Surprise, surprise! Northwestern’s defense finally came to play during Sunday’s game at Ryan Field.
Celebrating the inauguration of incoming Northwestern president Morton O. Schapiro and remembering the life and services of former Miami of Ohio and Northwestern head coach Randy Walker, Northwestern pulled out a victory over Miami by a score of 16-6, closing out the non-conference slate for the Wildcats in 2008.
Through the first five games of the season, the story of the Wildcats’ season was the struggling of its acclaimed defense. However, on Saturday it was the offense that struggled while the defense lived up to its billing.
The ‘Cats offense got off to a quick start and it looked like yet another blowout against a Miami team that has lost by an average of 29 points per game. On the first drive of the game, Mike Kafka completed his first three passes to lead the offense deep into Miami territory. Once the drive stalled, Stefan Demos kicked a 46-yard field goal to put the ‘Cats up 3-0. Two drives later, the ‘Cats drove 73 yards on 12 plays to take a 10-0 lead, capped off by a 6-yard touchdown run by Kafka.
Northwestern’s defense looked much like the dominating unit of 2008, shutting out the RedHawks during an uneventful first half in which they allowed less than three yards per play. Despite being without the services of All-American DE Corey Wootton, and later losing FS Brendan Smith to a hand injury during the game, the vulnerable Miami offense gave the Wildcats plenty of opportunities to capitalize on QB hurries and sacks. In total, Northwestern racked up seven sacks for the day, eclipsing the Wildcats’ season total of five coming into the game.
After their quick start, the Northwestern offense, bearing the load all year for the Wildcats, looked surprisingly tame. The coaching staff did away with the screen passes and short-yard plays in favor of mid-range out routes and post routes, trusting the efficient arm of QB Mike Kafka, who came into the game third in the country in completion percentage. However, Kafka struggled in the first half, completing only 10 passes on 19 attempts, and ended the game a mediocre 15-for-31 with one interception.
“We played pretty well on offense, but we’re nowhere near where we want to be right now,” said Coach Pat Fitzgerald after the victory.
“We got the win today, and we just have to learn from this and grow. We have got to get more points on the board,” Kafka said.
The run game was also suspect. Although Stephen Simmons returned this week, he rushed only twice for three yards. The Wildcats had only 128 yards rushing against a defense that has allowed an average of 172 yards per game on the ground. After the game Coach Fitzgerald said, “We have to run the ball better. Our offensive line needs to get better.”
On his personal involvement and play, running back Jacob Schmidt added, “It’s an 11-man operation, and I have to do my part the best I can.”
Coming into the game, Miami led the nation in turnovers, while Northwestern had come off a week where the defense forced six turnovers against Purdue. The trend continued late in the first quarter, when LB Nate Williams picked off a long 4th down conversion attempt. A couple of hard hits during the first half rang the proverbial bell of the defense’s homecoming into 2009 mid-year form, one by Peters that resulted in a disputable penalty and another by SS Brendan Smith against RedHawk QB Zac Dysert to end the first half.
In the second half, both offenses never broke out of their respective funks, as receivers dropped easy passes and the running games were mediocre at best. Northwestern’s defense remained the trump card, however. Safety Brian Peters bobbled and intercepted a pass on Miami’s first drive of the second half, and later recovered a fumble that was forced by LB Quentin Davie. CB Sherrick McManis also got in on the turnover party, notching an interception to his stats in the fourth quarter for his third straight game with an interception. Multiple Northwestern defenders racked up huge tackle and sack totals, with both Williams and SS Brad Phillips leading the way with 12 and 11 tackles, respectively.
Although the Northwestern defense consistently gave the offense excellent field position, the ‘Cats failed to pull away, frequently squandering opportunities in Miami’s territory. Early in the second quarter, Demos had a 40-yard field goal blocked. Two drives later, Kafka failed to complete a pass on fourth and 1 from the Miami 31 yard line. Despite the oftentimes stagnant state of the Wildcats’ offense, QB Mike Kafka did his best to keep drives alive, using his feet to put up yards on the ground and escaping would-be sacks against the RedHawks defensive line and making use of his dual-threat abilities.
DE Vince Browne said, “We still got the win. We still got to him seven times, probably more [...] The sky’s the limit for the defense.”
Miami’s offense, despite being shut out, was still a headache for the revived Northwestern defense. Operating between short and long passes and sprinkled run plays, QB Zac Dysert kept many drives alive with feet, improvising on blown pass plays by running for large gains for first downs. Late in the fourth quarter, Miami’s offense finally broke up the shutout on a 23 yard pass to wide receiver Andy Cruse. However, the ‘Cats defense thwarted the two point conversion and recovered Miami’s onside kick attempt, sealing the win.
With a vaunted Northwestern defense hitting its stride with seven sacks today and 10 turnovers in two games, the question now shifts back to the offense and the coaching staff’s plan against a formidable Michigan State squad that is steamrolling through the Big Ten schedule with gusto. The Wildcats face off against the Spartans next Saturday, October 17th in East Lansing, Mich.
Check out our liveblog of Saturday’s game.