Rozner: Wildcats push Irish to the very end
It was supposed to be a very big night of college football along Lake Michigan.
After all, you had No. 4 Notre Dame undefeated and playing for a better spot in the playoff rankings.
And you had Northwestern at home with a national TV audience on a Saturday night, the Wildcats having won four straight and 12 of their last 13 in the Big Ten.
Something had to give. Well, something had to give if you believe in the strength of the Big Ten, which is generally more wish than reality.
The reality is more like what the Irish delivered Saturday night in Evanston.
Notre Dame improved to 9-0 with a 31-21 victory and will move up in the playoff rankings after top dog Alabama put it to No. 3 LSU in Baton Rouge, while the Cats, well, nothing really changed for the Cats.
They dropped to 5-4 overall but still lead the B1G West with a 5-1 record.
The Wildcats made a game of it for a full four quarters, and you could call that a moral victory if you're an NU type and such things appeal to you, much like the last time a huge Saturday night game was contested at Ryan Field.
Five years ago this October, Northwestern had Ohio State on the ropes on a night that was so filled with honorable efforts.
They drew ESPN's "College GameDay" to campus for the first time, sold out a raucous Ryan Field, played on national TV and in a game that could have vaulted them into the Big Ten title picture.
Perhaps, even, the national championship conversation.
That was all so very cute, but the victory the 16th-ranked Wildcats really needed that night was the one they couldn't get against the undefeated and No. 4-ranked Buckeyes.
That was the one on the field.
Northwestern settled for the moral victory in Evanston, Ohio State having to come from behind in the final six minutes.
That didn't happen this time, but it was again a very well-played game by the Cats.
They couldn't have gotten a much better start when the Irish botched a handoff on their first series, giving Northwestern great field position, but the short drive stalled and when the Cats missed a 39-yard field goal it allowed Notre Dame to reset.
From there, the Irish dominated the first quarter, taking a 7-0 lead after a long drive. Another extended series put Notre Dame in first-and-goal from the 5, but a pair of penalties cost them a chance at a TD and when they missed a 45-yard field goal, the Cats had new life.
It felt like an upset might be brewing.
Pat Fitzgerald said Northwestern had nothing to lose this week, and on their next drive he went for it on fourth-and-5 from the Notre Dame 25, coaching like a man with nothing to lose in a nonconference game.
It paid off when NU converted on a spectacular one-handed catch by Bennett Skowronek and later scored on a Clayton Thorson sneak to tie the game at 7-7 midway through the second quarter.
A match that could have gotten out of hand early was suddenly a football game.
It was 7-7 after two quarters, but Notre Dame got their defense together and stopped Northwestern three straight times to start the second half, while collecting 17 points on its first three possessions in what could generously be described as a wintry mix and ferocious wind.
Still, the Cats wouldn't go quietly into the miserable night, coming back to score with 11 minutes left in the game, cutting the lead to 24-14, and forcing the Irish to punt with nine minutes remaining.
When Northwestern blocked that punt, they had the ball at the Notre Dame 17, and after punching it in on fourth-and-goal from the 1, they were down just 24-21 with 7:05 left to play.
This was the football game the Cats were hoping for all week, a chance to win in the final minutes.
Once again, however, the Irish marched it all the way down the field and scored on a brilliant, play-action, QB keep by Ian Book from 23 yards out on third-and-4, and Notre Dame had put the game away with 2:45 to play.
It was another great effort from the Wildcats on a big night in Evanston.
But once again, they had to settle for that.