Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
TCU
Northwestern Football Tops Texas Christian 17-7
9/11/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
The Wildcats took the lead for good on their first possession of the second half, scoring two plays after sophomore wide receiver Sam Simmons (Kansas City, Mo./F.L. Schlagle) broke free for a 71-yard completion to the TCU 1-yard line. Two plays later, Damien Anderson (Wilmington, Ill./Wilmington) powered in to give NU a lead it would not relinquish.
Simmons made two catches on the day for 84 yards, complementing his 87-yard punt return for a TD that evened the score at 7-7 near the end of the first quarter. It was Northwestern?s first punt return for a touchdown in three years, and its second-longest ever, behind only a 93-yard return by Otto Graham vs. Kansas State in 1941.
Anderson, a junior, added nearly 200 yards of offense with 110 yards on 29 carries and a 67-yard sideline completion that set up an NU field goal in the fourth quarter. Junior quarterback Nick Kreinbrink (Leipsic, Ohio/Leipsic) nearly doubled his offensive output from a week ago, spreading out the Horned Frog defense for double-digit-yard completions to four different receivers.
Defensively, Northwestern allowed TCU to march 80 yards for a touchdown on the first drive of the game, but stiffened after that. In the second half, Northwestern forced TCU into several passing errors.
NU protected its lead by stifling the Horned Frogs on four plays in Wildcat territory late in the third quarter, and again when sophomore linebacker Kevin Bentley (North Hills, Calif./Montclair Prep) recovered a fumble after TCU had first and goal on the NU 6-yard line early in the fourth.
Bentley led the Wildcats with 10 tackles, including a third-quarter sack for a 10-yard loss that killed another promising TCU drive.
NU sealed the win with a crucial fourth down stop on its own 39 with 2:47 left in the game. The victory gave the Wildcats their fourth win over a Western Athletic Conference school in the last two years. Northwestern will travel to Duke next Saturday, Sept. 18, for an 11 a.m. CT kickoff. The game will be broadcast live on the Jefferson/Pilot Network.
