Northwestern Dukes It Out With The Blue Devils. Winning 24-20

A few notes, observations, and random facts before and after Northwestern’s 24–20 win over Duke…

Pre-game (Wild)Cat Nips

• Tony Pauline of TFYDraft.com on running back Tyrell Sutton’s NFL potential: “He's one of the better third-down backs in the nation heading toward the draft.”

• I emailed ESPN Draft Expert Mel Kiper Jr. on Wednesday asking for his take on Sutton’s NFL potential:

Sam (Bleacher Report.com): What are the scouts saying about Tyrell Sutton's pro-grade?

Mel Kiper: “First of all, when he's healthy, Northwestern is a different football team. Their offense at Northwestern is outstanding. Sutton [is] not real big, but when he's healthy, [he is a] really a good football player. He gives them a weapon in the backfield. How does he project to the pro level? I'd say a situational guy. But I think this [Northwestern] can win 8-9 games.”

• Leading up to the game, senior defensive tackle John Gill was named the Wildcats' defensive “practice” player of the week.  Head coach Pat Fitzgerald on Gill’s preparation for Duke: "He was like a man possessed."

Post-game (Wild)Cat Nips

• What an exciting game to watch…oh wait, it wasn’t on television.  At least we could listen, albeit on a random radio station (1160 AM) due to the Cubs vs. Reds game earning first priority on WGN Radio.

• Quarterback C.J. Bacher didn’t throw an interception this time, but he also didn’t record a touchdown pass and completed only 45 percent of his throws.  He did have an exciting play in the second quarter, when receiver Eric Peterman found Bacher on a 25-yard receiver throwback.
  

• It was nice to see senior running back Omar Conteh score the winning touchdown with just over nine minutes to play in regulation.

• Blue Devils quarterback Thaddeus Lewis is one of the most underrated players in the ACC.  If he played all his games against Northwestern, you might hear Mel Kiper mentioning him as a potential first round draft pick.

• Monster game (10 receptions for 129 yards) for Duke freshman receiver Johnny Williams.

• Northwestern offensive coordinator Mick McCall will have an interesting time figuring out his unit finished with only 327 total yards against a mediocre Duke defense.

• This week will be a tough one for Blue Devils offensive tackle Cameron Goldberg.  After Lewis found running back Clifford Harris with 90 seconds remaining for the would-be winning touchdown, Goldberg was called for holding, giving the nick-name “Cameron Crazies” a whole new meaning.

• Coach Fitzgerald after the game: “We’ve got a lot of work to do.  We’ll be better next week than we were this week.  We tried to give it to them.”

• Defensive lineman Corey Wooton on the defense’s fatigue after Duke was able to control the clock for almost 40 minutes:  “We were rotating guys [so we could rest].  We were on the field a lot.”

• Northwestern (2-0) will host in-state rival Southern Illinois (1-0) next weekend.

Photo courtesy of Chicago Tribune