Evanston, Illinois--Once again the Wildcats were in position to win the game.
Northwestern, led by quarterback Mike Kafka, battled in the third
quarter to come back from an 11 point deficit to lead 24-21 at the end
of the quarter.
But the Wildcats couldn't hang on, allowing Adam Weber to connect
for two fourth quarter touchdowns: the first coming off a 13 play, 83
yard drive that lasted over six minutes and the other coming off
another late game Kafka turnover.
"I've got to give Minnesota credit," Northwestern coach Pat
Fitzgerald said after the game. "We had the lead going into the fourth
quarter, you've got the game at home, and you've got to put it away,
obviously we didn't do that and there'll be a lot we look back on in
that fourth quarter where we had a chance to get the job done."
Getting the job done is something Fitzgerald emphasizes, but
something the 'Cats have not been able to accomplish. For the second
week in a row, the mental toughness and conditioning that Northwestern
prides itself on broke down in the fourth quarter.
Fitzgerald, who isn't afraid to mince words, decribed his feeling as
"shocked" when asked about how his team has closed the last two weeks.
"I don't have a magic pill or a magic call or a magic formula," he
said. "It's trust and confidence and staying together. If you do that,
you have a chance to get the job done. And we will. I believe that. I
really do."
Senior wide reciever Zeke Markshausen, who caught a team high six
passes for 70 yards, said the team's ability to finish games the last
two weeks has been a problem and the players are well aware of it.
So where do the Wildcats go from here?
"We look at ourselves," Markshausen said. "We come back tomorrow and we look at the film and we see where we can improve."
One area that will certainly be addressed in the coming weeks by Fitzgerald is defensive tackling.
Fitzgerald, a former All-American linebacker at Northwestern, had
one word to described the Wildcats' tackling in the fourth quarter
especially.
"Awful," the coach said without hesitation. "Completely out of our
character. I give credit to Minnesota, I guess they either put grease
on their shoulder pads and their jerseys or we just decided not to
tackle with our chests on our feet and play Big Ten football. It is
something we will address and fix immediately."
Senior cornerback Sherrick McManis concurred with Fitzgerald when
asked about the defense's poor tackling performance. "It was awful," he
added. "It can be a lot better and that's what we're going to work on.
It's not like we can't do it."
Fitzgerald said he places an emphasis on finishing and that he preaches it everyday in practice.
"Finishing is a way of life and when you don't accomplish that and
that's something that you value, obviously our message, the way we're
working, more than anything we just keep course and keep pounding at it.
"We've got to find a way to finish games, and that's on us as
coaches. When we do then we'll give ourselves an opportunity to win,
and the hardest thing to do is to win a Big Ten football game."
One or two plays is all that separates Northwestern from being 4-0
and on top of the Big Ten conference. Instead the Wildcats now sit at
2-2 and must regroup.
Big Ten play continues next week in West Lafayette against a Purdue
team that could be problematic if they actually decide to show up to
play, then a home date with Miami (OH) before getting into the thick of
the conference schedule.
"We have to find that killer instinct as a team," Kafka said. "Smell blood and get after it."
It all comes down to finishing.
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