Dec. 30, 2005
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Northwestern (No. 25 BCS) vs. UCLA (No. 16 BCS)
72nd Vitalis Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, Texas
Dec. 30, 2005
With the loss, Northwestern finishes the season 7-5 overall. This was the Wildcats' sixth bowl appearance, and fifth since the 1995 season. Northwestern and UCLA played the game in front of 50,139 fans, although the game was officially deemed a sellout (50.426) as Helen of Troy CEO Gerald J. Rubin purchased the remaining 287 tickets to make the game a second consecutive sellout. Today's attendance ranks as the fourth largest crowd in Sun Bowl history.
This was the sixth meeting between the two schools, and the first since 1970. UCLA has won the last three meetings and the series is now tied 3-3.
Thanks to two defensive touchdowns, Northwestern set a Sun Bowl record with 22 first-quarter points. The previous mark was 21, set by Texas against Maryland in 1978. NU and UCLA also combined for 29 first-quarter points to set a Sun Bowl mark for most combined first-quarter points. The previous mark was also Texas (21) vs. Maryland (0) in 1978. Northwestern (22) and UCLA (29) combined for 51 first-half points to set a new Sun Bowl record, eclipsing the mark of 41 set by UTEP (34) and Florida State (7) in the first half of the 1955 Sun Bowl.
Northwestern (50) and UCLA (38) set a Sun Bowl record for combined points (88). The previous record was 68, set in 1987 (Oklahoma State vs. West Virginia).
Northwestern set a Sun Bowl record for total yards in a game (584), surpassing the previous mark of 530 (Pittsburgh, 1989). NU also set a Sun Bowl record for first downs (33).
With his Sun Bowl-record 448 yards of total offense, Northwestern QB Brett Basanez concluded his record-setting 2005 campaign with single-season school marks for passing yards (3,622), total offense (4,027), completions (314) and passing TD's (21). His 314 completions are the fourth-most by a Big Ten player and his 4,027 yards of total offense are the third most (behind Drew Brees, who had 4,189 in 2000 and 4,176 in 1998). His 416 passing yards, the second-most in a Sun Bowl game, were the sixth-most in a single game at NU and the third-best of his career (531 vs. TCU, 2004, and 463 vs. Purdue, 2005). His 448 yards of total offense was the fourth-best single-game total at NU.
Basanez closes his NU career with 30 school records. He set the single-season passing TD mark today and finished with 44 career TD passes, equaling the NU mark. Basanez came up four rushing yards short of becoming the first QB in NCAA Division I-A history to total 10,000 career passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards.
Basanez, the Big Ten's consensus first-team all-conference quarterback, made his 46th career start today, the last 40 in succession.
An update on Basanez's career numbers and where he stands on the Big Ten and NCAA's all-time lists:
913 pass completions (first on NU list; second on Big Ten list-113 behind Drew Brees, Purdue)
1,584 pass attempts (first on NU list; second on Big Ten list-94 behind Drew Brees, Purdue)
10,580 passing yards (first on NU list; second on Big Ten list-1,212 yards behind Drew Brees, Purdue)
11,576 total offense yards (first on NU list; second on Big Ten list-1,116 yards behind Drew Brees, Purdue)
1,975 offensive plays (first on NU list; first on Big Ten list)
| NCAA Career Total Offense | NCAA Career Passing Yards |
| 11. David Neil (1998-2001, Nevada) | 11,664 | 25. Kevin Sweeney (1982-86, Fresno State) | 10,623 |
| 12. Gino Guidugli (2001-04, Cincinnati) | 11,661 | 26. Andrew Walter (2001-04, Arizona State) | 10,617 |
| 13. Brett Basanez (2002-05, Northwestern) | 11,576 | 27. Brett Basanez (2002-05, Northwestern) | 10,580 |
| 14. Charlie Frye (2001-04, Akron) | 11,478 | 28. Doug Flutie (1981-84, Boston College) | 10,579 |
| 15. Antwaan Randle El (1998-2001, Indiana) | 11,364 | 29. Steve Stenstrom (1991-94, Stanford) | 10,531 |
NOTE: Matt Leinart enters his final collegiate game with 10,328 yards
In 2005, Basanez threw 21 TD passes and rushed for 7, giving him 28 total TD's, second behind Zak Kustok's 31 (20 passing, 11 rushing) in 2000. Basanez finishes with 62 total career TD's (44 passing, 18 rushing), second only to Kustok's 64 (42 passing, 22 rushing).
WR T.J. Jones, who missed much of the season with a broken jaw, started his first game of 2005. He caught his first pass of the year on a 16-yard play in the second quarter-a play that was initially ruled out-of-bounds and overturned with the first instant replay review of the game.
The Wildcats equaled their single-season record for interceptions (20) by picking off UCLA QB Drew Olson three times-all three in the game's first quarter when Northwestern scored 22 points. Northwestern totaled 20 interceptions in 1948. Olson came into the game with just three interceptions in his first 11 games.
For the fifth time this season, Northwestern forced four turnovers in a game. The Wildcats came into the contest ranked 20th nationally in takeaways. Northwestern finished the season with 30 takeaways, just three shy of the school mark (33) set in 1995.
Northwestern DE Kevin Mims, named the Sun Bowl's Jimmy Rogers Jr. Lineman of the Game, was one of two NU defenders to score touchdowns on the day. Mims picked off a Drew Olson pass and went 30 yards for his first collegiate score. Later in the first quarter, LB Nick Roach scored his first collegiate TD on a 35-yard interception return.
WR Ross Lane finished the game with a career-high seven receptions for a personal-best 136 receiving yards. He caught a career-long 45-yard pass on the next-to-last play of the second quarter.
Senior WR Mark Philmore, who had seven receptions for 45 yards and a TD, caught a pass in all 40 career games played. He finishes fourth on NU's all-time receptions list with 163 catches. Philmore also climbed to fifth place on NU's receiving yardage list and closes with 1,768 career yards.
Senior LB Tim McGarigle upped his NU-career-leading tackle total to 545 with his 17 tackles today. McGarigle entered the bowl season as the nation's sixth-leading tackler. It was the 29th time in his career he recorded a double-figure tackle total.
RB Tyrell Sutton totaled 84 rushing yards and 67 receiving yards for 151 total yards. His 67 receiving yards are the second-most in a game by the NU freshman. Sutton, the national Offensive Freshman of the Year by The Sporting News and several other media outlets, finishes his rookie season with 1,474 yards, the third-most rushing yards in a single season.
Sutton's 151 all-purpose yards upped his single-season total to 1,870 yards. He caught seven passes, which upped his single-season total to 44, the second-most in school history for a running back.
WR Shaun Herbert moved into sole possession of fourth place on the Wildcats' single-season reception list with his seven receptions. He closes the year with 79 catches (four behind D'Wayne Bates, 1998, and Ricky Edwards, 1983). He also remained in 10th place on NU's career list with 121 receptions. WR Jonathan Fields closed his career with 110 career receptions, the 11th most in NU history.
Northwestern set seven school bowl records, while Brett Basanez led a number of individuals with school bowl records. Basanez set NU marks for passing yards (416), attempts (70), completions (38) and touchdown passes (tied with 2).
Redshirt freshman PK Amado Villarreal booted his first career field goal today-a 31-yarder in the second half. He also kicked his first career PAT.
Northwestern notched its seventh 500-yard-or-better game of total offense this season with its 584 yards vs. UCLA.
