No. 16 Wildcats Head to the Desert To Tackle UNLV

Sept. 3, 2001

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

GAME 1

No. 16/20 NORTHWESTERN (0-0) at UNLV (0-1)

Date/Time: Sept. 7, 2001/7 p.m. CDT
Site: Sam Boyd Stadium (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Capacity/Surface: 36,800/Natural Grass
Television: ESPN (Rich Waltz, play-by-play, Dean Blevins, color, Heather Cox, sideline)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Dave Eanet, play-by-play, Ted Albrecht, color)

The Game
The waiting is over for Northwestern University's football team. While many Division I-A programs opened their season on Aug. 30 and Sept. 1, the Wildcats spent one last weekend preparing for their season-opening foe, the UNLV Rebels. Game time is set for 7 p.m. CDT Friday, Sept. 7 at UNLV's Sam Boyd Stadium. The game will be televised by ESPN. UNLV was one of the schools that played Aug. 30. The Rebels met Arkansas in a rematch of last year's Las Vegas Bowl, and the Razorbacks gained revenge by handing the Rebels a heart-breaking 14-10 setback in the game's final seconds. Arkansas scored with 18 seconds left to come from behind and spoil the Rebels' opener. UNLV, which is one of the leading contenders for the Mountain West Conference crown, is ranked 25th in Sports Illustrated's preseason top 25 poll. The Rebels are led by their Heisman Trophy candidate, quarterback Jason Thomas. For the first time since 1996, Northwestern was ranked in the preseason Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches' polls. The Wildcats debuted at No. 16 (AP) and No. 20 (coaches) and remain at those spots this week. Primarily due to the fact that 10 off 11 starters return from its high-octane offense, Northwestern was tabbed the Big Ten preseason media favorite over Michigan and Ohio State. The Wildcat offense is paced by tailback Damien Anderson, Northwestern's Heisman Trophy candidate, quarterback Zak Kustok and wide receiver Sam Simmons.

For Openers
Northwestern is 67-40-5 (.621) in season-opening contests. Since 1995, the Wildcats are 4-2 in lid lifters. Coach Randy Walker, who is beginning his 12th season as a head mentor, is 6-4-1 in season-opening contests. Northwestern's last season-opening road victory came in its Rose Bowl season in 1995 when the Wildcats stunned Notre Dame 17-15 in South Bend. That is the only season-opening road game Northwestern has won since 1963.

The Series with UNLV
Series Record: Northwestern leads 1-0
At Evanston: 1-0
At Las Vegas: 0-0
Current Win Streak: Northwestern, 1
Last Meeting: Sept. 5, 1998, NU 41, UNLV 7
First Meeting: Sept. 5, 1998

The Last Meeting With UNLV
Sept. 5, 1998--Northwestern opened the '98 campaign with a solid 41-7 victory over the Rebels. The story of the game was the emergence of numerous first-year players and the re-emergence of senior D'Wayne Bates. The preseason all-American hauled in nine receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Gavin Hoffman completed 19-of-29 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns. Also having a solid first-game performance was tailback Damien Anderson. Anderson rushed for 103 yards on 28 carries and totaled two TD's. Northwestern's defense held the Rebels to just 35 yards rushing and eight total first downs.

Northwestern Head Coach Randy Walker
2000 Dave McClain Big Ten Coach of The Year
Randy Walker starts his third season at Northwestern after spending the previous nine years (1990-98) at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. In just two years with the Wildcats, Walker has overseen a stunning turnaround. After a 3-8 season in 1999, he engineered a complete overhaul of the Wildcat offense and the result was an 8-4 record, an Alamo Bowl berth and a share of the 2000 Big Ten championship. Walker was recognized for his efforts last season by both his peers and the media, as he was named Dave McClain Big Ten Coach of the Year and the Region 3 Coach of the Year by the AFCA. Walker owns a 70-47-5 career record in 11 seasons and an 11-12 mark at Northwestern. Prior to gaining his first head coaching job at Miami in 1990, Walker spent one year as an assistant at Miami (1977), 10 years as an assistant at North Carolina (1978-87) and two years as an assistant at Northwestern (1988-89). Walker came to Evanston with an impressive coaching resume already intact. The 47-year-old Walker departed Oxford as the winningest head coach in school history. His mark at Miami of 59-35-5 (.621) is even more impressive when you consider the coaching greats which Miami has produced: Paul Brown, Woody Hayes, Ara Parseghian, Bo Schembechler ... and the list goes on.

Walker graduated from Miami in 1976 with a bachelor's degree in social studies education and earned a master's degree in educational administration from his alma mater in 1981. He starred for Miami as a fullback, leading them to three-straight Tangerine Bowl victories. Upon graduation, Walker was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals, but returned to Miami to help as a graduate assistant and the next year became a full-time assistant in charge of running backs under Dick Crum. When Coach Crum departed for North Carolina, Walker joined him and spent the next 10 seasons as a Tar Heel. He coached various positions, ending up as the offensive coordinator. From there, he spent two seasons as Northwestern's running backs coach (1988-89) and, in 1990, took over as the head coach at Miami.

The Year Was 1949 ...
At the Big Ten Media Day Kickoff event on August 1, Northwestern was tabbed the league's preseason favorite by five votes over second-place Michigan. Ohio State was picked third. This is the first time since 1949 that the Wildcats were picked by the media to win the conference crown. That 1949 club, which was coming off a Rose Bowl appearance the previous season, finished 3-4 in league play and placed seventh that year. Head coach Randy Walker and his Wildcats are keeping the preseason favorite tag in perspective. "It's gratifying for our guys to get some respect," says Walker. "However, the same guys who picked us last last year picked us first this year. I know there's a team that's ready to have a breakout year. I just don't know who it is. Tell me what team in this conference can't win it."

Remembering Rashidi
On Friday, Aug. 3, Northwestern suffered a tragic blow as senior safety Rashidi Ayodele Wheeler (Ontario, Calif./Damien) died while running a summer conditioning drill on campus. In his memory, the Wildcats will be wearing a patch on their uniform with his initials, RAW. Also, for the first time in Northwestern football history, Wheeler's jersey number (#30) is being retired. Wheeler's locker in the John Evans Club locker room is also being preserved with a glass case surrounding his jersey and helmet. Wheeler started all 12 games at strong safety in 2000 and registered 88 tackles (59 solos) and three pass deflections.

Coaching Staff Changes
Randy Walker lost two assistant coaches during the offseason: offensive line coach Aaron Kromer and defensive backs coach Brad Bolinger. Kromer joined Jon Gruden's Oakland Raiders' staff while Bolinger left the coaching profession to pursue a position in pharmaceutical sales. With those two departures, Walker bolstered his staff with the additions of Mike Dunbar, who has 21 years of collegiate coaching experience, and Pat Fitzgerald, the Wildcats' two-time National Defensive Player of the Year in 1995 and '96. James Patton, who coached the Wildcats' tight ends and fullbacks the past two years, replaces Kromer as the offensive line coach while Dunbar will coach the fullbacks and tight ends and serve as special teams coordinator. Fitzgerald, who has coached at Maryland, Colorado and Idaho the past three years, returns home to mentor the Wildcats' secondary.

These Guys Look Familiar
While the Wildcats have yet to take an official snap in 2001, defensive coordinators for Northwestern's 11 regular-season opponents have probably spent some additional off-season time studying Northwestern's spread offense. Coordinators have that luxury since the Wildcats are returning all but one starter from a highly touted offense that propelled NU to a share of the Big Ten Conference title in 2000. Northwestern has 5,610 of 5,615 yards returning this season in total offense, or 99.9 percent. Last year, the Wildcats averaged 36.8 points and 467.9 total offensive yards per game. Northwestern's 5,615 yards was the sixth-highest single-season figure in Big Ten history and a school record.

Zak is Back
The orchestrator of Northwestern's offense is senior quarterback Zak Kustok (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg). Kustok, who is scheduled to start his 19th straight game at quarterback Friday night at UNLV, developed into one of the nation's most consistent and dangerous signal callers in 2000. Kustok's lowest single-game completion percentage during the regular season was 51.2 percent (21 of 41 at Wisconsin). He has completed 50 percent or more of his pass attempts in 12 consecutive regular-season contests. Kustok completed a career-best 67.5 percent (27 of 40) of pass attempts in the Wildcats' scintillating 54-51 win over Michigan. Including the Wildcats' bowl game versus Nebraska, Kustok has attempted 188 straight passes without being intercepted--the longest streak of his career. Dating to the 1999 season, Kustok has thrown at least one touchdown pass in the Wildcats' last 13 games.

While teammate Damien Anderson (Wilmington, Ill./Wilmington) is making a run at the Heisman Trophy and Doak Walker awards, Kustok is a contender for the Davey O'Brien Award, which honors the nation's top quarterback. According to some national writers and reporters, they also consider Kustok a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate, because of his mastery of running the Wildcat offense. In a recent "What's Hot, What's Not" feature on espn.com, writer Dan Shanoff placed Kustok in the "Hot" column for "Please, give him more pub." With two more touchdown passes, Kustok will climb from seventh to fourth on the Wildcats' all-time TD list. He is also 24 completions shy of the 300 mark for his NU career.

Anderson/Kustok Chasing Autry/Schnur
The quarterback/tailback tandem of Zak Kustok and Damien Anderson are on pace to become the Wildcats' top total offensive duo in school history. Entering the 2001 season, Kustok and Anderson have a combined 7,572 yards in total offense. During the middle 1990s, when Northwestern captured two Big Ten crowns, quarterback Steve Schnur and tailback Darnell Autry combined for 9,335 yards-tops by a Northwestern duo. Kustok presently ranks seventh all-time in NU total offense with 3,844 yards while Anderson is ninth with 3,728 yards. Len Williams holds NU's career record with 8,029 yards.

Simmons Leads a Long List of Talented Receivers
Led by senior Sam Simmons (Kansas City, Kan./F.L. Schlagle), Northwestern has the potential to field one of its deepest units of wide receivers since Randy Walker took over as the Wildcats' head coach in 1999. Simmons, who has been plagued with injuries the past two seasons, especially in 1999, is NU's top threat at wide receiver and also a skilled special teams returner. Other experienced wideouts who return include junior Jon Schweighardt (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton-Warrenville South) and sophomore Kunle Patrick (Brooklyn, N.Y./Poly Prep Country Day). Simmons, Schweighardt and Patrick were the Wildcats' top one, two and three receivers with 38, 35 and 34 receptions, respectively.

In The Trenches
Generally regarded as one of the top units nationally, Northwestern's offensive line is anchored by a veteran group that features four players who picked up preseason honors: right guard Jeff Roehl (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg), center Austin King (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian), left guard Lance Clelland (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh) and left tackle Leon Brockmeier (Tallahassee, Fla./Lincoln). Right tackle Mike Souza (Kaneohe, Hawaii/Punahou) is the other returnee and he owns 27 career starts. In a number of preseason publications, the Wildcats' offensive line was ranked among the top 10 units nationally. According to The Sporting News and Lindy's the offensive line is rated as the third-best group in the country.

Leaning On The Linebackers
The inconsistencies in Northwestern's 2000 defense are well documented. The Wildcats gave up 400 points last year and 427.1 yards per game. If the Wildcats are going to improve their defensive numbers this year, the upgrade will start with NU's linebacking corps. Seniors Kevin Bentley (North Hills, Calif./Montclair Prep) and Billy Silva (San Diego, Calif./St. Augustine), along with Napoleon Harris (Dixmoor, Ill./Thornton Township) are NU's veteran defensive players. Silva will man the middle linebacker spot while Bentley plays one of the outside 'backer positions. Harris, however, is expected to move to a defensive end position and help shore up the Wildcats' defensive line. Replacing Harris at his outside linebacker spot is junior Pat Durr (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles). Also expected to help out at outside 'backer is redshirt freshman Dan Pohlman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington).

Walker's 1,000-Yard Rushers
Once a running back, always a running back. Northwestern head coach Randy Walker, a former standout running back at Miami University, prides himself on coaching great running backs. Not many coaches can claim this amazing stat: In 29 seasons, Walker has coached a running back to a 1,000-yard season 21 times. Walker coached the top two rushers in Miami history, Travis Prentice and Deland McCullough, and two times at North Carolina he tutored two running backs to 1,000-yard seasons in the same year (Kelvin Bryant and Amos Lawrence in 1980 and Tyrone Anthony and Ethan Horton in 1983). Last year, Walker, along with running backs coach Jeff Genyk, mentored Damien Anderson to the first 2,000-yard season in Northwestern football history.

Three Crowns in Six Years
After waiting 47 years to claim its first Big Ten championship in 1995, the Wildcats have now totaled three conference crowns in the past six years. Only Michigan can equal that accomplishment, having won titles in 1997, '98 and 2000. Northwestern won Big Ten crowns in 1995, '96 and 2000. During this stretch, Northwestern has won more Big Ten championships than traditional powers Ohio State and Penn State combined.

Who They Don't Play
Northwestern does not play Michigan and Wisconsin this year, but picked up Ohio State and Penn State in their place. The other Big Ten schools and who is off the respective schedules: Illinois-Iowa & Michigan State, Indiana-Minnesota & Michigan, Iowa-Ohio State & Illinois, Michigan-Northwestern & Indiana, Michigan State-Ohio State & Illinois, Minnesota-Indiana & Penn State, Ohio State-Michigan State & Iowa, Penn State-Minnesota & Purdue, Purdue-Penn State & Wisconsin, Wisconsin-Northwestern & Purdue.

USA Today Academic Achievement Awards
USA Today announced its first Academic Achievement Awards and Northwestern finished second in the Division I category and tied for first (with Duke) for Division I-A football schools. The Wildcat student-athletes had a graduation rate of 90 percent in the newspapers' survey.

Northwestern Ranks 22nd Among Division I Athletic Programs According to TSN
In The Sporting News' most recent survey of Division I-A athletic programs, Northwestern ranked 22nd in the publication's annual poll. TSN "graded" college programs in four categories: 1) Do we win? 2) Do we rock? 3) Do we play fair? and 4) Do we graduate?

'Cat Tails ...
* UNLV head coach John Robinson was the head mentor at USC when it met Northwestern in the 1996 Rose Bowl. USC defeated Northwestern 41-32.
* Wide receiver Jason Wright (Diamond Bar, Calif./Diamond Bar) sang "His Eye Is On the Sparrow" at Rashidi Wheeler's memorial service and funeral last month.
* Running backs Kevin Lawrence and Gilles Lezi both hail from Quebec. Lawrence, a backup tailback, is from Montreal and Lezi, the starting fullback, is from Laval.

Up Next
The Wildcats return to Evanston to entertain the U.S. Naval Academy in their home opener at noon, Sept. 15.

Northwestern University Athletics

Northwestern University Athletics

No. 16 Wildcats Head to the Desert To Tackle UNLV

Related News

Related Videos