Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald shrugged his shoulders, saying he didn’t mind one bit that Northwestern was considered “the other team down here” at the Alamo Bowl as a 12 1/2-point underdog to Missouri.
The Wildcats referred to themselves as the “Redeem Team,” trying to make up for an embarrassing 49-point 2000 Alamo Bowl loss to Nebraska and the rest of Northwestern’s bleak bowl history.
Northwestern tried to prove that the gap between NU and Missouri wasn’t nearly as big as the chip on the Wildcats’ shoulders. That helped them force overtime at 23-23 after Missouri kicker Jeff Wolfert missed a 44-yard field goal attempt with three seconds left.
Northwestern started the game in front of 55,986 like a team fueled by six decades of anticipation and nearly a month of hearing repetitive praise about Missouri’s high-powered offense.
By the third quarter the Wildcats had forced Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel to equal his worst interception outing, against Oklahoma State, as he already had thrown three.
Safety Brad Phillips returned from a head injury to pick off Daniel for the third time.
Meanwhile, NU quarterback C.J. Bacher had tossed his third touchdown of the night, connecting with Ross Lane in the back of the end zone on a 23-yard pass for a 23-20 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Wolfert’s third field goal of the game, a 37-yarder with 2:49 left, pulled Missouri into a tie.
The Wildcats got a better-than-ever performance from wide receiver Rasheed Ward, including a 46-yard touchdown reception from Bacher early in the third to give the Wildcats a 16-10 edge.
Bacher’s other TD pass went to Eric Peterman for 35 yards in the first quarter.
Sure, the Wildcats’ defense was improved from its papier-mache past but, as the players were asked all week in San Antonio, could they really stop an offense as fiery as Missouri’s? The Tigers had averaged 43.2 points and 500 yards per game.
From the start, Northwestern’s play reminded that Missouri surely had not seen many units as tough as the Wildcats in the defense-deficient Big 12. The Wildcats had held opponents to fewer than 20 points a game, but few expected they could keep Missouri from moving into the end zone.
The Wildcats picked off two passes by Daniel before halftime and became only the fourth team this season to hold Missouri scoreless in the first quarter.
The Wildcats also were buoyed by the return of Tyrell Sutton. The senior, who had not played in more than two months after breaking his wrist against Indiana, started for the final time wearing a black brace on his left wrist.
Sutton showed more gleam than rust. He surpassed the 5,000-yard all-purpose mark on his first carry of the game and had piled up 112 yards on 28 carries by late in the fourth quarter.
Northwestern had been careful to keep the ball out of Jeremy Maclin’s hands on returns, but the Wildcats found out what happens when teams don’t.
A 75-yard punt return by Maclin tied the game 10-10 with a minute remaining before halftime.
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sryan@tribune.com
