 "Photo: Tommy Giglio/The Daily Northwestern")
By Chris Gentilviso The Daily Northwestern
For a season opener, there was not much more that Northwestern could have asked for.
A spread offense that completed 80% of its passes. A special teams unit that nailed two field goals and dropped two of its three punts inside the 20-yard line. A stingy defense that shut out its opponent for the first time in 10 years.
But after Saturday's 27-0 victory over Division I-AA Northeastern, the Wildcats weren't satisfied.
Junior quarterback C.J. Bachér left the field in 2006 with a lot to look forward to after engineering NU's season-ending 27-16 victory over Illinois. He had completed a season-best 22 passes that game, setting the stage for a long offseason of preparation for 2007.
He finally put his work to the test, completing 23-of-29 passes Saturday, hitting seven different receivers in the process.
"Our gameplan was pretty solid today," Bachér said. "We wanted to spread the field and then hand the ball (off) once the defense was spread out. There are a lot of playmakers on our perimeter and a lot of guys who can make catches and get open"
From their opening drive, the Cats held a businesslike approach. One of those first seven completions eliminated a 3rd-and-5 jam - a 10-yard swing pass to Eric Peterman. In an unrelenting fashion, Bachér completed a 20-yard sideline pass to Rasheed Ward on the next play, confusing Northeastern's secondary with a solid pump fake. Three plays later, Bachér dove into the end-zone for a 5-yard touchdown, staking NU to a lead it would never give up.
Head coach Pat Fitzgerald was pleased with how his quarterback manned the team's offense, but said there was much room for improvement.
"It's never about being perfect," Fitzgerald said. "He played a good game. But I look forward to being able to say he played a great game, and he's on the cusp of doing that."
With a 17-0 lead at halftime, the Cats' drive to nail their first victory of the season was simple. Ball control.
Junior running back Tyrell Sutton's ground game became the change of pace in the second half. The junior running back ran for 61 yards on 13 carries in the third quarter alone, punctuated by a 1-yard touchdown run. He began his quest for a third straight 1000-yard rushing season with 108 yards on 24 carries.
But according to Sutton, week one is just the beginning of his workload.
"I'm never satisfied with my performance," he said. "Whether it's getting 100 yards, five knockdowns or keeping C.J. (Bachér) clean, I'm never satisfied. There's always more things we've got to do."
The Cats' lead ball carrier didn't see 20-plus touches and 100-plus yards last season until game eight against Michigan State.
As Sutton's legs churned, NU's defense breathed easy. Northeastern held the ball for just 3:44 in the entire second half. While NU stopped gaps and didn't allow the Huskies to reach the red zone once, the Cats finished the game without a single sack or turnover.
"I don't think we reached our fullest potential," said senior linebacker Adam Kadela, who finished the game with eight tackles. "We let them move the ball too much. But the most important thing was we were ready to stop them. We got them off the field, got our offense back on and its huge being able to step up like that."
NU welcomes the Nevada Wolfpack to Ryan Field on Saturday. Nevada forced five turnovers against the Cats in a sloppy 31-21 loss last season. Pointing toward a future that received some promising light Saturday, Fitzgerald said this week of practice will emphasize what his team can control.
"Our focus this week is on us," he said. "It has been through camp. We need to improve us this week and get better."
Reach Chris Gentilviso at c-gentilviso@northwestern.edu.
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