No. 22 Wildcats Drop 21-19 Road Decision to Hoosiers

Saturday, October 25

Bloomington, Ind.

11:00 AM

Northwestern

6-2 , 2-2

Indiana

3-5 , 1-4

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Northwestern	3	6	10	0	19
Indiana	7	7	7	0	21

RB Tyrell Sutton scores on a 1-yard run as C.J. Bacher signals the touchdown. (AP Photo/Tom Strattman)

No. 22 Wildcats Drop 21-19 Road Decision to Hoosiers

10/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score

Oct. 25, 2008

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Northwestern quarterback C.J. Bachér compiled 219 total yards of offense, including a career-best 64 yards on the ground, and one rushing touchdown at Indiana Saturday, but five NU turnovers doomed the 'Cats and spurred IU to a 21-19 win. Senior tailback Tyrell Sutton ran for 77 yards and a score for No. 22 Northwestern (6-2, 2-2), who lost for the second time in three games after a 5-0 start.

For the Hoosiers, quarterback Ben Chappell racked up 219 yards with one touchdown through the air and rushed for another score, while receiver Tandon Doss finished with eight catches for 107 yards and a TD. Damarlo Belcher caught six passes for 82 yards and a score to help Indiana (3-5, 1-4 Big Ten) knock off Northwestern for the first time since 2001.

Indiana managed the victory despite converting just 5-of-17 third-down attempts while Northwestern was successful on 10-of-19 third-down plays. NU senior defensive tackle John Gill recorded a career-best 3.0 tackles for loss that covered 21 yards, including 2.0 sacks for 19 yards. Senior safety Brad Phillips led all Wildcats with eight stops on the day.

Northwestern got off to a strong start on its first drive of the game with Bachér completing 5-of-7 passes and Sutton rushing the ball eight times for 34 yards as NU moved the ball 90 yards down the field on 20 total plays. Senior placekicker Amado Villarreal capped off the drive with a 25-yard field goal to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead.

Indiana answered with a 43-yard play-action scoring strike from Chappell to Belcher to take a 7-3 lead. The TD was set up by punter Chris Hagerup's 17-yard run after a high snap forced him to take off running on a fourth-and-six situation.

The Wildcats regained a 9-7 advantage with five minutes left in the second quarter on Sutton's 1-yard scoring run. It was Sutton's 37th career touchdown, leaving him just one shy of the school's all-time mark for end zone appearances. Northwestern, which missed the extra point, had kicked a short field goal on fourth down, but a personal foul on Indiana gave the Wildcats a fresh set of downs inside the 10.

Indiana managed to score again before halftime after recovering a Sutton fumble on Northwestern's 34-yard line. Chappell found the end zone on a 3-yard keeper to put Indiana ahead 14-9 at the break.

Indiana used some trickery to extend its lead to 21-12 in the third quarter. On second-and-three, running back Marcus Thigpen handed the ball to receiver Mitchell Evans before Evans completed a 28-yard pass to Doss for the score.

Bachér closed the gap later in the third quarter. After being flushed out of the pocket to his left, he took off for the corner of the end zone, lowered his shoulder and collided with an IU defender on his way across the goal line to bring Northwestern to within two.

Following a Bachér interception--a play on which he suffered a leg injury-- and a defensive stop, NU had a final chance to take the lead with the ball on its own 20 with 2:10 left in the game.

Following a 9-yard pass completion from quarterback Mike Kafka to Rasheed Ward, however, Kafka fumbled the ball for a loss of 24 yards after a hit by Indiana's Jammie Kirlew. On the next play, Kafka was hit in the process of throwing and fumbled again, with the Hoosiers' Chris Adkins scooping up the ball with 1:34 remaining.

Indiana quarterback Kellen Lewis missed his second straight game with a high ankle sprain.

Next week, Northwestern is on the road again to take on Minnesota at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.