EVANSTON — As Northwestern prepared to take on Illinois State, senior offensive tackle Al Netter had a few words for sophomore running back Arby Fields.
“”Arby, I’m going to make holes,” Fields said, repeating what Netter had said to him. “‘Just run through them.'”
Netter came through on his promise. NU’s running backs racked up 151 yards on 41 carries in a 37-3 rout of the Redbirds.
“Everybody keeps talking about, ‘Can we run the ball?'” Fields said. “I just went about it the same way I’ve always gone about it. Work hard in practice. I had faith in the offensive linemen. They know what they’re doing out there and they’re taking it upon themselves to go out there and make holes.”
The strong running game also helped answer questions that arose after NU’s tailbacks ran for just 51 yards on 26 carries against Vanderbilt. This time around, the Cats amassed 30 points and 333 yards of total offense in the first half, with plenty of help from the running backs.
The Cats worked to establish the ground attack on their first drive, mixing in runs by Fields and junior Jacob Schmidt as they marched down the field for a touchdown.
“We executed pretty well up front,” Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “Arby ran with some attitude. We wanted to come out and start fast, we wanted to be able to establish the run early, and we were able to achieve that pretty successfully.”
On the first drive alone, Fields ran it five times, accumulating 39 yards.
“We have a script of plays we’re going to run,” Fields said. “We have 10 plays we’re going to run on the first drive and (Offensive Coordinator Mick McCall) told me, ‘You’re going to get the ball in your hands. Go out there and make something happen. Don’t try to do too much but go out there, have fun and run the ball.’ I was having fun.”
The Cats also changed their running style against the Redbirds. After struggling on runs to the outside against Vanderbilt, NU instead focused on running between the tackles on Saturday.
“We had the mindset that we were going to run it down their throats instead of just trying to run around everybody,” Fields said.
Fields, in particular, stayed inside far more against Illinois State.
“He just stuck his foot in the ground and got north and south,” junior quarterback Dan Persa said. “He’s just hitting holes a little bit harder.”
Fields broke several personal records in Saturday’s game. His 96 rushing yards nearly doubled his previous high, and his 22 attempts also set a new high. He also recorded his first touchdown of the season in the second quarter.
He nearly became the first NU running back to record 100 rushing yards in a game since Tyrell Sutton’s performance in the 2008 Alamo Bowl.
