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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) -- There are so many options in
Northwestern's newfangled no-huddle offense, one that features
quarterback Zak Kustok in the shotgun formation and four receivers
spread across the field.
The best one? That's simple. It's also the most effective -- give
the ball to Damien Anderson.
"Very few of our people were able to tackle him one-on-one,"
Indiana coach Cam Cameron said Saturday after Anderson ran over and
around the Hoosiers, rushing for 292 yards on 36 carries and
scoring four times as surprising Northwestern (No. 24 ESPN/USA Today, No. 22 AP) rolled to a 52-33
victory.
"You can just see it in his eyes. It's important to him. The
good running backs want the ball and they want it every down. They
don't think anybody can tackle them," Northwestern coach Randy
Walker said.
The Hoosiers couldn't stop Anderson and now Northwestern
(5-1, 3-0) has won three straight conference games to go atop the
Big Ten.
Anderson became the first Northwestern back to gain 200 yards in
back-to-back games, surpassing 1,000 yards for a second straight
season. He had touchdown runs of 1, 73, 15 and 2 yards as the
Wildcats hit the 50-point mark for the first time since scoring 55
against Michigan in 1958.
Anderson was closing in on Mike Adamle's school record 316-yard
performance set in 1969 but did not play the final 10 minutes.
"We don't break records in sixth game. If it's game 11, we
might," Walker said when asked if he would have put Anderson back
in the game.
"I try not to pay attention to stats," Anderson said,
admitting he knew he had four touchdowns. "I caught it once that I
had 247 yards, but as an offense we had to put Indiana out of the
game. The yards are going to come."
The 5-foot-11, 202-pound Anderson has added speed this season
and it's helped him beat linebackers to the outside after he takes
the handoff from Kustok in the shotgun.
By spreading the field, Northwestern is, in essence, creating a
game of 7-on-7.
"The whole focus of our offense is faster," Anderson said.
"It puts the defensive backs and linebackers at a disadvantage.
Instead of me reacting to them, they're reacting to me."
Anderson's rushing total is the third best this season. TCU's
LaDainian Tomlinson had 294 on Saturday against Hawaii, and
Wisconsin's Michael Bennett gained 293 against Northwestern in the
Wildcats' 47-44 overtime victory two weeks ago.
Northwestern couldn't completely stop elusive quarterback
Antwaan Randle El, but the Wildcats certainly slowed him and an
offense that was averaging 39 points a game. Using backups, the
Hoosiers (2-3, 1-1) scored two late touchdowns after the outcome
was decided.
"It's hard to play catchup, said Randle El, who ran for 80
yards and passed for 165 to pass Steve Bradley as the Hoosiers'
career total yardage leader (7,044). "We're not in a position to
do that. We put ourselves in a really bad situation."
Kustok threw touchdowns passes of 23 yards to Sam Simmons in the
first quarter and a 50-yarder to Teddy Johnson in the third. Four
minutes later, Anderson broke off his 15-yard scoring run to give
the Wildcats a 38-14 lead.
Simmons, also the Wildcats' kick returner, had to leave the game
in the second quarter when he aggravated a stress fracture in his
back.
Randle El had a 50-yard run to set up De'Wayne Hogan's 9-yard
run in the second quarter and tossed a 4-yard touchdown pass to
Kris Dielman early in the fourth, but spent most of his day
avoiding the Wildcats' rush.
Anderson, who ran for 219 yards against Michigan State a week
ago, tightroped the sideline on his 73-yard scoring run that put
the Wildcats ahead 21-7 in the second quarter, en route to a 24-14
halftime lead.
Northwestern used two Indiana mistakes for its first two
touchdowns.
Indiana punter Andy Payne was ruled to have touched his knee to
the ground after he picked up a low snap. That gave Northwestern
the ball at the Indiana 43 and after two 8-yard runs by Anderson,
Kustok hit Simmons on a 23-yard touchdown pass.
Randle El then completed a pass to Versie Gaddis near the
sideline on the Hoosiers' next scrimmage play but he fumbled after
a hit by Harold Blackmon and Rashidi Wheeler recovered for the
Wildcats.
Northwestern then quickly moved 73 yards with Anderson breaking
off runs of 13 and 12 yards after a personal foul penalty on
Indiana. Anderson's 1-yard run gave the Wildcats a 14-0 lead after
one quarter.
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