After 60 minutes, 70 points, two touchdowns and nearly 1,000 yards of offense, the Outback Bowl was just about to get interesting.
“There was no doubt in my mind we were going to win that game,” senior defensive end Corey Wootton said. “When we were driving on that last play, I thought we were going to have it.”
Comeback after comeback brought the Wildcats near the brink of victory against Auburn, but NU fell just short-two yards short-in one of the best games in recent memory.
“I’ve been in some wild games that have come down to the end,” Auburn coach Gene Chizik said. “But one that goes back and forth, did we win? Did we not win? Reviewable plays. Is he down? Is he not down? We didn’t know what to do. That was wild and crazy.”
When the final whistle blew-for the second time, after a penalty had nullified the first whistle, and after Auburn players had rushed the field in victory on three separate occasions-NU lost, 38-35, and its 61-year bowl victory drought was extended another year.
The Cats were eight-point underdogs against Auburn and looked to be living up to that billing when Walter McFadden intercepted a pair of Mike Kafka passes-including a 100-yard return for a touchdown-ending NU’s first two drives and allowed the Tigers to take a 14-0 lead with less than 10 minutes gone in the first quarter. The teams then= traded touchdowns to give Auburn a 21-7 lead.
Then, with the third quarter drawing to a close, NU struck. Kafka, who finished the day with 532 yards in the air and five touchdowns, four passing, hit Andrew Brewer and Drake Dunsmore for touchdowns separated by only two minutes to tie the game going into the final period.
“Mike Kafka is a warrior,” senior cornerback Sherrick McManis said. “He’s always going to keep continuing to fight, and he always puts us in position to win the game at the end.”But the Tigers returned the favor, as Ben Tate ran for two more touchdowns in a little more than three minutes, seemingly deflating NU’s momentum.
The Cats scored again with three minutes remaining in the game, but a blocked extra point and failed onside kick again seemed to seal the Auburn victory. But on a rush play simply designed to burn clock, Tate fumbled the ball. Kafka found Sidney Stewart in the end zone and Andrew Brewer completed a wide receiver pass for the two-point conversion.
“We talked about staying the course, executing and just continuing to fight and keep on swinging,” coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “And that’s what our young men did.”
NU nearly iced the game in regulation when they recovered a fumble on the kickoff, but Stefan Demos missed a 44-yard field goal to end the game.
Auburn got the ball first and moved the ball to the 4-yard line but had to settle for a field goal.
NU’s final drive appeared to end twice: first, a Kafka fumble was ruled a 14-yard sack. Later, Demos had a chance to send the game into double overtime, but clanged the ball off of the upright. Auburn charged the field again, but a roughing the kicker penalty gave NU one more chance at victory.
The Cats moved the ball five yards to get a fourth-and-5 opportunity. The easy call would have been to go for a field goal to tie, but Demos was injured.
Fitzgerald decided the next play would be the game’s last. He called a trick play-“heater.” With backup kicker Steve Flaherty on the field as a decoy, the ball was snapped to quarterback Dan Persa, who handed Zeke Markshausen the ball through the legs, fumblerooskie-style. Markshausen took off for the end zone, but when Neiko Thorpe dragged him down, the game’s rollercoaster ride finally stopped.
“I said we were coming down here to win,” Fitzgerald said. “We played for the win and unfortunately ended up a little bit short.”[email protected]
