Northwestern University Athletics
Notes and postgame quotes from the Duke game
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
September 12, 1998
Duke at Northwestern
Ryan Field - Evanston, Illinois
September 12, 1998
Postgame Notes
1. Duke's Richmond Flowers became the first Blue Devil to record back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since Clarkston Hines did it vs. North Carolina and NC State in 1989.
2. This is the first road win for Duke since Sept. 16, 1995, at Army (23-21).
3. It is the most points scored by Duke since Oct. 22, 1994, a 51-26 win at Wake Forest.
4. Duke's 100 total plays from scrimmage today is a school record. The previous high was 99 vs. Georgia Tech in 1968.
5. Duke QB Spencer Romine passed for a personal-best 303 yards today.
6. Duke tight end Mike Hart's 31-yard TD catch in the 2nd quarter was his first career reception.
7. Northwestern freshman Sam Simmons had 100 yards on kickoff returns today, the first Wildcat to have 100 kickoff returns since Hudhaifa Ismaeli had 166 kickoff return yards in the 1996 Rose Bowl.
8. Brian Gowins' field goal in the first quarter made him the all-time NU kick scoring leader, surpassing John Duvic, who had 200 points from 1983-86. Gowins now is second on NU's all-time overall scoring chart with 204 points. Darnell Autry is the Wildcats' all-time scoring leader with 220 points from 1994-96.
9. Todays attendance of 40,178 is NU's highest attendance at a nonconference game in Evanston since 44,936 attended the NU-Notre Dame game on Sept. 25, 1976.
Duke player quotes
Richmond Flowers
"We knew we had the ability to make things happen. We went from the doomat of the ACC and doormat of the country, and in one year we've turned it around. Our goal is to gain respect. It's exhilirating."
"All we care about is looking forward to the next game against Florida State. We want to be the best we can possibly be."
Lamar Grant
"At the half we were talking about coming out like the score was 0-0. Its the best game we've played defensive-wise because I dont remember being on the field that much. I have to give respect to Richmond (Flowers) and Scottie (Montgomery). Those guys are two of the best receivers in the ACC."
"The scout for (D'Wayne Bates) did a good job. I knew he was my assignment and I was ready to play."
Spencer Romine
"I knew we were going to win, but I didn't think the score would be anything like that. Our defense gave us the ball and we were able to make big plays."
Duke head coach Fred Goldsmith
"1994 was the last time we've played like this. It's been that long. The defense played so hard today and our offense had a fantastic gameplan. It was just a heck of a team effort. No team in America has been through as much adversity as we have."
"Northwestern is a young football team. We've been through that before. All it takes is a little something here or there and it is a close game. We're a bit older on the defensive front and that might have made the difference."
Northwestern head coach Gary Barnett
"I think we need to talk to our clock operator. He needed to speed up the game a little bit. I give Duke all the credit, they kicked our butts. They assaulted the belly of our defense, they demoralized our team. They outplayed us on every aspect of the game. I told our team we had to handle it with humility."
"This is what happens with a young, immature team. I told our team before the game, We are either going to be the teacher or the student. To sum it up, we have a lot to learn."
Re: Gavin Hoffman's play
"Gavin had an off-day. He missed some key opportunities, a lot of those were freshman mistakes. We kept him in because I wanted to give him a chance to knuckle under and play through it."
Re: NU's defense
"Dukes offense punished us. Our defense didn't run to the ball and loafed at times. We played poor in the secondary, our guys weren't making any plays, we had no pressure on the quarterback and our secondary is only as good as our pass rush."
Northwestern Player Quotes
Defensive end Thor Schmidt
"I don't think we underestimated their ability. They wanted it more and made the plays. I thought we were prepared going into the game. Our defense didn't make the plays."
Running back/wide receiver Sam Simmons
"I just want to do what I can for this team. I want to give 150 percent every down and play of the game."
Quarterback Gavin Hoffman
"I didn't execute. That's the bottom line. Duke's defense covered D'Wayne well. He was open and I missed him."
Wide receiver DWayne Bates
"We got behind too early, too fast. It's definitely a game to learn from early in the season, so we can go from there."
