By Chris Gentilviso The Daily Northwestern
If there was one thing missing from Pat Fitzgerald's first season at Northwestern, it was late-game heroics.
After 58-and-a-half minutes of erratic play, junior quarterback C.J. Bachér faced a four-point deficit, with a chance to write a new chapter to the Wildcats' book on improbable come-from-behind victories.
With little adversity faced in week one, Bachér stepped to the plate, engineering an 80-yard drive in 51 seconds to lead NU to a dramatic 36-31 victory over Nevada.
"I looked around in the huddle and i could see it in their eyes," he said. "We really felt like we were going down there to score and we did."
Hampered by tight coverage throughout the game, junior wide receiver Ross Lane grabbed the game winning 13-yard TD, clutching the ball in double coverage on a play that was eventually reviewed.
"I was positive I caught the ball," Lane said. "I wasn't really that worried but who knows. We were ready to go back out there and score if we had to."
NU (2-0) entered halftime facing a 24-10 deficit, at the hands of problems on both sides of the ball.
The defense saw Wolf Pack quarterback Nick Graziano connect with receiver Kyle Sammons on a 48-yard Hail Mary touchdown to close the half. Senior safety Reggie McPherson was frozen as he watched the ball sail into the end zone on an inexcusable, broken play.
The offense saw its backfield leader, running back Tyrell Sutton, hobble off the field midway through the second quarter with a lower leg injury. The entire sideline was frozen as Sutton left the game, with backup Brandon Roberson called in for emergency duty.
Trailing at the half seven times last season, the Cats stumbled to losses in each of those games. But as the Cats sputtered for 30 minutes on the field, they thrived for 15 minutes in the locker room.
"You can't dwell on when there is adversity, letting the emotion and compassion of the football program sink down, especially there at the end of the first half," NU head coach Pat Fitzgerald said. "We went in at halftime and talked about letting it go, moving on and learning a valuable lesson. That's an 11-man operation there."
The operation began with McPherson, who staked NU to new life on Nevada's first possession of the second half, snagging a 38-yard interception. The Cats' first takeaway of the season placed their offense 13 yards away from erasing the 48-yard mistake of old. The result? A three-play, two-yard drive, completed by a 29-yard Amado Villarreal field goal that cut the lead to 24-13.
After a quick defensive stop, Bachér found his unit pinned at its own 11, searching for the fluidity that permeated the field against Northeastern. Of NU's 37 offensive plays in the first half, 30 were passing. But it was the speed of Roberson that shifted the momentum, as he streaked 76 yards down the sideline on a smooth option play.
"I was excited to show what I can do," said Roberson, who scored two plays later on a 1-yard TD run. "I really haven't had a whole game like this in a while. It was exciting to get back out there and really get conditioned back in game shape."
Roberson said NU is conditioned by its coaches to view every game as a 15-round boxing fight. And par for the course, the Cats were in a familiar round 15 setting.
With four minutes left in the game, NU reverted to its first half form. The Wolf Pack streaked 73 yards down the field in 33 seconds, punctuated by a 27-yard rushing touchdown by running back Luke Lippincott through an infinite seam in NU's defensive middle. With a 31-27 deficit, Bachér and the Cats failed on a 4th-and-1 handoff to superback Mark Woodsum that left the crowd gasping for air.
The defense faced a necessary three and out, with its only weapon being three timeouts in their pocket. Mission accomplished.
"You have to have confidence," said defensive tackle Adam Hahn, who finished the game with six tackles and a hurry. "We knew we had to go out and get a three and out to get the ball back on offense. We know what our offense is capable of and they showed it today."
Even with the game secured, the intensity remained rampant. Nevada's Graziano finished the game on his backside in his own end zone, courtesy of a Kevin Mims safety. Mims' two sacks in the final 21 seconds were the first of the season for the defense.
As modest as the Cats were after their first shutout in 10 years, it appears the slice of humble pie has gotten bigger after a familiar wire-to-wire battle at home. The Duke Blue Devils and their 22-game losing streak stand between NU's first 3-0 start in six years.
"Obviously, we've got a long way to go and a lot of room for improvement," Fitzgerald said. "But to be 2-0, and to have the way that we fought, stuck together, and pressed on through the adversity, I couldn't be more proud."
Reach Chris Gentilviso at c-gentilviso@northwestern.edu.
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