As Joel Howells lined up a 25-yard field goal with almost two minutes to go and Northwestern trailing Penn State 27-26, the spirit of Brian Huffman swirled through the anxious Ryan Field crowd.
But the memory of Huffman – who just a year ago missed five of six field goals in NU’s season opening loss against Texas Christian – seemed not to affect Howells.
The junior casually converted his fifth field goal in six attempts Saturday, then sent the subsequent kickoff into the end zone for a touchback.
“I thought Joel Howells had a great day, ” NU coach Randy Walker said. “And what a clutch kick down there at the end.”
The kick became meaningless when the Wildcats surrendered a last-minute touchdown to the Nittany Lions and lost 34-29, but Howells’ career day still left its mark.
The former walk-on’s five field goals set a single-game NU record, passing the previous record of four, which was set by Tim Long during NU’s legendary 54-51 victory over Michigan in 2000. Early in the fourth quarter, Howells made a 46-yard field goal, matching his career-long.
“I got comfortable out there and was striking the ball pretty well,” said Howells, who through three games made two of six field goals, including one that was blocked. “Unlike the past couple weeks, they were going in.”
Howells’ emergence is an encouraging sign for a program that recently received a verbal commitment from Stefan Demos of Scottsdale, Ariz., who could become the first kicker to sign with NU in the Walker era.
Though shaky at times, Howells has made strides after a disasterous start to his career. Howells kicked a pair of attempts into his offensive line last season, including one that hit former NU tackle Ikechuku Ndukwe in the self-described “lower left butt cheek.”
He has recovered to convert 11 of 18 field goal attempts in his career and 24 of 25 extra points. Since 2002, all other NU kickers have combined to make just 28 of 55 field goal attempts.
The Sycamore, Ill., native has five touchbacks this season, including two that went booming deep into the endzone on Saturday.
He also showed clutch ability, making the first fourth-quarter field goals of his career against Penn State. His late, lead-grabbing kick also marked the first time in 49 games an NU kicker made a field goal in the fourth quarter to give NU the lead.
It was the longer kick, however, that had Howells talking after the game.
“It felt good to make that kick, especially because I felt like I didn’t actually hit that ball the best,” he said. “It was good to have it go in. In the first couple games, I’ve had some a little bit longer, and I had missed them. So it felt good to hit that.”
Howells missed kicks of 43, 44 and 46 yards in NU’s first three games.
Similar kicking woes have haunted NU in the past, forcing Walker to try trick plays in field-goal range. Confidence in Howells eliminated the need for these trick plays Saturday, even if the Cats had to settle for field goals in four of six red zone attempts.
Said Basanez, “I’d rather have him kicking extra points than 46-yard field goals.”
Patrick Dorsey can be reached at
