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 Blue Jays Jerseys 2020 .C. United of Major League Soccer. United chose the defender in the second round of the 2013 MLS re-entry draft. Wholesale Blue Jays Jerseys . The team says the Spain international has a muscle pull in his right leg. Barcelona hosts third-division side Cartagena in the return leg of their round-of-32 tie after winning their first meeting 4-1. https://www.cheapbluejays.com/ . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. 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Having a 7-foot-3 standout like Porzingis helps with boards and buckets.The second-year big man made 13 of 22 shots from the field, three 3-pointers and grabbed seven rebounds over 40 minutes.He is dangerous, Rose said. For a second-year player that doesnt really know the game like that, for him to come out and play the way he plays is incredible. And for him to be 7-foot-3 and move the way that he moves is kind of crazy. A unique, unique player.Porzingis had 25 points in the first half.Shots were falling, Porzingis said. I was playing my game. My teammates were finding me. I was in good position and my shot felt good.The Wizards (2-9) played without guard Bradley Beal throughout and without much passion in the first half. Philadelphia led 29-15 after the first quarter and largely maintained a comfortable margin and until the final minutes. Trailing 103-100 with 1:10 remaining, hope faded as 76ers big man Richaun Holmes drained a backbreaking 3-pointer.They outplayed us in that first half, cooach Scott Brooks said after the Wizards fell to 0-5 on the road.dddddddddddd There was about a 12-minute period where we showed no resistance and its unacceptable. We battled back but when youre down a big number and playing catch-up, it takes a lot out of you.John Wall had 23 of his 27 points in the second half. Markieff Morris scored 19 points.You have an opportunity to play the game that you love for a living. So, playing hard should be the easiest thing that you do, Wall said. Competing, making shots, that can all come later on. Making shots, that can come later on. Sometimes youre going to make shots, sometimes youre going to miss shots. But when youre not making shots, you have to be able to defend and play hard. Most of the game, they outplayed us, until the end of second. In the third and fourth we showed glimpses.The point guard played 24 minutes after sitting out Saturdays 106-95 loss at the Chicago Bulls. The three-time All-Star has not played both ends of a back-to-back set this season after undergoing two knee surgeries during the offseason. That is expected to change Thursday, but Washington limited Walls minutes in Philadelphia accordingly.Beal missed his three straight game with a hamstring injury suffered on Nov. 9. Undrafted rookie Sheldon McClellan scored six points in his second career start.Washington won the series 2-1 last season, including a victory in the lone game at Madison Square Garden. Wall had 28 points and 17 assists in a 111-108 win on Feb. 9. ' ' '