IT WAS A DONE DEAL WHEN...
N'Western opted to punt the ball on 4th and 1 with 1:31 left to play in the fourth. They figured they'd use their timeouts after each play, force the 3-and-out, and make one last run at us. But the decision didn't pay off, because we didn't give the ball back.

GAME BALLS
Well, surely nobody on the kick return unit gets a game ball, because N'Western ran back 4 touchdowns on kick returns. That's pathetic. Even back in 2007 when we had a weak kicker and slow coverage guys, we never had such a disaster. We need to get back to basics there. ... On offense, John Powell gets a game ball for tossing 4 TDs (3 of which came on play-action fakes). ... HB Melvin Hawkins gets one too, with 141 yards on 19 carries. And his running it what made Powell's touchdowns on the play-fakes possible.

KEY STATISTICS
N'Western had an incredible 430 kick return yards on the night. That's the only reason they stayed competitive with us.

NOTES
Sophomore John Powell has 12 TD passes after 4 games. He's on pace to break D.J. McPhearson's record of 22 touchdown throws in a single year. ... True freshman halfback Melvin Hawkins has put together three straight 100 yard rushing performances. ... We had in-season recruit DE Nick Coe in for a visit this week.