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NU's Fitzgerald finds bright spots in loss
November 13, 2006
By Tim Cronin Staff writer
In the dark of Saturday's early evening, where even the Ryan Field scoreboard had been turned off -- all the better to put the 54-10 defeat by top-ranked Ohio State in the past -- Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald searched for bright spots.
He found some.
He found one in a freshman cornerback, Sherrick McManis, who was beaten once for a touchdown by Ohio State's Ted Ginn Jr., but who also picked off quarterback Troy Smith. It was only the fourth interception of Smith this season.
"I'll put Sherrick on anyone in the country," Fitzgerald said. "He's fearless. The only way you grow and you learn is if you go out and experience it. At cornerback you need a short memory at times. He'll run stride for stride with anyone we play."
Including Ginn, with whom he was nearly glued to as Ginn ran a fly pattern down the left side of the field in the dying seconds of the second quarter. At the 10-yard line, Ginn looked back, the pass by Smith landing in his hands a split-second later. It was a timing pattern of the first order, thrown perfectly by Smith, caught perfectly by Ginn, and McManis could do nothing about it.
"He did a good job of not showing his hand until the end," McManis said. "He's one of the best I've played, probably the fastest."
Another bright spot could be found at tailback in the person of Tyrell Sutton. While the lead running back ran for only 57 yards on a dozen carries -- a function of the Wildcats falling far behind early and needing to pass to catch up -- he also contributed to the altered game plan, catching seven passes for 75 yards and scoring Northwestern's only touchdown on an eight-yard reception in the second quarter.
"We still tried to get the ball in his hands," Fitzgerald said. "We always try to get the ball in his hands."
Sutton was grateful, but couldn't believe how the Wildcats turned the ball over five times. That mitigated his own performance.
"Five turnovers and two blocked punts? You can't do that," Sutton said. "We have to capitalize on their mistakes and not ours."
Sutton's 132-yard day moved the sophomore over the 3,000-yard mark for career all-purpose yards.
Now Fitzgerald has to find more bright spots to illuminate the game plan for Saturday's season finale against Illinois in Evanston. The Wildcats enter the game 3-8 overall and 1-6 in the Big Ten compared to Illinois' 2-9 and 1-6 marks.
"The future is now," Fitzgerald said.
