[NU Sports] Walker and the Big Ten

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

With the loss of Randy Walker last week, I was
reflecting on just one of Coach Walker's legacies at
Northwestern -- how he is the first Northwestern coach
to defeat each of the Big Ten schools. So as a small
tribute and a celebration of the Walker era, my look
back at Randy Walker's defining victory against each
of our Big Ten rivals ...

* ILLINOIS (Walker era record vs. Illini: 4-3):
There's no real "classic" game in this rivalry during
the Walker era ... certainly no Lenny Williams drive
in Champaign in 1992 or fourth-down Autry run in 1995.
But we still have some great performances, from the
punt return by Jeff Backes to miraculously force
overtime and the win in 2004 to the 2003 game where we
didn't even need to pass in the second half and put on
a ground display for the ages. But the 61-23 pasting
during the 2000 year has to rank at the top. It was
the home finale against our in-state rival to clinch a
share of the Walker's Big Ten championship. It was a
display of what the spread attack could do, even in
freezing weather. And the scary thing was, we played
somewhat sloppy that day. But celebrating a title amid
snow flurries against our rival in Walker's second
season on the sidelines was a special moment.

* INDIANA (4-2): It didn't exactly have fans buying up
tickets in droves, but the Hoosiers/Wildcats series
during the Walker era produced some of the more
exciting offensive football in the land. We scored 52
on IU in 2000, and they scored 56 on us the next year.
We won 41-37 in 2002, 37-31 in OT in 2003 and 31-24 in
2OT in 2004. No game really stands out, so let's go
with the 2004 double-OT win here on Noah Herron's
4th-and-1 touchdown scamper down the sidelines, an
epitome of the strong-finishing Wildcats under Walker.

* IOWA (2-3): Oddly, the Hawkeyes are the bookends of
Coach Walker's career in Evanston. Iowa was NU's only
Big Ten win during Walker's first season and Iowa was
Walker's final win as Northwestern coach. In between,
the bumblebees stung the Cats several times, including
that bitter 2000 upset that cost us the Rose Bowl, but
in true Walker fashion, NU saved their best game
against Iowa for last -- a dramatic home sendoff to
Brett Basanez, Tim McGarrigle and, as cruel fate would
have it, Coach Walker. Down 24-7 at the half and 27-14
with just over 2 minutes left, the Cats drove down to
make the score 27-21 but had used all their timeouts
to get the ball back. So it was down to an onside kick
and it was executed to perfection with Joel Howells
getting a "turf bounce" on a wet grass field and
Reggie McPherson leaping up to snatch the ball for the
purple. Basanez quickly found Ross Lane in front of
the goal post for a touchdown and a wild 28-27 victory
to send the seniors off in style. Just another
unforgettable ending for the Cats, living up to
Walker's theme of "finish."

* MICHIGAN (1-4): Walker's only win over the Maize and
Blue was truly one for the ages, the classic 54-51
thriller in 2000 that propelled NU to a share of the
league title and brought the joys of the spread
offense to many across the country. No one in the
stands in Ryan Field will ever forget the offensive
display that day, as it wasn't so much porous defense
but two talented offenses at their peak. This time, NU
looked to have their dreams shattered in this
back-and-forth battle when a fourth-down TD was called
back in the final minutes and the second fourth-down
play saw a well-thrown Zak Kustok pass bobble out of
Damian Anderson's hands at the goal line. But the Cats
never gave up, and when Michigan's Anthony Thomas
fumbled at midfield on what would have been a
game-clinching run, the Cats zipped downfield and
Kustok found Sam Simmons on a post route for the
touchdown that sent a purple craze throughout Evanston
in a win that ranks right up there with the most
thrilling games and finishes in history. CATS WIN!

* MICHIGAN STATE (3-2): Walker's teams had two
terrific wins at East Lansing where their offense
really kicked into gear to light up Sparty's
scoreboard in 2000 and 2005, but the defining Walker
game has to be the 2001 victory, a bright spot in a
season of disappointment. The 2001 season began with
the Rashidi Wheeler tragedy and the strain on the team
was added to when the season was delayed by the
terrorist attacks of September 11. By the time the
Cats took the field against MSU for an ABC game in
2001, their status as preseason favorites was the last
thing on their minds. Still, Walker's team managed to
pull off one last fantastic finish for the fans before
succumbing to the pressure in 2001. In what had been a
rather stagnant game until the final two minutes, a
last-minute drive by the Cats appeared to be for
naught as MSU ran back the ensuing kickoff for a
touchdown and the lead with less than 20 seconds
remaining. But a Zak Kustok-to-Jon Schweighardt hail
Mary and 47-yard David Wasielewski kick later pulled
out yet another fantastic finish and a 27-26 win.

* MINNESOTA (2-4): Victory right. 'Nuff said. A
hail-mary tipped pass at the gun for a 41-35 road win
in 2000 after being down 35-14. No NU fan can forget
it.

* OHIO STATE (1-4): The Buckeyes proved a tough nut to
crack for many a Wildcat coach through the decades and
it was no different for Ohio-native Walker. But with
Coach's flair for the dramatic, most NU fans will
agree that it was worth the wait. In 2002, the Cats
faced the Buckeyes' national title squad in a night
game and gave it their all, falling 27-16 after being
stopped multiple times on the goal line. But in 2004,
under the lights again, the Cats physically dominated
the sixth-ranked and unbeaten Buckeyes in front of a
national television audience. And when Mr. Clutch Mike
Nugent missed a field goal for OSU, it was #33 Noah
Herron made sure the Cats got that extra yard into the
end zone in overtime to win 33-27.

* PENN STATE (2-3): Aside from teams wearing some
variation of yellow/gold and black, the Nits may have
been Walker's most pesky foe and he was this/close to
being 4-1 against the legendary JoePa. In their first
meeting, a 38-35 home loss in 2001, PSU sent NU on a
spiral that left a preseason top 20 team out of a bowl
game ... and their last game, the 29-24 home loss in
2005, was certainly a game the Cats let slip away
late. But in between those losses, there were some
bright spots. A deep bomb broke a 7-7 tie late in the
2003 game to give the Cats a win, but the defining
Walker era win was the first win by the Cats at Happy
Valley, 14-7 in 2004. The Lions may have been in a
down year, but winning at PSU -- or beating a Paterno
two years in a row -- is never easy if you're not
named Lloyd Carr. It was a tough win the Cats earned
by showing some physicality and, as usual with Walker,
guts to finish.

* PURDUE (2-5): Joe Tiller and his Boilers were a
thorn in Walker's side as Purdue seemed to be the team
that best understood Walker's spread attack and how to
defend it. It wasn't until the final two years that
the Cats got the better of wily Joe. The 2004 slugfest
victory at home was a well-earned win on a windy
homecoming day, but the 2005 game at West Lafayette
was more vintage Walker. Reviving NU's recent role as
not-so-welcome homecoming guests, the Cats raced out
to an early lead and held on late with Tyrell Sutton's
fourth-down TD with less than 2 minutes remaining to
beat the Boilers.

* WISCONSIN (3-2): Walker's teams seemed to have the
Badgers' number during his tenure in Evanston,
knocking off a #17 ranked Badger squad on a gritty
homecoming win in 2003, a #6 and unbeaten Badger bunch
in 2000 and a #14 and unbeaten Wisconsin in 2005. The
2005 shootout, a wild 51-48 offensive explosion that
announced the arrival of Tyrell Sutton as a major
running back was a lot of fun to watch ... but the
defining victory has to be the 2000 double-overtime
classic in Madison that showed one of Walker's
trademarks - bouncing back. After a meltdown at TCU,
the Cats faced a daunting two-game roadtrip to Wisky
and MSU to start the Big Ten campaign. The Badgers
were #6 in the nation and a heavy favorite, but Walker
kept his team in the thick of a slugfest and suddenly
the spread opened things up in the two overtimes, with
Damian Anderson scoring the winning touchdown to the
moans of Cheeseheads everywhere.

Looking back, Walker was 24-32 against the Big Ten,
and 23-25 if you take away the first season -- four
seasons of six or more wins, three bowl trips, one Big
Ten title and memories and fantastic finishes too
numerous to mention. And more importantly at
Northwestern, a graduation rate that ranks among the
best in the nation year in and year out. It’s been a
pleasure to watch from the stands and an honor to have
Walker on the sidelines in Evanston. We’ll miss you
coach and we hope the Fitzgerald era lives up to the
legacy you began of always playing until the end and
finishing strong.

GO CATS!!!
-SjT


* * * * * * * * *
STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!!

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