Oct. 13, 2007
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2007 Northwestern Football
Minnesota vs. Northwestern
October 13, 2007
Ryan Field, Evanston, Ill.
Northwestern Post-Game Notes
Northwestern won its second straight game and climbed to 4-3 overall, 2-2 in the Big Ten. The Wildcats also stopped a three-game series losing streak to Minnesota, recording their first win over the Gophers since 2001. NU now has won five of the last nine vs. Minnesota.
The 21-point comeback is NU's best since overcoming the identical deficit and score (35-14) against Minnesota in the 2000 season. NU won that game 41-35 on the final play of regulation.
For just the second time in Pat Fitzgerald's career, the Wildcats won a game after trailing at halftime. NU is now 2-9 in games when trailing at the break.
NU improved its all-time overtime record to 8-1. Against Big Ten teams, the Wildcats are a perfect 7-0 in extra sessions. Northwestern is 4-0 at home in overtime games. Northwestern also played back-to-back OT games for the first time since 2004 when it recorded successive wins over Ohio State and Indiana. Northwestern defeated Michigan State last week 48-41 in OT.
Northwestern scored 40 or more points in back-to-back games for the first time since 2000 when NU had 41 vs. Minnesota (Oct. 28) and 54 vs. Michigan (Nov. 4). It is the first time in NU history that the Wildcats have scored 48 or more points in successive games in the same season. NU did score 53 (vs. Illinois) in the final game of 1943 and 62 (vs. DePauw) in the first game of 1944.
Northwestern and Minnesota combined for 1,169 total yards and 811 passing yards.
In the last two games, Northwestern has totaled: 97 points, 57 first downs, 990 passing yards, 1,200 yards total offense, completed 79-of-108 passes and thrown 9 TD passes with no interceptions
QB C.J. Bachér, who became the fourth different player in NU history to surpass the 400-yard mark for passing yardage last week, followed up his school-record 520-yard performance against MSU with 470 yards today. The 470-yard effort is the third-best in school history behind his 520 yards (vs. MSU) and Brett Basanez's 513-yard day against TCU (2004). Bachér's 990 yards in back-to-back games is the second-best total by a Big Ten quarterback. Purdue's Drew Brees totaled 1,016 yards against Minnesota and Wisconsin (522-494) on Oct. 3 and 10, 1998. Before today, Bachér ranked second in the Big Ten with 294.5 passing ypg.
Bachér, the reigning Walter Camp National Offensive and Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, had 21 completions in 30 attempts for 266 yards in the first half.
In the past two weeks, Bachér has thrown nine touchdown passes and no interceptions.
Bachér set career marks today with 41 completions and 58 attempts. He has thrown for 200 or more yards in all but one of his 12 career starts.
Bachér occupies the No. 3 (525 yards last week vs. MSU) and No. 5 (491 yards today) spots now on the all-time Northwestern single game total offense list. He ranks first (520 last week vs. MSU) and third (470 today) in Wildcat single-game passing yardage. Before today, Bachér ranked second in the Big Ten with 302.5 ypg total offense.
For the second straight week, Bachér connected with 10 different receivers.
Bachér needed just two yards to surpass the 3,000-yard mark for career passing yardage, and he easily moved past that milestone today. He currently stands 11th on NU's all-time list 3,468 career passing yards.
In 12 career starts, Bachér has thrown 19 touchdown passes. He has a 6-6 record as NU's starting QB.
For the season, C.J. Bachér has 2,237 passing yards (seventh-best for a season at NU) and 13 TD passes (tied for seventh best on NU's single-season list). Bachér is averaging 319.6 yards per game after seven games.
Northwestern's offensive line has yielded just one sack (vs. Michigan State) in its last two games after allowing 16 in its first five games.
WR Eric Peterman caught a career-high 12 receptions, seven of which came in the first half. Peterman's previous high single-game catch total was nine against Michigan State last week. Peterman's 12-reception day ties for eighth-best all-time among NU players.
In the last two weeks, Peterman has totaled 255 reception yards and 2 TD catches. He is the first NU player to notch back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since Mark Philmore had 139 yards against Michigan and 123 against Iowa in 2005.
For the second straight week, NU had a pair of players with 100-yard receiving games: Eric Peterman (114 yards) and WR Ross Lane (108 yards).
Peterman, WR Rasheed Ward and WR Kim Thompson each have at least one reception in all seven games this season.
RB Brandon Roberson's 47-yard pass reception in the first quarter is a career long.
RB Omar Conteh's 51-yard reception is the second-longest of his career, following a 52-yard catch against Michigan State last week. In his fourth straight start in relief of injured RB Tyrell Sutton, Conteh gained 81 yards on the ground, his second highest single-game total in his career.
WR Ross Lane, who was second on the team today with nine receptions, caught his team-leading fifth and six TD passes for the season. The six TD's puts him in a six-way tie for ninth place on NU's single-season TD reception list. D'Wayne Bates holds NU's single-season mark with 12 TD's (1996).
LB Adam Kadela registered a career-high 15 tackles today to increase his team-leading total to 70 this year. He has 241 stops in his career.
LB Malcolm Arrington notched his first career interception, a momentum-changing takeaway late in the third quarter, which led to NU's first TD of the second half.
DE Corey Wootton recorded his third career interception in the second half.
Northwestern won its first game of the season when committing a turnover. The Wildcats had won their first three games of the year with no miscues. NU now has one turnover in its four wins, 10 turnovers in its three losses.
Of his five punts today (43.8 yard average), P Stefan Demos landed three inside the 20-yard line.
Minnesota Post-Game Notes
Minnesota Series/Specialty Notes
Today's game was Tim Brewster's seventh as a collegiate head coach and third on the road. It was the first meeting between former All-Big Ten performers Brewster and Northwestern second-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald.
Saturday was the first meeting between Northwestern and Minnesota since 2004, thanks to the Big Ten's rotating schedule.
Today's game was the 82nd match-up between the two programs. Minnesota leads the all-time series 48-29-5, including 22-17-2 vs. the Wildcats in Evanston. The Gophers lost for the first time in four games vs. the Wildcats, with their last loss coming in 2001.
Prior to Saturday's game, the Gophers and Wildcats had never played an overtime contest.
The Gophers have scored at least 42 points in their last four meetings with Northwestern, going 3-1 in those games.
Minnesota's all-time overtime record is now 2-6, including 1-4 in Big Ten play. Their last OT win came in double overtime vs. Purdue Sept. 24, 2005 by a score of 42-35.
The Golden Gophers now hold an all-time record 627-445-44. The 2007 campaign marks the 124th season of Minnesota football.
Minnesota offensive coordinator Mike Dunbar coached at Northwestern from 2001-2005.
Minnesota is now 316-337-28 all-time in Big Ten play.
Minnesota Team Notes
The Golden Gophers have now played in three overtime contests this season, with their first two games of the year (Bowling Green and Miami of Ohio) also going into OT.
Saturday was the eighth overtime contest in Minnesota history. The Gophers have never won an overtime game in single overtime - they are now 2-6 in overtime games overall.
Minnesota lost for the second time in six games when kicking off before noon (CDT). Each of Minnesota's games during its 2006 season-ending three-game win streak kicked off at 11 a.m. CT.
With zero sacks surrendered Saturday, Minnesota's offensive line has now allowed two or fewer sacks in its past 13 games. The Gophers have allowed just 70 sacks since the beginning of the 2002 season and have ranked first or second in the Big Ten in that category each year during that span.
Entering play Saturday, Minnesota had yielded just five sacks in six games to rank 10th nationally in fewest sacks allowed (0.8 per game). That was the lowest total in the Big Ten.
Eight different Gophers caught passes Saturday, a feat the team also accomplished vs. Purdue on Sept. 22.
The Gophers' two touchdowns in the final 2:50 of the first half Saturday were the team's quickest back-to-back scoring drives of the season.
Minnesota scored 21 points in the second quarter, the team's highest total of any quarter so far this season.
The Gophers have now scored 30 or more points in eight of their last 10 games, including five of seven in 2007. They've reached that mark in 35 of their past 56 games.
Minnesota notched over 40 points for this first time this year and has done so 21 times since 2003. 48 points was the most the Gophers have scored since beating Indiana 63-26 last Nov. 4.
The Gophers have at least one rushing touchdown in 55 of their past 61 games.
The Gophers tallied 239 yards rushing and 341 passing yards Saturday, keeping them on pace to gain over 2,000 yard through both the air and on the ground for the ninth straight season. Minnesota is the only team to have accomplished that feat over the past eight years (1999-2006).
With 580 yards of total offense against the Wildcats, the Gophers have gained more than 300 yards in total offense in nine of their past 10 games and 53 of its past 58.
The 580 total offensive yards was the most for Minnesota this season marked the second time the Gophers topped 500 this season. They gained 577 yards vs. Miami (Ohio) Sept. 8.
Minnesota Individual Notes
- With a career-high five passing touchdowns in Evanston Saturday, freshman QB Adam Weber now has 18 for the 2007 season. He is just five touchdowns away from breaking Bryan Cupito's single-season mark, set last year.
- Weber's 430 yards of total offense Saturday was the second highest mark ever for a Gopher in a single game. Time Schade had 530 yards of total offense vs. Penn State 9/4/93.
- Five touchdowns is also the second-highest single-game total in Minnesota history; Mike Hohensee accomplished the feat twice during the 1981 season. Scott Eckers threw for six TDs vs. Purdue on 10/9/93.
- Weber's 18 TD passes is already the fifth-highest single-season total in Gopher history. Corey Sauter also had 18 touchdowns in 1999.
- Weber has eclipsed 300 yards passing twice this season (he had 412 at Florida Atlantic).
- His 25 completions Saturday gives Weber 171 for the season, the 10th highest single-season mark by a Gopher.
- Weber now has 2,295 total offensive yards this season. That's already the 12th highest single season total in program history.
- Weber has now thrown a touchdown pass in the first seven games of his Gopher career. He already holds the Gopher freshman marks for touchdowns (18), completions (171) and passing yards (1,884).
- Weber has connected with six different receivers for touchdown catches this season. Five different Gophers caught touchdowns during all of 2006.
- Weber's 32-yard rush in the third quarter was a career-long.
- Jay Thomas had a career-high 22 rushes and 100 yards on the ground.
- Amir Pinnix's 9-yard touchdown scamper at the end of the first half was his team-leading fourth of the 2007 season and the 17th of his career. Pinnix now is just one touchdown behind Gary Russell and Sandy Stephen for 15th on the program's all-time leaderboard.
- Pinnix also collected 56 rushing yards Saturday, giving him 2,401 for his career and moving him past Garry White (1977-80) for sole possession of eighth place in Gopher history.
- Eric Decker's second quarter touchdown gives him six TD receptions this season. He has scored in five of the Gophers' seven games in 2006.
- Decker's 16-yard punt return late in the first quarter was the longest of the season for Minnesota, their first 15+ yard return of the year.
- Freshman Ralph Spry had a season-high five catches.
- Sophomore defensive end Derek Onwuachi received his first career start Saturday in place of Wille VanDeSteeg. VanDeSteeg had started 18 straight games dating back to the start of the 2006 season.
- Marcus Sherels' 35-yard kickoff return in the first quarter was the first of his career and the fourth-longest of the season for Minnesota.
- Marcus Sherels recorded the first touchdown catch of his career in the second quarter. It came on just his second career reception; Sherels is the sixth different Gopher to catch a touchdown pass this season.
- Tight end Jack Simmons hauled down a 37-yard pass from Weber on the Gophers' second quarter scoring drive. It was his longest reception of 2007 and just one yard short of a career high (38 yards vs. Texas Tech in the 2007 Insight Bowl).
- Weber's 60-yard connection with Trey Herndon in the second quarter was the longest play from scrimmage for the Gophers this season and also a career-long for Herndon (his previous long was 24 yards). It was the school's longest play from scrimmage since Ernie Wheelwright caught a 64-yard touchdown against Iowa (11/18) last season.
- Saturday was the first three-touchdown performance of Wheelwright's career. He now has three multiple touchdown games this season and six for his career.
- Wheelwright has now collected catches in 40 of 44 career games and has 129 during his time as a Golden Gopher and has at least five in five straight contests. He has tied Omar Douglas for sixth all-time in Gopher history.
- Saturday was the second straight 100+ yard receiving game for Wheelwright (he had 101 vs. Indiana last week). He now has five 100-yard receiving games for his career, tying him for the sixth-highest total in Gopher history.
- Wheelwright now has a career-high eight touchdowns this season, which ties Aaron Hosack (2003) for the sixth-highest single-game total in Gopher history. Wheelwright had seven in 2004.
- Wheelwright ranks second all-time on Minnesota's career leaderboard in touchdown catches with 25. His 1,3004 career receiving yards moves him ahead of Jared Ellerson for sole possession of fourth place all-time.
- Deon Hightower tied a career-high with 10 tackles on Saturday, including two for a loss. He also forced the his second fumble of the season (he has four for his career).
- Dom Barber had a game-high 11 tackles and recovered his second fumble as a Gopher (first this year). It was Minnesota's third fumble recovery of the season.
