Sept 7, 2001
Final Stats?|? Quotes?|? Notes
No. 16 Northwestern 37, UNLV 28
By TIM DAHLBERG
AP Sports Writer
LAS VEGAS - Napoleon Harris stood with his Northwestern teammates under the big scoreboard. There was one final thing to attend to before they would turn and run onto the field to open their season.
Above was a picture of their late teammate and friend, Rashidi Wheeler. Below, stood Harris and the other Wildcats, helmets in hand, looking upward in silent tribute.
Their moment of silence done, the Wildcats could finally turn their attention to football. They would beat UNLV 37-28 Friday night, then allow themselves to reflect some more.
"It was pretty emotional," Harris said. "Rashidi was a good friend of mind. I know he's watching down on us and he had a big part in this victory tonight."
A preseason of grief and controversy behind them, the 16th-ranked Wildcats took advantage of some second-half mistakes by UNLV to open a promising season with a mistake-filled win.
It wasn't always easy to look out, but when it was over Northwestern had a win and had also made another step in the healing process.
"Everyone thought we wouldn't be able to bounce back from tragedy," linebacker Kevin Bentley said. "But we came out and had a good showing."
Zak Kustok ran for three touchdowns and threw for two scores as Northwestern overcame a shaky first half and a string of penalties to send UNLV to its second straight loss.
UNLV wouldn't let go, though, and two long touchdown passes to Michael Johnson brought the Rebels close again late in the game. But a 2-point conversion failed, and so did an onside kick.
It was a second straight week of frustration for UNLV, and one big night of relief for the Wildcats.
"Definitely, there's a sense of relief," said Harris, who had a key second-half interception. "We really didn't know what to expect."
Wheeler's death in an Aug. 3 conditioning drill and having to wait a week later than most teams to start the season had the Wildcats unsure of themselves early in the game.
But Kustok found holes in UNLV's defense at just the right times, and Northwestern began its season with a performance that should keep its preseason ranking intact.
Defensively, there were holes. But the Wildcats also kept UNLV from scoring in two goal-line stands and had a balanced attack of 187 yards on the ground and 224 in the air.
"It wasn't a work of art," coach Randy Walker said. "What is probably the best thing about it, though is I don't think any of our kids thought we played well and we still won."
That didn't set well with UNLV, which gave the game away with two second-half turnovers and a muffed punt, all of which led to Northwestern scores.
"We're just making little mistakes here and there," said running back Joe Haro, who had 104 yards and a touchdown. "We're letting things slip away, not coming together as a team."
Each time Northwestern seemed to put the game away, UNLV came back to score on long passes to Johnson, who caught touchdown passes of 42 and 53 yards.
But UNLV failed to score after getting a first down on the 3 following Dominique Dorsey's 87-yard kickoff return and missed a 2-point conversion after Johnson's final touchdown catch with 2:07 left.
UNLV then failed on an onside kick and Northwestern ran out the clock.
Damien Anderson, held to only 14 yards in the first half, ended up with 113 yards on 28 carries as he surpassed Darnell Autry to become the Wildcats' leading career rusher.
Northwestern, opening its season a week later than most schools, scored touchdowns off of three UNLV mistakes in the second half, including the final one that came on a botched punt snap with UNLV trailing 30-22 midway through the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats took over the ball and went 42 yards, with Kustok scoring on a quarterback sneak with 5:14 left in the game.
Just before running onto the field, Northwestern players - with "RAW" on their jerseys - gathered near a goalpost to observe a moment of silence for Wheeler. They stood, helmets in hand, staring up at a picture of their late teammate on the scoreboard above.
"Rashidi Wheeler, 1979-2001," the scoreboard read.
Then it was time to play football, something the Wildcats were more than ready to do after a preseason of tragedy and controversy and a late start to the season.
Northwestern's eagerness, though, didn't translate into good play in a sloppy first half marred by key penalties and a fumble by Anderson on the 1 that gave UNLV a gift touchdown and their only lead, 7-6 early in the second quarter.
With a no huddle offense and spread formations that often included five receivers and no running backs, Northwestern tried to open up the field against a UNLV defense that was allowing little up the middle.
In the second half the Wildcats got going, using a two back offense to grind down the UNLV defense.
