Wildcats' hurting Kafka steps in at QB for injured Persa
IOWA CITY - In the days leading up to the Iowa game, Northwestern fans worried about the availability of starting quarterback Mike Kafka.
With the Wildcats' 17-10 upset of the Hawkeyes in the books, NU fans can worry about the availability of backup quarterback Dan Persa for Saturday's trip to Illinois.
Kafka and Persa split time evenly for the Wildcats at Iowa, but Persa left Kinnick Stadium on Saturday afternoon with what appeared to be a wrap and some sort of pillowy cushion protecting his immobilized right hand.
Persa apparently suffered the injury late in the third quarter when he was decked by Iowa linebacker Pat Angerer on a blitz. He underwent X-rays after the game, but NU couldn't confirm what they showed.
Other than that, Wildcats coach Pat Fitzgerald said everything went as NU wished.
"I think we stuck to the plan really well," Fitzgerald said.
Kafka, nursing a left hamstring injury, made his 10th consecutive start and saw most of his action in the first and fourth quarters.
The fifth-year senior finished 10-of-18 passing for 72 yards. He took 2 sacks and handled two sneaks for first downs, but showed none of his usual willingness to scramble or run the option.
"I was throwing it around," Kafka said. "But they were giving us some QB run stuff, so Dan's number was called and we had to put him in and he did a great job."
Persa played six snaps in the first quarter and ran on every one of them.
He didn't throw his first pass until late in the first half, when he held the Iowa defense for a beat with a play-action fake and hit Drake Dunsmore for a 4-yard touchdown that put the Wildcats ahead for good.
Persa went 5 of 9 through the air for 37 yards, an interception and his second career TD pass. He rushed a team-high 17 times for a game-high 67 yards.
This was the Persa who became the first player in Pennsylvania prep history to throw for more than 2,000 yards and rush for more than 1,000 yards in the same season.
"He's the ultimate competitor," Fitzgerald said. "I think we pulled off a little coup getting him out of Pennsylvania back when we recruited him."
Pass the word: Maybe it's coincidence, but Corey Wootton made his biggest play of the season after he enjoyed his first full week of practice.
Wootton, the senior defensive end pegged as a preseason Playboy All-American, has been slowed by last year's season-ending knee injury as well as a high ankle sprain suffered early in Big Ten play.
"Throughout the week in practice in pass-rush, he came off the edge and it was a glimpse of last year," said junior linebacker Quentin Davie. "Everybody was saying, 'Corey's back, Corey's back.' He definitely came back today."
In addition to notching his second sack of the season (the one that forced the fumble recovered by Marshall Thomas for a touchdown), Wootton tied a season hight with 3 tackles.
"This feels great just to be able to contribute and provide more for my team," Wootton said. "I'm just starting to feel closer and closer to 100 percent."
The heat is on: Pat Fitzgerald can't control the weather, but that doesn't mean he doesn't want to know a game-day forecast as soon as he can.
When he noticed Iowa City was scheduled for temperatures in the 60s, he spun it to his team as the ultimate Northwestern benefit.
"I sold it hard to our guys that this is why we do what we do," Fitzgerald said. "This is why we practice at the tempo we practice at - every single day.
"You put the FieldTurf variable into it, it was cooking down there pretty good. We didn't have anybody cramp. We had everybody prepared."
"One thing that we do is run, run, run in practice," said linebacker Quentin Davie. "We're always ready for these type of games."
The stat: Northwestern entered Saturday's game as the Big Ten's next-to-worst rushing team with 121.9 yards per game.
The Wildcats didn't do much better than that against Iowa - posting 130 yards on 49 carries - but they had exactly twice as many rushing yards as the Hawkeyes.
That means Northwestern is 6-0 this season when it outrushes its opponent, but 0-4 when it doesn't.
Stanzi's future: Iowa plays at Ohio State on Saturday with the Big Ten title in the balance, but the Hawks won't have starting quarterback Ricky Stanzi.
He spent the second half on the Iowa sideline with crutches and a walking boot to protect his injured right ankle.
"The preliminary X-ray was negative," said Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. "That's good news, obviously. The bad news is it's a severe sprain. My guess is he'll be out of action here the next couple of weeks."