Northwestern University Athletics
Photo by: Stephen J. Carrera
The Skip Report: The Wildcats Respond
11/8/2015 12:12:00 PM | Football
By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
You've gotta respond. This has been the Wildcats' mantra all through this season, a conventional bit of wisdom they've intoned with regularity.
It's 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent what you do about it. This is a favored nugget of countless coaches everywhere, an aphorism as old the profession itself.
"Life isn't what happens to you. It's how you respond to it." This is something Pat Fitzgerald intoned on Saturday afternoon, offering up a new twist to that ancient saw.
All of those phrases, of course, are now cliches, and about as interesting as a three-hour lecture on, oh, quantum physics. But here is the thing about them. They are also true, a fact the 'Cats emphatically proved in their Saturday victory over Penn State at Ryan Field.
Quarterback Zack Oliver responded after Clayton Thorson was injured late in the first quarter of this game.
Running back Justin Jackson responded after three straight games of modest production.
The offensive line responded after losing center Ian Park and left guard Geoff Mogus during this game.
Receiver Christian Jones responded after dropping catchable balls in a string of games.
Linebacker Nate Hall responded after the starter Jaylen Prater was injured on the first play of this game.
The defense responded after penalties and a freak touchdown pushed the Nittany Lions into the lead in the fourth quarter of this game.
Then, most dramatically, place kicker Jack Mitchell responded after missing an extra point and a pair of field goal attempts in this game.
"We had a ton of adversity and I'm really proud of our guys who stepped up," Fitzgerald would say after they had done just that. "It wasn't always pretty. But our guys found a way to get it done."
This one was still scoreless when Thorson, in the face of a Nittany Lion blitz, found Jones for 13 yards and a 'Cat first down. But he was hit just as he released the ball, and he went down and stayed there, and now--with 3:09 remaining in the first quarter--he exited with an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Oliver. "I'm always ready. I'm always watching," the latter would later say. "I try to keep my focus on the game as much as I can so that when he comes off, I can tell him what I saw, be a good teammate as much as I can. When I saw him stay down, I strapped up."
This possession would end with a 'Cat punt, but on their next Oliver would find Jones under the goal post for the 14-yard touchdown pass that put them up seven early in the second quarter. Then, at 7:54, they took over again on their own nine and, on first down, Jackson swept left behind a phalanx of pulling linemen for 48 yards. This play called up memories of Student Body Left, the famed sweeps Southern Cal ran in the '60s with O.J. Simpson; called up memories too of Run To Daylight, the equally-famous sweeps Vince Lombardi's Packers ran in that decade with Paul Hornung; and now, with the ball on the Nittany Lion 26, Jackson ran it again, this time going for 25 down to the one.
Two plays later, on a read option, Oliver took it in, and now they were up 13 after Mitchell hooked his PAT wide left. "There were some seams there," Fitzgerald would later say of the 'Cats reinvigorated running game. "We felt we were a block away a bunch, and we stayed patient and stuck to the plan. Made a couple tweaks as the game went along. But to get Justin going against that type of defense, you have to give credit to the O line, the superbacks and the wideouts for the way they blocked."
"Anytime your starting quarterback goes down, everyone has to step up," said Jackson himself. "I think Zack came in and did a great job. And I think as an offense collectively we all stepped up when we needed to."
The 'Cat defense, through these first 24 minutes, had simply smothered the Nittany Lions, but here they themselves responded behind their freshman running back Sequon Barkley. First he escaped Hall on a wheel route for a 32-yard reception and then, three plays later, he lined up in The Wildcat, took a direct snap and carried it for seven yards and a touchdown. Solomon Vault quickly countered that, returning the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a matching touchdown, and now the 'Cats nursed their 13-point lead through halftime and deep into the third quarter.
But here the game turned, turned when Warren Long, coming off the left edge, roughed Nittany Lion punter Chris Guila to keep their drive alive. "A block was called. He was free," Fitzgerald would say of this play that gave Penn State some momentum. "Trying to be aggressive there. We thought we had him and it looked like he came free from my vantage point. I can never be upset with a guy trying to make a play. He's trying to be aggressive, trying to make a play. We're going to continue to be as aggressive as we can."
On the very next play, at the end of a scramble by Christian Hackenberg, the 'Cats were over-aggressive again, and here they were called for a roughing penalty after C.J. Robbins and Anthony Walker brought the quarterback down. That set the Nittany Lions up on the 32 and here is what happened then: Hackenberg handed to receiver Brandon Polk sweeping left, and Polk flipped it to receiver Geno Lewis sweeping right, and Lewis fumbled the ball and picked it up and threw a Hail Mary to receiver DaeSean Hamilton, who caught the pass at the right pylon to pull his team within six.
Now the Nittany Lions had life, had hope, had juice, and early in the fourth they rode those zephyrs to another score and a one-point lead. Again, as on their first drive, Barkley was their catalyst, and again, as on their first drive, he ended it by lining up in the Wildcat and taking a direct snap and carrying it in. "If you don't fit plays right and miss tackles, it doesn't matter if they're in the Wildcat or Bobcat, it doesn't matter," Fitzgerald would later say of that formation, which the 'Cats had expected. "We didn't fit right and we didn't tackle well.
"But we finally did when it mattered."
The end game of this one began at 3:31 with the 'Cats facing a fourth-and-17 at the Penn State 38. "That isn't a high-percentage play," Fitzgerald would later say, explaining why he now decided to punt. "I felt the way way our defense had played all day, we could get a stop. We felt we would get field position back if we got the stop because the wind was in their face."
The first to do his job here was punter Hunter Niswander. His kick pinned the Nitanny Lions back on their own six. The next to step up was linebacker Hall. He stuffed Barkley on third-and-one, stuffed Barkley coming out of the Wildcat on the very play that had bedeviled the 'Cats throughout this afternoon. Then on came the offense with its banged-up line and, on third-and-15 from its own 41, it held firm under a blitz as Oliver found Austin Carr for 23 and a first down at the Nittany Lion 36. "I had all the time in the world. They definitely showed up when the game was big," the quarterback would later say of his line.
"They were in cover zero, so their safeties were down," he would say of the play itself. "It was pretty much one-on-one. He (Carr) made a great move, I gave him a chance to get the ball, and he made the play."
Then, two snaps later, Jackson made a play, carrying for five down to the 31. "Our plan," Fitzgerald would say, "was once we got inside the 33, that we were going to kick the field goal to win."
Three snaps later it was on the 19 after three more Jackson runs, and here Penn State burned its second time out with 18 seconds remaining. "You want the ball on the left hash or the middle?" Fitzgerald now asked Mitchell.
"I'd like the middle," he answered.
So here, one more time, Jackson carried, sliding right and gaining a yard and setting up his kicker, and Penn State used its last time out with 13 seconds remaining.
"You've got to try and not let yourself get down even though you're not doing well," Mitchell would later say when asked his feelings at this moment. "Fitz was telling me the whole game, 'You're going to come up big for us at the end of the game.' People were telling me, 'It's going to come down to you. Stay focused. Respond.' I was being reminded pretty much the whole time that the game was on me."
Now it was and, after holder Christian Salem masterfully handled a low snap, Jack Mitchell's 35-yard kick as true as a cliche. "I thought he was going to make the kick," Fitzgerald would later say. "I've got confidence in Jack. I had full confidence that he was going to make that kick. When a guy misses a few, you don't lose confidence in him."
"I knew it was going to come down to me the whole time," Mitchell himself finally said. "It was a close game. Big Ten games are always close. You just have to expect that."
You just have to expect that, and respond.
NUsports.com Special Contributor
You've gotta respond. This has been the Wildcats' mantra all through this season, a conventional bit of wisdom they've intoned with regularity.
It's 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent what you do about it. This is a favored nugget of countless coaches everywhere, an aphorism as old the profession itself.
"Life isn't what happens to you. It's how you respond to it." This is something Pat Fitzgerald intoned on Saturday afternoon, offering up a new twist to that ancient saw.
All of those phrases, of course, are now cliches, and about as interesting as a three-hour lecture on, oh, quantum physics. But here is the thing about them. They are also true, a fact the 'Cats emphatically proved in their Saturday victory over Penn State at Ryan Field.
Quarterback Zack Oliver responded after Clayton Thorson was injured late in the first quarter of this game.
Running back Justin Jackson responded after three straight games of modest production.
The offensive line responded after losing center Ian Park and left guard Geoff Mogus during this game.
Receiver Christian Jones responded after dropping catchable balls in a string of games.
Linebacker Nate Hall responded after the starter Jaylen Prater was injured on the first play of this game.
The defense responded after penalties and a freak touchdown pushed the Nittany Lions into the lead in the fourth quarter of this game.
Then, most dramatically, place kicker Jack Mitchell responded after missing an extra point and a pair of field goal attempts in this game.
"We had a ton of adversity and I'm really proud of our guys who stepped up," Fitzgerald would say after they had done just that. "It wasn't always pretty. But our guys found a way to get it done."
This one was still scoreless when Thorson, in the face of a Nittany Lion blitz, found Jones for 13 yards and a 'Cat first down. But he was hit just as he released the ball, and he went down and stayed there, and now--with 3:09 remaining in the first quarter--he exited with an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Oliver. "I'm always ready. I'm always watching," the latter would later say. "I try to keep my focus on the game as much as I can so that when he comes off, I can tell him what I saw, be a good teammate as much as I can. When I saw him stay down, I strapped up."
This possession would end with a 'Cat punt, but on their next Oliver would find Jones under the goal post for the 14-yard touchdown pass that put them up seven early in the second quarter. Then, at 7:54, they took over again on their own nine and, on first down, Jackson swept left behind a phalanx of pulling linemen for 48 yards. This play called up memories of Student Body Left, the famed sweeps Southern Cal ran in the '60s with O.J. Simpson; called up memories too of Run To Daylight, the equally-famous sweeps Vince Lombardi's Packers ran in that decade with Paul Hornung; and now, with the ball on the Nittany Lion 26, Jackson ran it again, this time going for 25 down to the one.
Two plays later, on a read option, Oliver took it in, and now they were up 13 after Mitchell hooked his PAT wide left. "There were some seams there," Fitzgerald would later say of the 'Cats reinvigorated running game. "We felt we were a block away a bunch, and we stayed patient and stuck to the plan. Made a couple tweaks as the game went along. But to get Justin going against that type of defense, you have to give credit to the O line, the superbacks and the wideouts for the way they blocked."
"Anytime your starting quarterback goes down, everyone has to step up," said Jackson himself. "I think Zack came in and did a great job. And I think as an offense collectively we all stepped up when we needed to."
The 'Cat defense, through these first 24 minutes, had simply smothered the Nittany Lions, but here they themselves responded behind their freshman running back Sequon Barkley. First he escaped Hall on a wheel route for a 32-yard reception and then, three plays later, he lined up in The Wildcat, took a direct snap and carried it for seven yards and a touchdown. Solomon Vault quickly countered that, returning the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a matching touchdown, and now the 'Cats nursed their 13-point lead through halftime and deep into the third quarter.
But here the game turned, turned when Warren Long, coming off the left edge, roughed Nittany Lion punter Chris Guila to keep their drive alive. "A block was called. He was free," Fitzgerald would say of this play that gave Penn State some momentum. "Trying to be aggressive there. We thought we had him and it looked like he came free from my vantage point. I can never be upset with a guy trying to make a play. He's trying to be aggressive, trying to make a play. We're going to continue to be as aggressive as we can."
On the very next play, at the end of a scramble by Christian Hackenberg, the 'Cats were over-aggressive again, and here they were called for a roughing penalty after C.J. Robbins and Anthony Walker brought the quarterback down. That set the Nittany Lions up on the 32 and here is what happened then: Hackenberg handed to receiver Brandon Polk sweeping left, and Polk flipped it to receiver Geno Lewis sweeping right, and Lewis fumbled the ball and picked it up and threw a Hail Mary to receiver DaeSean Hamilton, who caught the pass at the right pylon to pull his team within six.
Now the Nittany Lions had life, had hope, had juice, and early in the fourth they rode those zephyrs to another score and a one-point lead. Again, as on their first drive, Barkley was their catalyst, and again, as on their first drive, he ended it by lining up in the Wildcat and taking a direct snap and carrying it in. "If you don't fit plays right and miss tackles, it doesn't matter if they're in the Wildcat or Bobcat, it doesn't matter," Fitzgerald would later say of that formation, which the 'Cats had expected. "We didn't fit right and we didn't tackle well.
"But we finally did when it mattered."
The end game of this one began at 3:31 with the 'Cats facing a fourth-and-17 at the Penn State 38. "That isn't a high-percentage play," Fitzgerald would later say, explaining why he now decided to punt. "I felt the way way our defense had played all day, we could get a stop. We felt we would get field position back if we got the stop because the wind was in their face."
The first to do his job here was punter Hunter Niswander. His kick pinned the Nitanny Lions back on their own six. The next to step up was linebacker Hall. He stuffed Barkley on third-and-one, stuffed Barkley coming out of the Wildcat on the very play that had bedeviled the 'Cats throughout this afternoon. Then on came the offense with its banged-up line and, on third-and-15 from its own 41, it held firm under a blitz as Oliver found Austin Carr for 23 and a first down at the Nittany Lion 36. "I had all the time in the world. They definitely showed up when the game was big," the quarterback would later say of his line.
"They were in cover zero, so their safeties were down," he would say of the play itself. "It was pretty much one-on-one. He (Carr) made a great move, I gave him a chance to get the ball, and he made the play."
Then, two snaps later, Jackson made a play, carrying for five down to the 31. "Our plan," Fitzgerald would say, "was once we got inside the 33, that we were going to kick the field goal to win."
Three snaps later it was on the 19 after three more Jackson runs, and here Penn State burned its second time out with 18 seconds remaining. "You want the ball on the left hash or the middle?" Fitzgerald now asked Mitchell.
"I'd like the middle," he answered.
So here, one more time, Jackson carried, sliding right and gaining a yard and setting up his kicker, and Penn State used its last time out with 13 seconds remaining.
"You've got to try and not let yourself get down even though you're not doing well," Mitchell would later say when asked his feelings at this moment. "Fitz was telling me the whole game, 'You're going to come up big for us at the end of the game.' People were telling me, 'It's going to come down to you. Stay focused. Respond.' I was being reminded pretty much the whole time that the game was on me."
Now it was and, after holder Christian Salem masterfully handled a low snap, Jack Mitchell's 35-yard kick as true as a cliche. "I thought he was going to make the kick," Fitzgerald would later say. "I've got confidence in Jack. I had full confidence that he was going to make that kick. When a guy misses a few, you don't lose confidence in him."
"I knew it was going to come down to me the whole time," Mitchell himself finally said. "It was a close game. Big Ten games are always close. You just have to expect that."
You just have to expect that, and respond.
••••••
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