By Chris GentilvisoThe Daily Northwestern
The last time Duke defeated a Division 1-A opponent, Tyrell Sutton was back in Ohio, finishing his high school career. For 27 games, Sutton was a constant for the Wildcats, starting every game in his two-plus years in purple.
With 35 seconds remaining Saturday, NU stood seven yards away from making the Blue Devils pay for a missed extra point in the second quarter. But the Cats offense lacked one crucial weapon to eliminate the reality of losing to a team that had not tasted victory in two seasons.
As Sutton watched in sweats on the sideline, the Cats backfield remained barren on four missed tries to the end zone.
“Obviously, as you lose one of your better players its tough,” Fitzgerald said. But it was time for that 11-man operation to step up. “It’s about Brandon, Omar and the whole offense stepping up.”
Sutton’s absence from the last six-and-a-half quarters is at the hands of an ankle injury suffered against Nevada last week. Fitzgerald said he was pleased with his running back’s week of rehab and will re-evaluate his status for the Big Ten opener against Ohio State.
For now, the backfield responsibilities rest on the legs of senior Brandon Roberson, who ran for 80 yards on 21 carries. Slated to start in 2005, Roberson suffered an ankle injury in the Cats first game, losing the job to the freshman Sutton at the time. He has 45 carries in three games this season, eclipsing the 42 he held in 26 games coming into 2007.
RED ZONE FUTILITY
Looking for their fourth consecutive victory, the Wildcats had scored on 19 consecutive drives in the red zone entering Saturday. Amado Villarreal’s 34-yard field goal late in the second quarter would’ve made it 20 consecutive conversions.
With a flag-happy Atlantic Coast Conference officiating corps on hand, NU received what turned out to be the least of fortunate penalties on the Duke end. An offsides on Villarreal’s attempt in normal circumstances gives NU new life.
But instead, it gave Fitzgerald’s coaching brain a new hole to fill, leading way to the old adage of never taking points off the board.
“I have all the confidence in Amado,” Fitzgerald said. “He is a tremendous weapon for us and he’s kicked the ball extremely well all season long…I just really felt like we needed to score a touchdown.”
The balk on fourth-and-two marked the first of three 60+ yard drives in the game where the Cats failed to score, capping NU’s frustration as the offense continues to progress week by week.
“We were better than before,” junior wide receiver Ross Lane said of the 2-for-5 red zone performance. “But we just didn’t put it in the end zone. That’s what it came down to today.”
TAKING THE SHOW ON THE ROAD
After taking two of three at Ryan Field, NU hits the road for the first time in 2007 on Saturday to open conference play. With three crowds under 25,000 making it out to Evanston, the 100,000+ fans at Ohio State bring an added element to the gameplan.
But its an element that is nothing new for the players and coaches.
“We focus well when we travel on the road,” Fitzgerald said. “We’ve done a good job with that and we’re gonna continue to do that. I’ll trust our leadership from our seniors and captains to get our team in the right place.”
Ohio Stadium has been historically unkind to NU, as the Cats will be looking for their first victory in Columbus since 1971.
For Lane, the road only adds to his motivation.
“We came to Northwestern to play in the Big Ten,” he said. “I’m sure we were all looking forward to that hostile environment because its a fun place to play.”
Reach Chris Gentilviso at [email protected].
