Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Illinois
Wildcats Run Over Illini In Season Finale, 37-20
11/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov 22, 2003
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Jason Wright saved his best for last. The senior, who had been slowed the past three weeks with a sore ankle, ran for 251 yards and four touchdowns to lead Northwestern to a 37-20 victory over Illinois Saturday in the season finale for both teams.
Noah Herron also carried for 163 yards as the Wildcats turned entirely to their running game in the second half. Quarterback Brett Basanez's only pass attempt after halftime was nullified by an Illinois penalty.
The win makes Northwestern (6-6, 4-4 Big Ten) eligible for their first bowl game since 2000. The Wildcats will need the Big Ten to send two teams to the Bowl Championship Series bowls in order to open up a spot in a Big Ten-affiliated bowl, most likely the Dec. 26 Motor City Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit. The four BCS bowls will announce their pairings Sunday, Dec. 7 on ESPN.
"Bowl game or not, I can't say enough great things about the way this team responded this year," said head coach Randy Walker. "Our seniors, although not large in numbers, were very special. They played a major role in getting our program back on the right track."
Illinois (1-11, 0-8) lost its 10th game in a row to end its worst season since going 0-11 in 1997, coach Ron Turner's first season.
Northwestern trailed at halftime 13-7, but took over in the third quarter behind Wright and Herron. The two carried the ball for 154 yards on the next two drives as the Wildcats grabbed a 20-13 lead.
Brian Huffman kicked a 38-yard field goal and Marvin Ward returned an interception 69 yards for Northwestern's other scores. Basanez was 3-of-9 for 24 yards.
The Illini scored the game's first points when John Gockman kicked a 37-yard field goal to cap a 59-yard drive with 8:25 left in the first quarter. It was the first time in nine games that Illinois scored first.
On the next drive, faced with third-and-22, Basanez tried a pass to the right flat, but Illini safety Travis Williams stepped in front of the Wildcats' Roger Jordan to intercept and ran 32 yards for a touchdown. The Illini scored twice within 1:01 for a 10-0 lead, their biggest lead since the second game of the season when they beat Illinois State 49-22.
But Northwestern got things together on the next drive, handing the ball to Wright four times on a seven-play drive. Wright carried for 55 of the 59 yards on the drive, scoring the touchdown on a 1-yard run.
Illinois' offense stalled under Dustin Ward, who left early in the third quarter after hitting 14 of 27 attempts for only 93 yards and three interceptions. Freshman Chris Pazan replaced him and finished 18 of 28 for 188 yards.
Fullback Carey Davis rushed for 51 yards and 10 passes for 44 yards for
Illinois. E.B. Halsey ran for 49 yards on 15 carries and scored a touchdown.
(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)
NORTHWESTERN vs. ILLINOIS
Post-Game Notes
Nov. 22, 2003
* With the victory, Northwestern improved to 6-6 overall and 4-4 in the Big Ten. It is fourth time since 1995 that the Wildcats have won six or more games. Northwestern finished the Big Ten season in seventh place (4-4), tied with Wisconsin (4-4).
* Northwestern regained the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk trophy for the first time since the 2000 season with the win over Illinois. Since the advent of the trophy game in 1945, Illinois now leads the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk rivalry 31-24-2. Overall, since the all-time series began in 1882, Illinois holds a 51-41-5 advantage in the series. NU has won five of the last nine meetings vs. Illinois and three of the last five at Memorial Stadium.
* Northwestern won its fourth road game of the year to finish 4-2 away from Ryan Field. The last time the Wildcats won four road games was 1996, when NU was 9-3 and won a share of the Big Ten championship.
* Receiver Kunle Patrick extended the nation's longest consecutive reception string to 46 games with a catch on Northwestern's first offensive play of the game. His streak, which began in his second collegiate game vs. Duke in 2000, is one shy of the NCAA Division I-A career record, held by USC's Kareem Kelly and set in 2002.
* Jason Wright ran for a career-high 251 yards on a career-high 42 carries. He also scored four rushing touchdowns, equaling his own personal best (fourth time he has rushed for four TD's) and NU's single-game record (held by several players). His 251-yard performance was the fifth-best single-game rushing effort in Northwestern history. (Mike Adamle owns NU's single-game record with 316 yards.)
* With his 251 yards, Wright passed the 1,000-yard mark (1,151 yards) and became only the third player in Northwestern history to record two 1,000-yard rushing seasons. (Damien Anderson and Darnell Autry were the other two NU players.)
* Running back Noah Herron also rambled past the 100-yard mark, rushing for 163 yards, the second-best total of his career (he ran for 180 yards vs. Penn State on Nov. 8). Herron averaged 9.6 yards per carry.
* Herron and Wright combined for 414 rushing yards, the best one-two rushing effort in school history. It was the second time this season that the duo had rushed for 100 or more yards each in a single game (Duke was the other).
* As a team, Northwestern ran for 444 yards, its best single-game rushing figure since a 417-yard effort vs. Indiana on Oct. 7, 2000. The Wildcats fell 24 yards shy of their school record (468), set in 1961 vs. Boston College.
* Safety Bryan Heinz and cornerback Marvin Ward each had a career-best two interceptions. It was the first time that Northwestern had a player record multiple interceptions since Raheem Covington picked off a pair of passes at Michigan State on Sept. 28, 2002. Ward's second interception went for a 69-yard return for TD--NU's first defensive touchdown of the year.
* Heinz finished the game with a career-high 15 tackles after registering a previous career-best 9 versus Michigan last week.
* Northwestern rushed a season-most 70 times against the Illini. In the second half, NU did not attempt one pass (officially) and ran the ball 41 times. NU's all-time record for single-game rushes is 77.
* Receiver Brandon Horn failed to make a catch, but he did pick up two important first downs on reverse rushes. One of the plays went for a career-long and game-long 42 yards. Both rushing plays came on scoring drives--one a field goal and the other a touchdown.
* NU is 6-1 this season when rushing for 190 or more yards per game.
* NU closed the year by winning four of its last six games--all against Big Ten competition.
* After losing the turnover battle the past four games (NU was -9 in turnover margin since Wisconsin), the Wildcats forced six Illinois turnovers and finished +4 for the game.
* Northwestern finished the game with 26 first downs, all of which came via the rush.
