All through the dog days of August, Northwestern made any number of pointed promises.
The Wildcats promised that their defense, so wretched last year, would be much improved, and that their offense would alter its tempo and not put that defense in constant jeopardy.
They promised that their resiliency, non-existent last year, also would be much improved, and that they were tired of being the bottom feeders of the Big Ten and the butt of national jokes.
These were strong words. Yet after two consecutive losing seasons, they still had all the weight and consistency of a lemon meringue pie.
But on a rainy Saturday night, the Wildcats went out and backed up their talk with the walk, opening their new season by escaping with a 28-20 victory over the Jayhawks.
This was not a victory that was going to catapult them into the rankings. Kansas, after all, was 2-10 last season and is in just its second season rebuilding under former Oklahoma assistant Mark Mangino.
Yet it was a starting point, a foundation for greater possibilities.
Running back Jason Wright gained 196 yards on 41 carries, scored all four touchdowns and was so spent at game’s end that he cramped up badly and was fed intravenously. Quarterback Brett Basanez went 23-of-36 for 219 yards in conditions that were everything from a slight drizzle to a steady downpour. Wide receivers Roger Jordan and Kunle Patrick each had seven receptions.
All those performances helped the Wildcats run up a huge advantage in time of possession–39 minutes 57 seconds to 20:03.
A season ago, the NU defense surrendered an average of 41.1 points a game and pitched shutouts in only three of the year’s 48 quarters. On Saturday, it shut out Kansas for the first 42:04 and surrendered its only touchdown on a busted play late in the third quarter.
That gave the Jayhawks the first of their scores, which cut Northwestern’s lead to seven. Just over a minute later, they tied it 14-14 when defensive end David McMillan picked off Basanez and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown at 1:25 of the third.
“When I woke up this morning and saw the rain, I knew some haywire things would happen,” Wildcats coach Randy Walker said.
“It’s a downpour all day and some haywire things did happen, but I’m really proud of the way our kids responded. At different times in the game it would have been easy for them to go the other way and, quite frankly, there’ve been times in the last couple years when they went in the wrong direction. But these kids hung in there and bounced back.”
Said Basanez: “After a turnover, especially after they score a touchdown, you have to respond. You’ve just got to flush it.”
That is what the Wildcats did, eating up better than five minutes with a 12-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Wright’s third touchdown. Their defense protected that lead, but then punter Brian Huffman bobbled a low snap, Jayhawk Ronnie Amandi blocked his kick and Darren Rus ran in it with 5:10 to go.
Kansas’ extra point failed, which left Northwestern clinging to a one-point lead, and they built on it by responding again. They did that with a nine-play, 66-yard drive that used up 4:04 and closed out the win when Wright scored for the last time with 63 seconds left.
“We’ve got 11 games left and a lot more questions to answer,” safety Luis Ayeni said. “But it’s a start.”
