Northwestern’s trip to Wisconsin ended with chants of “overrated” from the crowd, and on Saturday afternoon, it didn’t look like the Wildcats had much of an argument.
No. 19 NU (4-2, 0-2 Big Ten) was romped 35-6 by Wisconsin (4-2, 2-1), handing the ‘Cats their second straight loss and, if head coach Pat Fitzgerald gets his wish, a wake-up call.
“I hope it gives our guys a punch in the face,” head coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “A lot of those guys in that locker room are incredibly disappointed in the way that we performed collectively here as a program today.”
To make matters worse, Northwestern lost senior running back Venric Mark to an ankle injury in the first quarter, and he did not return. Mark had just come back from another injury last week against Ohio State. Senior quarterback Kain Colter also suffered an ankle injury, though his didn’t appear as serious.
The Wildcats, typically a run-oriented team, only put up 44 yards on the ground. It was their first time failing to score a touchdown since 2006.
The ‘Cats started strong with a solid opening drive – well, two drives, but they seemed to mold into one. They took it 26 yards before senior quarterback Kain Colter was intercepted, only to get it back two plays later off a Wisconsin fumble.
The NU offense picked up right where it left off and moved the ball downfield, but it stalled inside the Badger 10-yard line. The Wildcats settled for a Jeff Budzien field goal to take the lead.
From there, the ‘Cats sputtered while Wisconsin came alive. The Badgers put up 21 unanswered points, a run started by a 63-yard touchdown catch from Jared Abbrederis and capped off by a 71-yard touchdown run from Melvin Gordon.
Fortunately for the Wildcats, they caught several breaks that allowed them to go into the locker room down just two scores. Wisconsin's Kyle French missed a field goal, Badger quarterback Joel Stave threw his second interception, and the ‘Cats were able to go downfield for a 43-yard field goal just before the half to make it 21-6.
Apparently, the kick didn’t generate any lasting momentum, because Wisconsin put together a 75-yard drive to open the third quarter and go up 28-6.
First downs became a rare commodity for the ‘Cats in the second half. Of their 10 total first downs, only two came after halftime. Meanwhile, Wisconsin continued to move the ball with ease, and a 56-yard scoring drive capped off the day’s scoring.
Turnovers have been huge for NU all season, but forcing three while only giving up one didn’t seem to change things. No matter what position the offense was put in, it couldn’t get anything done.
Northwestern broke its practice huddles this week with a chant of “Big Ten Champs!” An 0-2 conference start makes those dreams a little tougher to catch, but junior quarterback Trevor Siemian said the team is already looking ahead to next Saturday’s home game.
“We’ve had the mindset from the get-go that it’s one game at a time,” Siemian said. “Yeah, we’ve dug ourselves a nice little hole here, but we’ve got to get ready for Minnesota.”
Let’s take a look back at NBN’s keys to victory and how the Wildcats fared in those categories.
Red zone offense
It’s a little tough to judge, since Northwestern only made one trip into the red zone. But yet again, the ‘Cats failed to get more than three points. They got down to the three-yard line but went backwards on two straight plays and had to settle for a field goal.
Run defense
It’s always key against a team like Wisconsin, and the Wildcat defense just couldn’t measure up. While the Badgers were held below their season average, giving up 286 yards just won’t cut it, and the 71-yard Gordon run was the one that essentially busted the game open.
Quarterback play
From just this game, you wouldn’t guess that the ‘Cats came in with two quarterbacks in the top three of the Big Ten’s passing efficiency leaders. Colter looked sharp early until his bad decision led to an interception, and after he re-aggravated an ankle injury from practice, he didn’t have another chance to redeem himself. Junior Trevor Siemian had a very poor game, going 13-for-34 while getting sacked five times.