NU QB Persa leads Cats with impressive all-around performance
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Northwestern Wildcats don't need to worry about not having Mike Kafka around anymore. Dan Persa looks like he can handle the pressure just fine.
Persa threw for 222 yards and 3 touchdowns to three different receivers and also led the team with 82 yards rushing in his first start, and Northwestern beat Vanderbilt 23-21 Saturday night as the Big Ten team opened the season on the road in Southeastern Conference territory.
"I think it speaks volumes of who he is as a competitor," Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said.
The junior was nearly perfect as he helped ruin the debut of Vanderbilt's new head coach Robbie Caldwell in the season opener for both teams.
Persa was 19-of-21 passing, and he also had a team-high 17 rushes.
Caldwell said he had been trying to warn people all week how dangerous Persa can be.
"Our defense, they worked hard trying to stop him. It's about impossible to do," Caldwell said.
Vanderbilt had plenty of chances to make Caldwell the first Commodores' coach to win his debut since Woody Widenhofer in 1997.
Larry Smith threw for 240 yards and a touchdown with Warren Norman and Zac Stacy each running for touchdowns. But the Commodores missed an extra point and a 48-yard field goal and were stopped on two 2-point conversions - the last with 2:25 left on a bad snap.
"We should've won the game," Caldwell said. "We should've, would've, could've. That's what we've got to do is learn to finish."
Northwestern faced third-and-6 from its own 33 when Persa was hit a yard short of the first down marker by Vandy safety Jay Fullam. But officials flagged him for a high hit and a personal foul, allowing Northwestern to run out the clock even though it looked on replay as if Fullam simply put his shoulder into Persa's shoulder for the stop.
Both Fitzgerald and Persa said the quarterback was hit in the helmet. Fullam said he was leading with his shoulder.
"The game's on the line, and I was just trying to make a play and I ended up costing my team more than I thought I would," Fullam said.
The crowd, a couple thousand short of a sellout at 37,210, booed the officials off the field.
These teams haven't met since 1952 when the game ended in a tie, and this one might've been headed for overtime, too, if not for Vanderbilt's problems scoring after touchdowns. Northwestern had its own struggles with a blocked field goal and a missed extra point.
The Commodores outgained Northwestern in total offense 432-365. They also came up with 2 sacks, recovered a Persa fumble and defensive tackle T.J. Greenstone blocked a 27-yard field goal attempt by Stefan Demos and recovered the ball in the fourth quarter.
Fitzgerald wasn't happy with his defense's tackling. Still, they pulled out a win over an SEC team unlike the Wildcats' last game, a 38-35 overtime loss to Auburn in the Outback Bowl on New Year's Day.
"I'm excited about it. We came in and finished the job. ... We're 1-0," Fitzgerald said.