North by Northwestern

The past year will go down as one of the more bizarre times in recent football memory. In college, two teams from the same conference were selected to play for the national championship. In the pros, the 136-day NFL lockout had pigskin diehards and fantasy dorks alike on edge for months at the idea of football-less fall Sundays – though the lockout did inspire Taylor Lautner’s best acting job yet. And, in perhaps the most talked-about drama of the year, the NFL’s most polarizing figure went from Michael Vick to a young man named Tim Tebow.

Denver Broncos quarterback Tebow is extremely honest about his faith, and his openness has made him a hero to some and a pariah to others. What has truly set Tebow apart in a league of many publically religious figures is the honest debate about whether or not he is actually a great football player. In the Broncos’ drive to the playoffs, Tebow has led fourth-quarter comebacks in unusual ways. Tebow can look completely lost for 58 minutes, but when he has the opportunity to get into his rhythm in the final moments, he is a legitimate threat. He’s managed to pull off several unlikely victories, and now, against all odds, Denver is playing into January. While Tebow’s heroics are thrilling to some NFL fans, others feel his success is undeserved.

Suddenly, this story sounds familiar. In their loss to the Texas A&M Aggies in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, the Wildcats seemed to be doing their best Tebow impression. Northwestern looked like a team that had no business sharing the field with its competition, something that has become a scarily common occurrence in the postseason. After jumping out to a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter, the Wildcats began to look a lot like the Tim Tebow of quarters one through three: thoroughly disoriented.

Pass protection fell apart, and Persa was sacked on twice on three separate drives. A quick three-and-out at the end of the first half led to a 35-yard Texas A&M punt return. The Aggies converted another field goal and suddenly held a 20-7 lead at the half. Senior Wildcat cornerback Ricky Weina had both hands on an interception in the third quarter and a clear lane to the end zone, but dropped the ball, leading to an Aggie field goal on the other end. On Northwestern’s next offensive drive, the offensive line had three false starts – two on consecutive plays and by the time the mistakes were over, it was the fourth quarter and Northwestern was down 30-7.

Then, in true Northwestern fashion, they tried to Tebow themselves out of the nice little hole they had dug for themselves. It was comeback time. Senior safety Brian Peters started the final 15 minutes with an interception, leading to a quick NU touchdown and two-point conversion. The defense then forced a three-and-out, giving the Dan Persa and Kain Colter tandem another chance. The duo drove the ball 80 yards on 10 plays to bring the Wildcats within one score with just over five minutes remaining. Suddenly, the Cardiac ‘Cats were jolted to life, but the A&M offense finally awoke from its fourth quarter coma and mustered one last drive. The Aggies converted a field goal, giving them a two-score lead and virtually wrapping up the game.

For a good portion of the 2011 NFL season, Tim Tebow had us believing that it was possible to earn victories without playing four quarters of complete, competent football. Now, as the season winds down, losses and some dreadful performances over the past few weeks have cooled Tebowmania, and people are again questioning his ability to be a great NFL quarterback.

The problem for the Wildcats is that they should belong. They showed — by the way they played in the fourth quarter of the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas and in last season’s TicketCity Bowl — that when their backs are against the wall, they have the skills to compete with talented teams. When they play with the sense of urgency that comes with a fourth quarter deficit, the Wildcats can move the ball efficiently and create the turnovers necessary to enable them to win.

Tebow’s playoff success shows the better formula for success Northwestern needs to follow. To the best of his ability, he played under control and to his strengths for four quarters, in order to not put his team at an insurmountable disadvantage, and shut the door on the opponent when crunch time came.

Falling behind early and getting close by the end just isn’t sufficient for Northwestern or its fans anymore. Putzing around for most of the game only to try to fall back on their Tebowesque late-game persona is no longer going to get them where they want to go.  The Wildcats have the skills Tebow currently lacks. Now they just have to utilize them in a way they haven’t yet, by earning victories.