There are some things in life you wish you could un-see. Saturday’s football loss against the Nebraska Cornhuskers was laden with these moments. Here are the eight things the NBN Sports team wishes we could un-see from the Wildcats’ heartbreaking loss.
3-and-outs (Luke Srodulski): It seemed as though the Wildcats never really woke up from their mandatory 'Cat nap before the game. They were simply manhandled by the Nebraska front line. Early on, the ‘Cats tried to run the ball, but to no avail. They were left with long third downs, and quarterback Trevor Siemian could not convert.
To combat the problem, the Wildcats chose to throw on first down, and underthrown attempts at long bombs left them with long second downs, forcing them to throw again. Failure to get yardage on first down set the tone for very short possessions. Neither the pass game nor the run game was effective on Saturday. Quarterback Kain Colter had 14 rushes for 35 yards, and besides the 80-yard scamper, running back Venric Mark had 15 rushes for 38 yards. The combination of dismal passing and running made for a woeful day for the Wildcats.
Missed interceptions (Aric DiLalla): If there is something worse than a missed chance at an interception, it’s two missed chances. For some reason, as Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez threw a ball directly at the Wildcats’ linebacking core, a pass with “Northwestern victory” written all over it, a second Wildcat came screaming in, laying one of the biggest hits all day on his own teammate. On the following play, it happened again. Safety Ibraheim Campbell made a tremendous break on the ball as he dove for a 7-1 record and a long ride home for Nebraska fans. But he dropped it. If there’s one thing you can always count on Northwestern doing, it’s breaking your heart as often as possible.
Siemian at quarterback (Andrew Hudson): It’s hard to stomach Trevor Siemian’s performances the past couple of weeks. Against Nebraska, the sophomore did have two touchdown passes, but he also had a completion percentage of 42 percent. Siemian couldn’t find the porridge that was “just right;” his throws were either underthrown or overthrown. The quarterback threw a beauty to receiver Tony Jones for a score, but afterwards things went south: Siemian was a horrific 6-19 in the second half for 57 yards. Where is the Trevor Siemian who threw for 308 yards against Indiana? He hasn’t shown up for several weeks. Maybe it’s time for Colter to be the one and only starting quarterback.
Budzien’s miss (Shannon Lane): Kicker Jeff Budzien’s missed field goal at the end of the game broke the hearts of Northwestern fans. The ‘Cats got a chance to do what they couldn’t against Penn State: reclaim the lead they lost in the fourth quarter. However, the play calling on the preceding drive left many Northwestern fans baffled. Two of Siemian’s passes were incomplete and he, not Kain Colter or Venric Mark, tried to rush for a first down, only gaining 3 yards. This did not give Budzien, who had not missed a field goal before this kick, good yardage for his attempt. The 53-yard try seemed to be inches shy of the right upright, close enough that many spectators believed at first that the kick was good. But instead, their eyes deceived them, leaving the Wildcat faithful wishing they could un-see the heartbreak that was this missed field goal.
Sea of Red (Max Friedman): This Saturday, it was hard to tell which team was playing at home and which team was visiting. There was an absolute sea of red-clad Nebraska fans covering the east side of the field. At points during the game, Northwestern was forced to go to a silent count on their home turf to combat the noise caused by the visiting Nebraskans. If there any sort of gratification to get from this loss, it’s that over half of the stadium had to trek 10 hours each way to get to and from the game.
Colter not throwing (Sylvan Lane): Kain Colter is the definition of a dual-threat quarterback with ample ability to gain yards with both his arm and feet. However, it appears that Coach Pat Fitzgerald forgot about the first part. Colter threw only two passes on Saturday while Siemian threw 35 and missed on 20 of them. Northwestern’s dual-quarterback system works best when both Colter and Siemian are involved in a variety of plays, but when Colter only comes in to run the ball or the option with Mark, the ‘Cats might as well broadcast their plays over the loudspeaker. It would only be slightly more conspicuous.
Venric’s muffed punt (Jon Palmer): Despite Mark’s 118 rushing yards Saturday, including an 80-yard touchdown run, he muffed a punt early in the first half. The punt, which should have been allowed to roll towards the end zone, resulted in a Northwestern turnover. Watching Mark fumble around with the ball as Nebraska Cornhuskers mauled him was the last thing any Wildcat fans wanted to see. Luckily, the turnover was overturned by a penalty. For the rest of the game, Mark let other bad kicks fly past him instead of risking a turnover.
Injuries (Danny Moran): The Wildcats have been blessed in many ways heading into Saturday. They squeaked out victories against Syracuse, Vanderbilt and Minnesota to reach 6-1 for the first time since 2008. But more significantly, Northwestern had managed to avoid any devastating injuries. Well, cross that one of the team’s to-do list.
Venric Mark went out in the fourth quarter with an undisclosed injury and did not return. On the defensive side of the ball, Northwestern’s top cornerback, redshirt freshman Nick VanHoose, suffered a shoulder injury while making a tackle. His replacement, Stanford-transfer Quinn Evans, soon exited the game as well with what appeared to be an ankle injury. These injuries to an already weak secondary made Nebraska’s methodical final drives all the easier.
Pat Fitzgerald announced at his press conference today that Mark would likely be back but that both VanHoose and Evans are doubtful for next week. This most likely means that Demetrius Dugar or C.J. Bryant will be installed as replacements alongside starter Daniel Jones.