Syracuse at Northwestern

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Northwestern Post-Game Notes

Northwestern won the toss and deferred.
With the victory, Northwestern improved to 73-44-4 (.620) in all-time season-opening games, and won its fourth straight opener dating to the 2005 win over Ohio. Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald is now 3-0 all-time in season-opening games, equaling the same NU coaching feat by Lynn "Pappy" Waldorf (1935-37). In the last 14 years, NU is 10-4 in openers.
It was just the second time in the Fitzgerald era that the Wildcats won a game when the opposition scores first. NU is now 2-10 when the opponents score first (the other win came in 2007 against Eastern Michigan).
Northwestern's defense was responsible for scoring nine of the Wildcats' 30 points, getting a first-half safety to open the scoring in 2008 and then getting a key interception for TD (S Brendan Smith) in the third quarter to put NU up 23-10. It was the second straight home game that NU has returned an interception for a score. (LB Eddie Simpson did it against Indiana on Nov. 10, 2007.)
In the second half, NU outgained Syracuse 242 to 68 in total offense. The Wildcats gained 145 of their 242 second-half yards on the ground.
RB Tyrell Sutton totaled a game-high 185 all-purpose yards (144 rushing, 41 receiving) on 25 touches (21 rushes, 4 receptions). He entered the season needing just 4 yards to become the third player in NU history to reach the 3,000-yard mark for career rushing. Sutton now has 3,140 career rushing yards and he remains the Big Ten's active rushing leader. Sutton also climbed over 4,000 yards in career all-purpose yardage and past Jason Wright on NU's all-time list. Sutton is now third in all-time purpose yards with 4,128. (Damien Anderson holds NU's career all-purpose mark with 5,271.)
Sutton's 100-yard rushing day was the 13th of his career.
Sutton scored his 30th career touchdown when he scampered 12 yards on a reception from QB C.J. Bachér. He now has 25 career rushing TD's and 5 career receiving TD's. He ranks seventh on NU's all-time scoring list with 180 points.
C.J. Bachér eclipsed the 200-yard mark for single-game passing yardage for the 17th time in 18 career starts. After throwing an early interception, Bachér came back to finish the game 23-of-35 for 215 yard and three TD's. It was the fifth time in his career he's thrown for three or more TD's in a game.
Bachér climbed over the 5,000-yard mark in career passing yardage and now has 5,102 all-time yards, which remains the seventh-best figure in NU history. (Steve Schnur is sixth with 5,612 yards.)
Bachér now has 29 career passing TD's, which is three shy of Schnur's 32 (fourth place)..
Bachér increased his career total offense mark to 5,143, which is also seventh on NU's all-time list.
True freshman wide receiver Jeremy Ebert, the only first-year player to earn some playing time, scored a touchdown on his first career catch-Bachér's first TD of the game, a 16-yard reception.
Also recording his first career TD was sophomore tight end Josh Rooks, who snared a 2-yard grab from Bachér.
WR's Zeke Markshausen and Sidney Stewart both caught their first collegiate receptions.
Bachér completed passes to 10 different receivers, with junior Andrew Brewer catching a team-high six passes for 48 yards.
Backup RB Omar Conteh added 71 rushing yards (5.9 ypc) on 12 carries.
P Stefan Demos punted six times on the day with all six of his boots landing inside the Syracuse 20-yard line. Demos averaged 32.0 yards per punt, but Syracuse was able to return only one punt for just 4 yards.
RB Stephen Simmons had two kick returns for 63 yards, with one of the returns going for 40 yards.
LB Malcolm Arrington led the Northwestern defense with 10 tackles and a team-best 2 TFL's. NU's defense totaled two sacks-one each by LB Quentin Davie and DE Corey Wootton. Davie totaled a career-best seven tackles.

SYRACUSE NOTES

Last time Syracuse had a kicker as a captain was Nate Trout in 1999. Senior kicker Patrick Shadle is one of the four captains on the 2008 squad.
The following players made their first career start; sophomore G Ryan Bartolomew, sophomore WR Donte Davis, sophomore LB Derrell Smith, sophomore FS Randy McKinnon, senior kickoff specialist Niko Rechul and sophomore DE Jared Kimmel.
The following players made their Orange debut; Cody Catalina (kick return team), redshirt freshman S Kevyn Scott, junior LS Leo Max, senior C Dalton Phillips, redshirt freshman DE Lavar Middleton, freshman CB Dorian Graham, freshman WR Marcus Sales, freshman WR Van Chew and Rechul.
Senior SS A. J. Brown tallied a career best 11 tackles (five solo, six assisted).
Senior FS Paul Chiara recorded a career high five tackles (three solo, two assisted).
Senior DE Vincenzo Giruzzi registered a career best nine tackles (four solo, five assisted).
McKinnon recorded a career high eight tackles (four solo, four assisted).
D. Smith registered his first seven tackles (four solo, three assisted) of his career.
Sophomore DT Anthony Perkins tallied a career best four tackles (two solo, two assisted).
Middleton recorded his first two tackles (one solo, one assisted) of his career.
K. Scott registered his first tackle of his career.
Sales made the first catch of his career, an eight-yard grab early in the fourth quarter.
Freshman WR Marcus Sales was the first true freshman on the field for the Orange.
Davis made his first reception (eight yards on Syracuse's first drive) since 2006.
Syracuse's first drive of 10 plays for 63 yards resulted in a 36-yard field goal by Shadle.
Senior RB Curtis Brinkley carried the ball five times for 36 yards on the drive.
That was Shadle's 27th make field goal. He is now eighth all-time on SU's most field goals made list. Tim Vesling ('85-75) is seventh with 28.
Freshman CB Dorian Graham was the second true freshman on the field. He made his debut on a Syracuse kickoff.
Brown recorded the sixth interception of his career when he intercepted a pass on Northwestern's opening drive.
Junior WR Daniel Bailey registered his first career rush, a two-yard carry.
Sophomore P Rob Long's 72-yard punt in the first quarter is tied for the third longest in SU history. Sean Reali vs. Clemson (1/1/95) kicked one 73 yards and Long vs. South Florida (10/10/07) also booted a kick 73 yards.
Syracuse held Northwestern scoreless in the first quarter. It marked the first time Syracuse has shutout an opponent since it held Pittsburgh scoreless on November 3, 2007.
Freshman DE Mikhail Marinovich was the third true freshman in the game, and the first on defense. Marinovich made his debut in the second quarter.
Senior WR Bruce Williams made his first catch (a six-yard reception in the second quarter) since 2005.
Giruzzi tallied his first career sack in the second quarter.
Giruzzi recorded his first career fumble on the first play from scrimmage in the second half.
Brinkley scored Syracuse's first touchdown of the season on a two-yard run early in the third quarter.

Northwestern University Athletics

Northwestern University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Malcolm Arrington

C.J. Bachér

Andrew Brewer

Omar Conteh

Quentin Davie

Stefan Demos

Jeremy Ebert

Zeke Markshausen

Josh Rooks

Stephen Simmons

Brendan Smith

Sidney Stewart

Tyrell Sutton

Corey Wootton

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