Orange can't contain Northwestern offense

Senior quarterback Drew Allen threw four interceptions and Syracuse (0-2) fell to Northwestern (2-0) 48-27.

The Orange defense struggled early on and gave up a touchdown on the first drive of the game when Wildcat quarterback Kain Colter connected with junior running back Treyvon Green for a 8-yard passing play.

After another passing touchdown and two field goals, the Orange found themselves down 20 points midway through the second quarter. Syracuse finally got on the board when junior running back Jerome Smith ran three yards for a touchdown with 6:29 left in the half. After another Wildcats’ score, a costly interception by Allen would allow NU another chance to put points on the board before halftime. Junior Trevor Siemian would capitalize on the opportunity and hit junior Christian Jones in the corner of the end zone, putting NU up 34-7 at the break.

Photo: Susan Du/The Daily Northwestern

NU quarterback Kain Colter shredded the SU defense with his legs and with his arm.

The Orange came out of the locker room and marched right down the field for a quick touchdown. Allen found freshman Kendall Moore for a 16-yard touchdown, the first of Allen’s career. He and the rest of the Syracuse offense struggled to find any rhythm on offense, punting on the next three possessions. Allen then threw another interception on the ensuing drive.

Even though The Orange fought until the end, head coach Scott Shafer said his team was not able to come together and respond.

“You just keep coaching as hard as you can,” Shafer said. “There was an, ‘Oh no what are we going to do?’ moment. ‘Let’s fight our [tail] off together,’ and then just keep fighting.”

The pass defense struggled to contain NU’s two-quarterback offense, which combined for 375 yards and four touchdowns. At halftime, Siemian and Colter already had 277 yards on 22 of 24 passing. Their favorite target, junior wide receiver Tony Jones, lit up the secondary. He finished with nine catches for 185 yards and a touchdown. Colter also hurt the Syracuse defense with his legs, running for 87 yards and a touchdown.

Senior defensive tackle Jay Bromley admitted Colter is as advertised.

“He is a mobile quarterback,” Bromley said. “The zone read is great for him. He is elusive, and he is a hard guy to tackle.”

SU senior Christopher Clark stepped up for senior Adrian Flemming, who underwent foot surgery and was ruled out for the rest of the season. Schafer was impressed with the Clark’s performance.

“Chris did a good job,” Schafer said. “He made some plays and fell back into some catches.”

Bromley said that playing in the Carrier Dome next week against Wagner will help the team rebound from a winless start to the season.

“We’re just thankful for another opportunity to play football,” Bromley said. “To play in the Dome in front of our fans, we look forward to it.” 

John Paschall is the assistant sports editor at The Daily Northwestern.