Sept. 24, 2005
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Northwestern vs. Penn State
September 24, 2005
Ryan Field, Evanston, Ill.
NORTHWESTERN NOTES
With the loss, Northwestern fell to 2-2 overall, 0-1 in the Big Ten. The Wildcats also saw their seven-game home winning streak come to an end, as well as their four-game Big Ten home victory streak.
In the past five Ryan Field meetings between Northwestern and Penn State, the contests have been decided by 11, 3, 3, 10 and 5 points each.
Northwestern has eclipsed the 400-yard mark in total offense in five straight games. The Wildcats gained 427 yards against a Penn State defense that was allowing 276.3 yards per game this season. Northwestern also scored 29 points on PSU-that was the most points scored on the Nittany Lions since the season-ending game of 2003 (15 games ago), a 41-10 loss at Michigan State.
Northwestern rushed for 198 yards. Penn State had been allowing 47.3 yards per game on the ground. Overall, Northwestern gained 427 yards of total offense-the most yards gained against a PSU defense in, again, 15 games. Michigan State totaled 476 yards against Penn State in that 2003 season-ending game.
PK Joel Howells' five field goals is a Northwestern single-game record. Wildcat kickers had booted four in a game four previous times prior to today.
Howells' 46-yard field goal in the fourth quarter equals a career long. He drilled a 46-yard field goal against Hawaii last season.
RB Tyrell Sutton established career highs with 32 rushing attempts and three pass receptions. His 112 rushing yards marked the third time in four games he's topped the 100-yard mark this season. He is now averaging 132.0 rushing yards per game.
In just his fourth game, Sutton set a Northwestern freshman touchdown rushing record with his seventh and eighth TD's, breaking Greg Boykin's 1972 mark of six.
QB Brett Basanez had 21 rushing attempts, the most he has ever totaled in a game. Basanez's previous high was 13, which he accomplished twice. Basanez finished with 54 rushing yards (six yards shy of his career single-game best).
With his start today, Basanez now has an NU-record 38 career starts at quarterback, including 32 in succession. Basanez's interception on the Wildcats' final offensive play ended a string of 143 pass attempts without a pick.
An update on Brett Basanez's career numbers and his school/Big Ten rank:
- 691 pass completions (first on NU list; seventh on Big Ten list-74 behind John Navarre, UM)
- 1,231 pass attempts (first on NU list; seventh on Big Ten list-14 behind Jack Trudeau, ILL)
- 7,984 passing yards (first on NU list; ninth on Big Ten list-738 behind Kurt Kittner, ILL)
- 8,696 total offense yards (first on NU list; 10th on Big Ten list-18 behind Jeff Smoker, MSU)
- 1,555 total offensive plays (first on NU list; fifth on Big Ten list-52 behind Kyle Orton, PUR)
WR Mark Philmore has caught a pass in all 32 career games played.
LB Tim McGarigle's nine tackles give him 434 for his career, moving him into third place on NU's all-time list, passing Ed Sutter. He is 69 tackles shy of NU's career record.
Northwestern's defense notched three interceptions, all of them in the first half. The interceptions for LB Eddie Simpson and LB Adam Kadela were the first of their collegiate careers. CB Marquice Cole notched the third interception, his second of the season. The Wildcats now have five interceptions in four games; last year they totaled eight for the entire season (12 games).
PENN STATE NOTES
This was Penn State's first Big Ten season-opening win since 1999 and the Nittany Lions' first 4-0 start since 1999.
Tony Hunt just missed his second 100-yard rushing day of the season and fourth of his career. Hunt finished with 99 yards on 13 carries for the day.
All five of Penn State's scoring drives on the day lasted less than 3:00. Penn State has now scored in less than 3:00 on 18 of 21 scoring drives on the year and their last 12-straight, encompassing every scoring drive in the last two games.
Michael Robinson completed TD passes of 37 (King) and 26 (Butler) yards in the first half, and 36 yards on the game winner, bringing Penn State's total of TD passes over 20 yards to nine on the year. Penn State posted seven TD passes over 20 yards in the previous two seasons combined.
Michael Robinson's 8-yard TD run in the fourth quarter marked the fourth-straight game with a rushing TD this season (all four PSU games). It also put him over 1,000 yards rushing on his career as he becomes the first player to run and pass for over a 1,000 yards on their career.
Robinson accounted for three touchdowns on the day (3 passing, 1 rushing) and has accounted for three or more touchdowns (running or passing) in each of Penn State's last three games.
Robinson's three interceptions on the day were a career-high and the most by a Penn State quarterback since Zack Mills was intercepted four times in a loss at Boston College in 2004.
Justin King's 43-yard run in the fourth quarter was his third play over 40 yards on the season.
LB Paul Posluszny recorded a career-high 22 tackles on the day, the most by a Penn State player since Ron Crosby had 22 against Ohio in 1974. Posluszny and Crosby are tied for fourth on the all-time Penn State single-game tackle list.
S Calvin Lowry recorded a career-high 12 tackles on the day, the second-straight game in which he has posted a career-high in tackles (8 vs. Central Michigan).
Jason Ganter's forced fumble and recovered fumble on a second quarter kickoff were both the first of his career.
Freshman WR Jordan Norwood recorded a career-high five catches on the day for 83 yards.
Freshman WR Deon Butler's 26-yard TD catch in the 2nd quarter was the fourth of his career (all over 20 yards) and marked the third-straight game in which he has caught a TD pass. He is the first PSU player to record a TD reception in three-straight games since Tony Johnson in 2001.
Penn State overcame its biggest road deficit (16 points) since coming back from a 17-point deficit at Michigan State in 2001.
