Frustrating end to penalty-filled night
On a night when the officials seemed to drop a flag on every play, Northwestern ached for calls that never came in the final minute.
As the Wildcats scrambled to turn Duke's shocking 20-14 victory at Ryan Field into another classic comeback, they set up shop at the Blue Devils' 7 with four cracks at the end zone.
C.J. Bacher couldn't connect on 4 passes into the end zone, but the Wildcats and most of the 23,716 fans in attendance couldn't help but wonder about a few of them.
On second-and-goal, Bacher ducked a blitz and flung a pass toward Ross Lane near the back corner of the end zone.
Just as Lane prepared to make a play for the high ball, replays appeared to show cornerback Leon Wright shoving him from behind.
No call came from the all-ACC crew.
"C.J. gave me a chance to get it," said Lane, who caught a career-high 9 passes for 128 yards. "I turned to catch it and I got tackled before the ball even (got there)."
As the fans screamed their disgust, Lane turned to the side judge for help.
"No, (the official) didn't say anything," Lane said. "I tried to make a case, but…"
Northwestern finished with 13 penalties for 125 yards, which far outstripped its totals (8 for 80 yards) in the first two games combined.
Duke was flagged eight times for 73 yards.
Sutton sidelined: 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, the school's No. 5 all-time rusher with 2,596 yards, nursed his ankle injury Saturday night, the Wildcats struggled to find a rhythm on the ground.
Northwestern, which averaged 183.5 rushing yards in its first two games, managed 138 yards on 34 carries. Quarterback C.J. Bacher earned 35 of those yards on a mad scramble in the final minute.
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.
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.
Mims posted a team-high 10 tackles for the Wildcats, including 2 stops for loss.
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, who finished 30 of 50 for a career-high 368 yards, fired another interception on a second-quarter bomb that had no receiver within 10 yards.