Guard Ryan Padgett, who limped off the field in the third quarter and did not return Saturday at Illinois, apparently was not hurt as seriously as first feared.
Northwestern reported Sunday that the 297-pound senior has a sprained left ankle, and his status is day-to-day for Saturday’s Dyche Stadium matchup with Penn State.
Tickets going fast: NU said Sunday that only a few end-zone and obstructed-view seats remain for the Penn State game. A sellout of some 50,000 is expected.
Bad, good: Coach Gary Barnett is certain to stress methods this week to improve his team’s disappointing performance on third-down conversions (3 of 15, 20 percent) at Illinois. On the other hand, QB Steve Schnur’s offensive line blocked so well that Schnur was not sacked. Last year, Simeon Rice made three of his team’s six sacks as the Illini won 28-7 at Dyche Stadium.
Spoilers: Saturday’s victory improved NU’s record as a national spoiler on opponents’ homecoming dates. The Cats have won the last five times they were homecoming guests: at Air Force, Minnesota and Indiana last year and at Minnesota and Illinois in 1995.