Northwestern University Athletics
The Skip Report: Bye Week
10/30/2015 5:08:00 PM | Football
By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
The Wildcats' lead was just two with 4:23 remaining and here, on their sideline, their offensive linemen gathered together as Miles Shuler awaited the Nebraska kickoff. They knew what was coming, as did the audience watching at home and the 89,493 jammed into the Huskers' Memorial Stadium. Everyone knew that the 'Cats would now come out running and look to bleed the clock. "We knew it was on us. We knew we had to do it," remembers left tackle Blake Hance, flashing back to that moment.
"So it was pretty much us pumping each other up," recalls left guard Geoff Mogus.
"We were harping that we have to finish this game, that it was on us," explains right guard Matt Frazier. "It was, 'Let's not leave this to anyone else. Let's finish it. Let's take pride in us five up front and finish it out.'"
This would be no easy task. The Huskers' rushing defense, ranked third in the Big Ten, had stuffed the 'Cats through much of this afternoon. Only quarterback Clayton Thorson had nicked it, breaking through for jaunts of 68 and 49 yards, and now he picked up five more as the 'Cats began this decisive drive from their own 25.
Next came Justin Jackson, who picked up two over left tackle and then, on a swing pass, 28 more for a first down at the Nebraska 40. Once more he went over left tackle and once more he gained only two, and now came the signature moment of this drive, now came a signature moment for that line he operates behind.
The play was called simply, "Inside Zone."
"It's a smash-mouth play right up the middle, right off the center's butt," explains Mogus.
"We saw they were going to bring some pressure, so we just zoned our gaps and everything kind of unfolded for us," adds Frazier.
What unfolded was this. Frazier and right tackle Eric Olson sealed the right side, and center Ian Park drove Husker defensive tackle Maliek Collins to that side, and Hance and Mogus steamrolled defensive end Greg McMullen to the left, their push so emphatic that they also collected linebacker Marcus Newby as well. "That's exactly what we were trying to do," says Hance.
"You just have to win," says Mogus.
The 'Cats line emphatically won this play, opening a yawning hole that Jackson traipsed through for eight yards and a first down at the Nebraska 30. "When he's in an open field like that and just running like that, we're not going to chase him and catch him," says Frazier, thinking back to this moment. "So it was kind of fun to just watch him run. It felt great. But then we got together and said, 'OK. Let's have some poise here and run out the clock. The game's not over yet. It doesn't read zeroes up there yet.' We knew we had to focus up and just finish the game out."
"At that point," recalls Hance, "we're like, 'All right, let's just keep running the ball, get it down to the point where we can take a knee.'"
"I think we might have high-fived for a second," remembers Mogus, "but then it's back to the grindstone. I think there were still two minutes left. We still needed a couple more yards, a couple more first downs."
There was, in fact, 1:58 remaining when Nebraska called time at the end of Jackson's run, and now came the play that guaranteed the 'Cats win. The protagonists here were Frazier and Husker tackle Collins, who all through this afternoon had scrapped in the pit. "I was finishing him the whole game. I was trying to play through the whistle the entire game, which we're taught to do," says Frazier. "He was asking me if I was going to be doing that the whole game, playing through the whistle? I said, 'Yeah. I'm going to keep playing through the whistle.'"
He did just that now on another Jackson run and this time the Husker retaliated, driving his left shoulder into Frazier after the whistle. Up went an official's yellow flag and up too went the 'Cat, jumping in joy. "I was excited," he explains. "I knew it was a big play, and that it would seal things."
It did seal things, the 'Cats now taking three knees to run out the clock, and when it finally did, their O line had every right to be proud. It had delivered. It had finished. "Finishing off a game with a big drive like that when it was on our shoulders I think was pretty big," Hance will rightly reflect. "It showed us. . .that we have the potential to have drives like that on a regular basis and we need to get that kind of stuff going a lot more often."
"We can still get better, but it's a step in the right direction," Mogus will finally say. "That's one of our goals, to shut the game out and not let them get the ball back. We feel pretty good about accomplishing that."
A NOTE: The 'Cats had their one media availability during their bye week on Thursday and during it Pat Fitzgerald spoke emotionally about Jerry Kill, the Minnesota coach who had resigned a day earlier due to health concerns. "I want to express our thoughts and prayers to Jerry Kill and his great wife Rebecca and his daughters," he said. "It's got to be a tough time for them right now. His coaching brothers are with him, and we're all thinking and praying for him to be, number one, healthy and safe, and then obviously to find his new path. Unbelievable man. Great coach. Great person. An inspiration to all of us with his toughness and his perseverance. I've competed against his teams multiple times and like I've said all along, they take on his personality and are nothing less than incredibly impressive. I can only imagine what he's going through."
Even though he is still young, do Kill's health problems give Fitzgerald pause?
"It does. It makes you take a step back and, with us on a bye, I was home last night for dinner. It just makes you appreciate the privilege that we have to work with great young people, to be in our roles. You can't take anything for granted, but I think sometimes you get caught in the flow and cycle and the bunker mentality that you're in. It's a great privilege. I've never taken a day of it for granted. But yesterday is a wake-up call to everybody. It's very, very challenging and difficult, but you've got to enjoy every minute because you never know when it's going to go. It's tough."
Did he reach out to Kill?
"Yeah. I knew not to call him. I sent him a text. But I'm sure we'll catch up when the time is right, and I'll cordially invite him and Rebecca to any game that we have as our guests and help him out in any way that we can."
NUsports.com Special Contributor
The Wildcats' lead was just two with 4:23 remaining and here, on their sideline, their offensive linemen gathered together as Miles Shuler awaited the Nebraska kickoff. They knew what was coming, as did the audience watching at home and the 89,493 jammed into the Huskers' Memorial Stadium. Everyone knew that the 'Cats would now come out running and look to bleed the clock. "We knew it was on us. We knew we had to do it," remembers left tackle Blake Hance, flashing back to that moment.
"So it was pretty much us pumping each other up," recalls left guard Geoff Mogus.
"We were harping that we have to finish this game, that it was on us," explains right guard Matt Frazier. "It was, 'Let's not leave this to anyone else. Let's finish it. Let's take pride in us five up front and finish it out.'"
This would be no easy task. The Huskers' rushing defense, ranked third in the Big Ten, had stuffed the 'Cats through much of this afternoon. Only quarterback Clayton Thorson had nicked it, breaking through for jaunts of 68 and 49 yards, and now he picked up five more as the 'Cats began this decisive drive from their own 25.
Next came Justin Jackson, who picked up two over left tackle and then, on a swing pass, 28 more for a first down at the Nebraska 40. Once more he went over left tackle and once more he gained only two, and now came the signature moment of this drive, now came a signature moment for that line he operates behind.
The play was called simply, "Inside Zone."
"It's a smash-mouth play right up the middle, right off the center's butt," explains Mogus.
"We saw they were going to bring some pressure, so we just zoned our gaps and everything kind of unfolded for us," adds Frazier.
What unfolded was this. Frazier and right tackle Eric Olson sealed the right side, and center Ian Park drove Husker defensive tackle Maliek Collins to that side, and Hance and Mogus steamrolled defensive end Greg McMullen to the left, their push so emphatic that they also collected linebacker Marcus Newby as well. "That's exactly what we were trying to do," says Hance.
"You just have to win," says Mogus.
The 'Cats line emphatically won this play, opening a yawning hole that Jackson traipsed through for eight yards and a first down at the Nebraska 30. "When he's in an open field like that and just running like that, we're not going to chase him and catch him," says Frazier, thinking back to this moment. "So it was kind of fun to just watch him run. It felt great. But then we got together and said, 'OK. Let's have some poise here and run out the clock. The game's not over yet. It doesn't read zeroes up there yet.' We knew we had to focus up and just finish the game out."
"At that point," recalls Hance, "we're like, 'All right, let's just keep running the ball, get it down to the point where we can take a knee.'"
"I think we might have high-fived for a second," remembers Mogus, "but then it's back to the grindstone. I think there were still two minutes left. We still needed a couple more yards, a couple more first downs."
There was, in fact, 1:58 remaining when Nebraska called time at the end of Jackson's run, and now came the play that guaranteed the 'Cats win. The protagonists here were Frazier and Husker tackle Collins, who all through this afternoon had scrapped in the pit. "I was finishing him the whole game. I was trying to play through the whistle the entire game, which we're taught to do," says Frazier. "He was asking me if I was going to be doing that the whole game, playing through the whistle? I said, 'Yeah. I'm going to keep playing through the whistle.'"
He did just that now on another Jackson run and this time the Husker retaliated, driving his left shoulder into Frazier after the whistle. Up went an official's yellow flag and up too went the 'Cat, jumping in joy. "I was excited," he explains. "I knew it was a big play, and that it would seal things."
It did seal things, the 'Cats now taking three knees to run out the clock, and when it finally did, their O line had every right to be proud. It had delivered. It had finished. "Finishing off a game with a big drive like that when it was on our shoulders I think was pretty big," Hance will rightly reflect. "It showed us. . .that we have the potential to have drives like that on a regular basis and we need to get that kind of stuff going a lot more often."
"We can still get better, but it's a step in the right direction," Mogus will finally say. "That's one of our goals, to shut the game out and not let them get the ball back. We feel pretty good about accomplishing that."
A NOTE: The 'Cats had their one media availability during their bye week on Thursday and during it Pat Fitzgerald spoke emotionally about Jerry Kill, the Minnesota coach who had resigned a day earlier due to health concerns. "I want to express our thoughts and prayers to Jerry Kill and his great wife Rebecca and his daughters," he said. "It's got to be a tough time for them right now. His coaching brothers are with him, and we're all thinking and praying for him to be, number one, healthy and safe, and then obviously to find his new path. Unbelievable man. Great coach. Great person. An inspiration to all of us with his toughness and his perseverance. I've competed against his teams multiple times and like I've said all along, they take on his personality and are nothing less than incredibly impressive. I can only imagine what he's going through."
Even though he is still young, do Kill's health problems give Fitzgerald pause?
"It does. It makes you take a step back and, with us on a bye, I was home last night for dinner. It just makes you appreciate the privilege that we have to work with great young people, to be in our roles. You can't take anything for granted, but I think sometimes you get caught in the flow and cycle and the bunker mentality that you're in. It's a great privilege. I've never taken a day of it for granted. But yesterday is a wake-up call to everybody. It's very, very challenging and difficult, but you've got to enjoy every minute because you never know when it's going to go. It's tough."
Did he reach out to Kill?
"Yeah. I knew not to call him. I sent him a text. But I'm sure we'll catch up when the time is right, and I'll cordially invite him and Rebecca to any game that we have as our guests and help him out in any way that we can."
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