'Cats running back earns trust

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Damien Anderson is a simple man without much flash. He doesn't ask about his statistics or other personal accolades. He only asks one thing of his coaches and teammates, and that is patched on the plain black shirt that he wears underneath his letterman jacket. He wants them to "trust" him.\nApparently Northwestern does.\nThe Wildcats rode the coattails of their 5-foot-11, 202-pound junior running back as they shredded the Hoosiers Saturday 52-33 at Ryan Field. Anderson rushed for a career-high 292 yards on 36 carries and scored four touchdowns.\nAnderson didn't put much stock in his numbers. Instead, he was more interested that the Wildcats won.\n"I try not to even pay attention to stats," Anderson said. "I'm the kind of guy who just wants the team to win. The only thing that matters to me is winning."\nCoach Cam Cameron said his team was aware of Anderson and how much the Wildcats rely on him. The Hoosiers (2-3, 1-1) didn't make things better by having their worst tackling performance of the season.\n"He's just an excellent, excellent back," Cameron said. "We were aware of that, but when you miss tackles, you compound the problem."\nNorthwestern defensive end Dwayne Missouri can attest to Anderson's abilities after watching him in practice. Missouri knew Anderson was capable of carrying the Wildcats.\n"When you see some of the moves he makes in practice, you can see where he is getting better," Missouri said. "He's definitely gotten a lot better."\nAnderson averaged 8.1 yards per carry Saturday. He increased his average with a 73-yard touchdown run in the second quarter that gave the Wildcats (5-1, 3-0) a 21-7 lead. That run gave him 172 yards rushing in the game, and there was still 12:22 left before halftime.\nNorthwestern's trust in Anderson has paid big dividends. In their last three games, the Wildcats have scored 136 points. Last season, Northwestern managed 141 points all season. In those three games, Anderson has averaged more than 228 yards per game.\nWhen he arrived before last season, Wildcat coach Randy Walker challenged Anderson to become the team leader. Anderson accepted the test. \n"He's made a real choice in his life about being special, and not just on the football field but all the time," Walker said. "You can just see in his eyes and the way he came to work every day that it's important to him. He's got a lot of pride."\nAnderson said he is happy with how far he has come, but he is still looking to do more for his teammates.\n"I know I'm not a complete player and I have a long way to go," he said. "I just try to get better at every aspect of my life because that affects all of our players."\nWith that in mind, the astronomical numbers Anderson has been putting up didn't catch Walker off-guard.\n"The real great ones want it, and they want it every down, and they don't think anyone is going to tackle them," Walker said. "The thing I challenge him with is to take that attitude with him wherever he goes."\nThe Hoosiers were compounded by a number of offensive sets that ranged from the shotgun to four wide receivers. Northwestern junior quarterback Zak Kustok also operated without a huddle at some points in the game. In all, the Wildcats amassed 536 yards of offense to score more than 50 points for the first time since 1958.\n"The whole tempo of the offense gives me more running room simply because they don't know what to expect," Anderson said. "When the offensive line does a great job like it did today and making holes, I just try my best to run through them."\nIU and its ground game struggled throughout as junior quarterback Antwaan Randle El was hit early and often by the Wildcats' defense. The Hoosiers finished with 174 yards on the ground, well below their season average of 299 yards per game.\n"I thought we had a good and assertive plan," Walker said. "Our kids played really well on that side of the ball and made some plays."\nWith Anderson in the backfield and the Big Ten wide open, the Wildcats have an opportunity to make some more noise on the national level. Although he said he just wants his team to win, Anderson likes to score points for his team. He said he forgets his yardage totals, but at least he does keep touchdowns in mind, such as the four he had Saturday.