach Randy Walker saw a lack of passion in his players’ eyes against Arizona State, he called his team out.
“We have guys who have invested so much during the offseason,” Walker said after a 30-21 loss to the Sun Devils dropped the Wildcats to 0-2. “All that hard work and effort is not an entitlement.
“It does not guarantee you anything. You have to go out and find a way to win football games.”
Northwestern’s defense gave up 292 yards passing and three touchdowns to Arizona State quarterback Andrew Walter, who helped his team to a 24-7 third-quarter lead that didn’t let up.
“We made a lot of mental errors that we should not have made,” cornerback Marvin Ward said after the game.
“In the secondary, if you make mistakes it is a touchdown, and that is what we did. It cost us. We have to make adjustments because we cannot do that for the rest of the year.”
The Cats mounted a comeback late in the third quarter at Ryan Field, with junior running back Terrell Jordan and junior quarterback Brett Basanez each rushing for a touchdown.
But with fewer than eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Jordan fumbled near the Arizona State 20-yard line, stopping a successful drive that could have led to an NU go-ahead touchdown.
The Sun Devils recovered the ball and drove 81 yards, capping the possession with an 18-yard field goal to make the score 30-21.
Noah Herron rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, but suffered a concussion from a helmet-to-helmet hit.
The Cats came into the game after a tough 48-45 loss at TCU in a Thursday night contest the previous week.
Basanez threw for 513 yards and ran for 35 against the Horned Frogs, setting an NU record for total yards in a game. He threw for four touchdowns, matching his total from all of 2003.
But NU never led, even with 100 offensive plays for 637 total yards.
The Cats came back from a 14-point deficit to tie the game three times, including with 13 seconds remaining in regulation when Basanez threw an eight-yard touchdown to Shaun Herbert to force overtime.
But kicker Brian Huffman missed five of six field goals for NU, including both of his attempts in overtime.
TCU kicker Peter LoCoco made a 47-yard field goal in the second overtime, handing the Cats their first opening day loss since 2002.
Junior Jonathan Fields, who hadn’t seen game action since 2002, stepped up at wide receiver for NU, totaling eight catches for 202 yards and three touchdowns.
Fields led the nation in receiving after the first weekend of college football, while NU finished with the top passing offense in the country.
Reach Teddy Kider at [email protected].
