EVANSTON, Ill. -- Although it appeared his missed extra point might prove to be the difference, Sean Slattery said his thoughts never turned negative.Coach told me at halftime, `Youre gonna hit a big one, Slattery said. That gave me some confidence. You just have to believe in yourself and get it done.Slattery connected on a 33-yard field goal as time expired to give Illinois State a 9-7 upset of Northwestern on Saturday.Jake Kolbe completed 30 of his 41 passes for 287 yards and two interceptions, Anthony Warrum had nine receptions for 116 yards and George Moreira had 57 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown for Illinois State (2-0).We feel like we belong playing teams like this, Kolbe said. We stressed all week were good enough to play with teams like that.Clayton Thorson was 17 of 41 for 191 yards for Northwestern, which fell to 0-2.Justin Jackson had 39 yards on 11 carries for the Wildcats before leaving the game early in the fourth quarter with a leg injury.Thorson connected with Austin Carr on a 10-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-down play early in the fourth quarter that gave the Wildcats a 7-6 edge with 9:04 remaining. That appeared to be the winning score before Kolbe led the Redbirds on an 11-play, 77-yard drive in the final 3:11 for the winning score.We knew that today was going to be a battle, Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said. Did I think it was going to be this type of battle from a standpoint of scoring? Quite frankly, no. I thought wed be able to move the ball better on the ground. I thought, obviously, wed be able to pitch and catch better, so youve got to credit ISUs defense. They did a great job up front.Slattery missed the extra point following Moreiras 6-yard touchdown run just before halftime and missed a 49-yard attempt in the first quarter.Even when they went up 7-6, I always felt like we were gonna come back and win the game, Illinois State coach Brock Spack said.TAKEAWAYIllinois State: The Redbirds suffered a 37-3 loss in their previous visit to Ryan Field in 2010. That was coach Brock Spacks second season and Saturdays result shows how far the program has come since then. With Kolbe and Warrum leading a high-powered offensive attack, the Redbirds should again be one of the better teams in FCS.Northwestern: The struggles against Western Michigan in the opener werent an aberration. Once again, the offense could not find any consistency and Jackson could not bail them out because the Illinois State defense was keying on him. Thorson cannot seem to get on the same page with his receivers and completions over 10 yards were rare. Defensively, the Wildcats struggled to get off the field and continue to get pushed around in short-yardage situations.STUFFEDJackson left early in the fourth quarter and wasnt much of a factor before that, averaging just 3.5 yards a carry.Early on, I felt like we dominated the line and stopped him, Redbirds linebacker Alejandro Rivera said.The Northwestern players didnt disagree. Offensive line wise, I thought we got our butts kicked up front, guard Connor Mahoney said. The credit goes to Illinois State. We didnt bring it today and that falls on the whole group.NO WORK OF ARTThe Wildcats won 10 games last season, but now have dropped two games by a total of three points. They lost 22-21 to Western Michigan in the opener.I wouldnt say either of the teams weve played have put together a Picasso, Fitzgerald said. Obviously, we havent either. Our hallmark around here is we typically win close games because we make plays down the stretch and right now that isnt happening, so obviously thats my responsibility. Ive got to find a way for us not to be in these types of close games.UP NEXTIllinois State: The Redbirds host Eastern Illinois on Saturday.Northwestern: The Wildcats season-opening four-game home stand continues Saturday night against Air Max 98 Outlet . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. Air Max 98 Cheap China . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. http://www.airmax98outlet.com/ . -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Air Max 98 Cheap Wholesale . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. Cheap Air Max 98 China . -- Ken Appleby made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. HOUSTON -- Players and coaches for sixth-ranked Houston might not use the exact phrase to describe Thursdays contest against UConn at TDECU Stadium.Whether classified as a revenge game publicly or not, expect the Cougars to be looking for a little payback against the only team to beat them in 2015 while theyre the focus of college footballs national spotlight.The Cougars (4-0, 1-0 in the American Athletic Conference) were denied a perfect season last year when UConn posted a 20-17 home victory on Nov. 15 when Houston was No. 13 in the country. The Cougars went on to win the AAC Championship game over Temple and then waylaid Florida State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and have been perfect so far in 2016.Houston quarterback Greg Ward Jr. played sparingly in last years upset because of an ankle injury while star linebacker Elandon Roberts was ejected early due to a targeting call.Theres some added motivation for this one, Houston coach Tom Herman said Monday at his weekly media availability. We dont have much to talk about, but I do believe that our returning players on our team are better than they were last season. We dont see this game as a chance for redemption but there is a bit of internal sense of liability, of atonement, to right some of the wrongs that occurred.Houston has lost just one football game in Hermans 18-game tenure in the Bayou City, but he said the team wont focus on what happened last season.Its not something you forget about, Houston defensive end Cameron Malveaux said. We were 10-0 and on a roll. Being crushed like that stayed with us, but we are looking at it as another step towards our goal of getting to the conference championship.Houston comes into Thursdays game off a 64-3 walloping of Texas State on the road in which the Cougars played a nearly flawless game. Houston outgained Texas State 563-142 (429-82 in the first half), outrushed the Bobcats 243-33 and had 32 first downs to Texas States eight. The Cougars scored on their first seven possessions while fashioning a 43-3 halftime lead and had no turnovers or penalties.I was proud of the strides that the offensive made -- they played well, Herman said. It wasnt that they were playing aawful.dddddddddddd In the Cincinnati game (on Sept. 15), we were shooting ourselves in the foot in critical situations. The offense did a much better job (against Texas State) finding a rhythm and finishing drives. UConn (2-2, 0-1 American) heads to Houston on the heels of a 31-24 loss at home to Syracuse on Sept. 24 in which the Huskies owned significant advantages in time of possession (38:29-21:31), total plays (91-66) and rushing yards (144-62).Syracuse receiver Amba Etta-Tawo amassed 270 yards via 12 catches and two first-quarter touchdowns and UConn quarterback Bryant Shirreffs threw a pick-six late in the third quarter that all but doomed the Huskies.We had a couple of plays that created, really, a 21-point gift -- and you cant win like that, UConn coach Bob Diaco said.Saturdays game was tough because we can see how close these games are and how good weve become. Theres still been a few moments that have created losing and prevented winning. Its not a complacent attitude for sure. The team has gotten better every week in all three phases. For some reason, in all four games, we have had a few explosive plays in the passing games. Thats not a characteristic of how we play. Those plays have made the games harder than they need to be.Diaco understands that his team will have its hands full with Ward, who passed for 289 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 39 yards and another score in just over two quarters of play against Texas State.Ward has great pocket presence and utilizes movement back there to create opportunities -- hes not just scrambling to run, Diaco said. He puts their offense into good plays and has high intelligence about how to run their offense. Hes one of the premier quarterbacks in the nation.Houston opened as a 24? point favorite to win the grudge match with UConn. But Diaco knows his team will not back down and is buoyed by the win last year against Houston, no matter the circumstances.We are tough minded group and one that believes in itself, Diaco said. There is great clarity and strong leadership on this team. 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