On his third play in relief of quarterback Trevor Siemian, Zack Oliver unleashed a gorgeous pass that Pierre Youngblood-Ary snagged for a 54-yard touchdown.
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So Siemian has been joking with Oliver: Hey, Zack, are you going to break my ankle?
Funny.
By the way, Trevor, have you ever heard of Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan?
“Yeah, from (an ESPN) ’30 for 30,'” Siemian replied with a grin. “Keeping my fingers crossed.”
Oliver might be needed Saturday regardless. Siemian, who limped off against NIU with what looked like a right knee injury, said he is “planning” to play against Western Illinois and was not listed on the weekly injury report.
But, he added, “It’s ultimately up to the trainers.”
Asked if he could have played Saturday when Northwestern was off, Siemian replied: “I don’t know.”
Siemian threw well in practice Wednesday morning, but mobility could be an issue. And just as Northwestern’s medical staff plans to hold out top receiver Tony Jones (leg) until the Sept. 27 Big Ten opener at Penn State, you wonder if there will be the same temptation with Siemian.
Whatever the case, Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald is grateful to have Oliver, a fourth-year junior from Baton Rouge, La., who had only mopped up before firing that dart against NIU.
“He’s a terrific young man, and he has been very patient,” Fitzgerald said. “Other quarterbacks in his situation typically transfer.”
Asked if he ever considered leaving, Oliver replied: “Absolutely not. I committed to this program, just like they committed to me. Worst-case scenario, I get the best education in the country.”
Siemian’s eligibility expires this season, opening next year’s job up for Oliver, Matt Alviti and Clayton Thorson.
“That’s my spot,” Oliver said confidently. “I will treat it like that and work as hard as I ever have in the offseason to get smarter and stronger. It’s my position to lose.”
Said Siemian: “Zack has the strongest arm in the (quarterback) room. It was good to see him cut it loose. We need more of that, actually.”
Oliver said it felt “good to finally get out there and throw deep, but the feeling was overcome quickly with the feeling of losing. We need to get that first ‘W.'”
Indeed, Northwestern has not started 0-3 since 1992, Gary Barnett’s first season.
Fitzgerald has dramatically changed the structure, intensity and physicality of practices, saying he needed to “shock the system.”
When backup receiver Corey Acker committed a false start, the entire defense was punished with “up-downs.” A dropped touchdown pass by Miles Shuler also led to extra conditioning work.
“We need to get guys to make some plays,” Fitzgerald said. “They’ll do it one of two ways. They’ll do it because they make the decision to trust themselves and go out and do it, or they’ll do it because they hate my guts. Either way, I don’t care.
“I wanna win frickin’ football games, and win it the Wildcat way. Until we do that, we will continue to drive this group as hard as I possibly can. That’s where we’re going, and either they’re going to get on board or jump off the boat. So far, I’ve seen everyone get on board.”
The Wildcats will switch to white helmets Saturday, with Fitzgerald joking about matching white slippers: “I’m so excited about it, I haven’t slept.”
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The part about not sleeping could be true. Fitzgerald is steaming about his team that committed nine penalties against NIU and an offense that has scored zero points in two first quarters.
Asked about boosting the pace early in practices, he replied sarcastically: “Yes, it’s rocket science. … We have to accelerate the growth of this group. This week was pretty easy; we’ll be a lot harder next week. It will keep going up until we start playing the way we believe we should.”