NU ground attack stalls without Sutton
For the first time since arriving at Northwestern in 2005, an injury kept running back Tyrell Sutton off the field for an entire game.
While Sutton nursed his ankle injury Saturday night, the Wildcats struggled to find a rhythm on the ground in their shocking 20-14 non-conference loss to Duke.
Northwestern, which averaged 183.5 rushing yards in its first two games, managed 138 yards on 34 carries.
Senior Brandon Roberson stepped in for Sutton, earning his first start since the 2005 opener, and posted 80 yards and 1 touchdown on 21 carries.
Sutton, the school's No. 5 all-time rusher with 2,596 yards, suffered several injuries during his first two seasons, but always played for at least a while.
Sutton's previous low for attempts came last year at Michigan, when he carried 7 times for 6 yards.
Not by the book: The general rule of thumb in football? Don't take points off the board.
But when Duke jumped offside on Amado Villarreal's successful 34-yard field goal late in the first half, Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald opted to accept the penalty and give his offense a chance to convert a fourth-and-3 from Duke's 11.
C.J. Bacher fired a pass on the sideline to Omar Conteh that would have earned the first down, but cornerback Glenn Williams drilled Conteh and knocked the ball out for an incompletion.
Northwestern ended up heading into the locker room with a 20-7 deficit instead of a 10-point margin.
Wildcat Left: On its last drive of the second quarter, Northwestern unveiled a trick formation that reaped decent results.
On first-and-10 from Duke's 45, slot receiver Eric Peterman -- with no teammates within 10 yards of him -- snapped the ball from the right hash mark while the entire offensive line lined up well left.
Only Ross Lane, the flanker, lined up to the right of Peterman, and he caught a 14-yard pass from C.J. Bacher.
Northwestern tried "Wildcat Left" on the subsequent play, but Bacher's pass to Peterman fell incomplete as Duke declined an illegal shift penalty.
Mims in: After earning back-to-back sacks on the final plays of last week's win over Nevada, junior Kevin Mims started at defensive end ahead of David Ngene.
The rest of Northwestern's starting lineup remained the same as last week, with the exception of senior Brandon Roberson starting for the injured Tyrell Sutton at running back.
By the numbers: Junior quarterback C.J. Bacher entered Saturday having played three full games without an interception.
That streak, which stretched over 105 attempts, ended on the game's second snap as Bacher rolled left and fired a bullet at middle linebacker Michael Tauiliili.
Bacher fired another interception on a second-quarter bomb that appeared to have no receiver in mind.
Cry foul: Northwestern drew so many penalty flags in the first half, most of the 23,716 at Ryan Field rose and cheered the ACC officiating crew when Duke was flagged for being offside with five minutes left in the first half.
The Wildcats committed 6 penalties for 70 yards in the opening 20 minutes, which rivaled the host's totals (8-for-80) in its first two games combined.