6:46 Second Quarter; Northwestern 10, Penn State 3
To start the second quarter, Mike Kafka completed another 13-yard pass, this time to Zeke Markshausen. Kafka went right back to that, hitting Markshausen for another 13 yards. Then Kafka found Ebert for 16 yards. But the momentum was halted as Kakfa was brought down at the line of scrimmage. Stephen Simmons then took the ball for a three-yard rush. On third and seven, Kakfa rushed the ball himself, and thanks to a great block by Ben Burkett, got the first down. On first and goal, a fake handoff gave Kafka a huge running lane, and he was able to take the ball in for a touchdown. Stefan Demos kicked the extra point, giving the Cats a 10-3 lead. That was a quick 80-yard drive that made the Penn State defense look silly.
That could have been the best offensive drive Northwestern has had this season. That was only the second first-half touchdown Penn State has allowed this season. The Cats have 10 points already, which is more than the Nittany Lions are averaging giving up a game this season.
A short Demos kick sets the Penn State offense up at the 34-yard line. Royster started with a rush of six yards to the 40. Then, a pass to tight end Mickey Schuler looked to be stopped short of the first down marker at the 43, but he was not ruled down and proceeded to move across midfield. The play went under review, and sure enough, he was ruled down one yard shy of the first down at the 43-yard line, thanks to a Brad Phillips tackle. On the play, Royster was stopped shy of the first down, and NU declined an illegal shift penalty on Penn State. The Nittany Lions opted to punt, and Andrew Brewer waved fair catch on the 16-yard line, where the NU offense will take over. That was another great defensive stand by the Cats defense. Penn State has not been able to establish a running game so far this game.
NU didn’t help itself with a false start on first down. Kafka broke a shoestring tackle on a quarterback keeper to pick up 10 yards. On second down, Concannon rushed for three yards. Third down and NU oped to punt. Chaos ensued as Demos dropped the snap, and he flipped the ball to Mark Woodsum, and somehow he picked up a first down. On the next play, the momentum was promptly halted as Kafka was sacked for a loss of one. Markshausen was plastered by Sean Lee, but held on and picked up seven yards. NU took a timeout to draw up a play at this critical juncture. They elected to line up Dan Persa at quarterback, and he ran for seven yards and a first down. Persa then showcased his arm and passed to Brewer for six yards. Concannon rushed for two yards, but a holding penalty brought up a second and 14. Persa couldn’t find Dunsmore on second down. On third down, Persa could only manage to find Markshausen over the middle for five yards, setting up a Demos punt. Penn State called fair catch on the 7-yard line.
As for why Persa went in the game, it was clearly not just for a change of pace. Kafka is sitting on the bench with his helmet off, and is grabbing the back of his left leg. He appears to be trying to drop back on his leg. We’ll keep you posted on how it plays out.
