Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Minnesota
Furious Fourth-Quarter Rally By Wildcats Comes Up Short
10/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct 10, 2002
MINNEAPOLIS - Down 45-21 early in the fourth quarter, Northwestern staged a valiant comeback, only to fall short, 45-42, Thursday night at Minnesota. If the Wildcats had won, it would have been their fourth straight victory at the Metrodome -- all on Gopher homecoming weekends.
After Minnesota's Dan Nystrom kicked a 37-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter for a 45-21 lead, it appeared that the Gophers would cruise to their second straight Big Ten victory. But the Wildcats had different ideas.
After Jon Schweighardt hauled in a 34-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Brett Basanez with 13:37 remaining, the Minnesota and Northwestern faithful couldn't help but think about what the Wildcats did to the Gophers two years ago -- their memorable last-second 41-35 come-from-behind victory.
A fumble and fourth-down stand by the Wildcat defense got the ball back in the hands of the offense and Basanez directed touchdown drives of 71 and 43 yards to help narrow the margin to three points with 4:12 remaining. Unfortunately, NU's defense could not make a third straight stop and the Golden Gophers ran out the final four-plus minutes to hold on and defeat the Wildcats for just the second time in seven meetings.
"I was proud of our valiant comeback, but overall I was extremely disappointed with our performance," said NU Coach Randy Walker. "We made some big mistakes out there tonight -- things you can't do against a good football team. We have to get more consistent play from our special teams."
The Gophers began the game with an onside kick, which they recovered. Five plays later, Terry Jackson scooted five yards into the end zone for a 7-0 lead. Late in the first half, with the game tied at 21-21, U of M's Jermaine Mays blocked Brian Huffman's punt attempt and ran the ball nine yards into the end zone for seven points. A low snap on the punt play contributed to Mays' block.
Northwestern totaled 306 rushing yards, its best rushing day since a 315-yard effort against Illinois on Nov. 18, 2000, but it was not enough to overcome a strong rushing performance by Minnesota's Terry Jackson II and Thomas Tapeh, who combined for 415 yards rushing.
Jackson ran for 239 yards on 37 carries and two touchdowns -- his first career multiple-touchdown game. The sophomore running back's second score, a 2-yard run with 6:06 left in the third quarter, gave the Gophers (6-1, 2-1 Big Ten) a 21-point lead.
He scored on a 39-yard run on Minnesota's next drive to help set up a 37-yard field goal by Dan Nystrom that made it 45-21.
Northwestern (2-5, 0-2) was paced by Jason Wright, who recorded his fourth 100-yard rushing game in his last five outings with a 148-yard night on 21 carries. He scored two touchdowns and added 31 receiving yards and 63 kickoff return yards. Noah Herron ran for 87 yards and a pair of TDs on nine carries. He and Wright now have six TDs apiece, which lead the team.
Tapeh finished with 176 yards and one touchdown. Kamrath, who in August took the first snap of the season for Minnesota on a trick play, started in place of quarterback Asad Abdul-Khaliq, who had been bothered by a sore ankle this week.
Kamrath was 6-of-9 and threw two TDs.
Basanez was 21-of-35 for 216 yards, 144 in the first half. He threw for one touchdown and ran for another. He also scored on a two-point conversion run.
Northwestern returns to action when it travels to nationally ranked Penn State next Saturday, Oct. 19. Kickoff is set for noon EDT. The game will be televised by ESPN2.
