Northwestern Posts School Record Comeback in 29-29 Win over Indiana

(Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

The Northwestern Wildcats (5-3, 2-2) pulled within one win of bowl eligibility as they posted an NU record 25 point comeback to defeat Indiana (4-4, 1-3) on Homecoming by a score of 29-28 .

If NU fans would have known that the 'Cats would give up a 70 yard TD run on Indiana's first play from scrimmage, give up a 93 yard kickoff return for TD, and lose the turnover battle 3-0, there is no way they would have believed what happened this past Saturday.

The 'Cats once again had a slow start, allowing the aforementioned TD by Darius Willis, and seemingly stood by and watched as the Hoosiers built up a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter.  Prior to this game, NU's biggest comeback was 21 points (versus Minnesota in both 2000 and 2007, with a 35-14 deficit in both games).

Northwestern answered with a 68 yard drive that ended in a Stefan Demos field goal, only to watch as Indiana's Ray Fisher returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown to put IU up by a significant 28-3 margin.

At that point, NU's bowl hopes were on life support as the 'Cats seemingly couldn't do anything right on offense, defense, or special teams.  Injuries were piling up, with starting LB David Arnold and S Brendan Smith out for the game, S Brad Phillips came in and out of the game, CB Sherrick McManis came out of the game in the second quarter, and S Brian Peters played with one of his hands completely wrapped up.

But despite the deficit on the scoreboard and all of those personnel setbacks, Northwestern kept fighting.  NU responded by putting together consecutive 10 play touchdown drives, including a fade-route TD from Mike Kafka to Zeke Markshausen with just seven ticks left on the clock before halftime.  That cut the 'Cats' deficit to 28-17 after two quarters.

During halftime, DE Corey Wootton, who got the first sack of his 2009 season in the first quarter, made an inspired speech to the rest of the team that apparently inspired them to continue their comeback.

Although NU didn't have the best third quarter on offense, as the 'Cats had two interceptions and a punt on their first three second-half drives, the defense put together a great effort in spite of numerous injuries.  NU allowed just 48 total yards in the quarter and the special teams contributed to the 'Cats' cause with a Ricky Weina blocked punt that turned into a safety, which cut Indiana's margin to 28-19.
Another important play came when Indiana went for it on fourth-and-goal from the NU one yard line, once again using WR Mitchell Evans from the "heavy Wildcat" formation that basically included nine linemen.  Northwestern had the pass play well-covered and took down Evans at the two as he cut back across the field.

The 'Cats capitalized on that opportunity, driving out to the 49 yard line before Kafka found WR Andrew Brewer streaking deep, resulting in a 51 yard touchdown that put NU within striking distance of the win 28-26.

Despite yet another Kafka interception, the NU D held, allowing 61 total yards and stopping IU on another fourth down try, this time on the NU 33 yard line.

Following that stop, NU put together a time-consuming drive that would eventually prove to be the game-winner.  NU bled 6:43 off the clock thanks to strong running from RB Scott Concannon who was effectively given primary running duties with Stephen Simmons and Jacob Schmidt sidelined with injuries and Arby Fields being relatively ineffective.

Concannon rushed for 32 yards, including runs of 15 and 11 yards on consecutive plays early in the drive, as the 'Cats ran for a total of 55 yards on the drive.  That put NU in position to kick a go-ahead field goal from the IU two yard line with 21 seconds left on the game clock, which Stefan Demos nailed despite a tough angle.

Indiana made a last-ditch effort by recovering the squib kick at their own 40, completed an 18 yard pass, and spiked the ball to give them a chance to try a 59 yard field goal with just a couple ticks left on the clock.  The Nick Freeland kick was well short, though, and the epic Wildcat comeback and Homecoming victory was complete that also breathed new life into the 2009 Northwestern football season.


Player of the Game:

Northwestern CB Ricky Weina (1 blocked punt, 2 tackles, 1 pass break-up)   Weina was an unlikely hero, a walk-on sophomore who had played relatively little until McManis went down in the first half of the game, and with usual backup Justan Vaughn also out with an injury, it was up to this third-stringer to help shut down IU's passing game.

Weina did that and more by playing a great game at corner, helping the NU D hold Indiana to

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