This much can be said about Northwestern’s 31-21 loss to Nevada on Friday night. The Wildcats left themselves with a significant to-do list as they prepare for next Saturday’s Big Ten opener at Penn State.
Teams generally don’t win when they lose the turnover battle 5-1. Or when they miss two field- goal attempts, one getting blocked. Or when they fumble away a kickoff and a chance for one last drive. Or when they allow the other team’s top running back to average 4.9 yards per carry.
“We battled back in the second half to get the game within reach, but obviously the self-inflicted wounds were very difficult to overcome, and we had them in all facets of our football team–defense, kicking game and offense,” Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Mike Kafka represented a little of everything for the Wildcats (2-2).
He ran with authority and directed a long drive that got the Wildcats back in the game. But he also threw three interceptions.
“The offense had great game,” Kafka said. “Turnovers are the only thing that’s going to kill us.”
Kafka completed only 9 of 21 passes for 122 yards. But he kept the Wildcats in the game with his legs, running 12 times for 111 yards.
He took off on a 55-yard run to Nevada’s 2 to set up Terrell Jordan’s 2-yard run that pulled the Wildcats within 17-14.
In the fourth quarter, he engineered a 94-yard drive that ended with his 13-yard run to pull the Wildcats within 24-21.
The defense gave the Wildcats one last chance, but Joe Garcia picked off Kafka and returned the interception 24 yards for the final score.
Kafka acknowledged throwing behind his receivers on his first two interceptions.
“The protection was there,” he said.
Kafka’s first interception came as the Wildcats appeared ready to take control of the game. Leading 7-0 with a first down at the Nevada 34, Garcia picked off Kafka at the Nevada 14.
Tyrell Sutton, who turned the ball over once with a fumble, already had carried seven times for 68 yards at that point, but an aggressive attack was part of Fitzgerald’s plan.
Fitzgerald had departed from normal coaching procedure when he decided to take the ball when the Wildcats won the opening toss, instead of deferring his choice until the second half.
“We tried to start fast and that’s the nature of college football today,” Fitzgerald said.
The defense managed just one takeaway, an interception by safety Brendan Smith in the second quarter. And the Wolf Pack’s Robert Hubbard rushed 32 times for a career-high 156 yards and scored two touchdowns (a 25-yard reception from Jeff Rowe and a 2-yard run).
Rowe completed 17 of 22 passes for 197 yards and two TDs.
On special teams, Joel Howells missed a 39-yarder in the second quarter and had a 32-yarder blocked in the third.
“We had some leakage [in the line],” he said.
And the Wildcats couldn’t field the kickoff after Nevada’s last touchdown.
“I put that on my shoulders,” Fitzgerald said. “I’m very active in the kicking game and not to have the communication on that kick needs to get fixed.”
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tabannon@tribune.com
