Recap
On the second play from scrimmage, Northwestern lost Nick VanHoose, its best starting cornerback, for the rest of the game with a lower back injury. Vanderbilt promptly marched the ball 77 yards on 13 plays and scored on a 22-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Jordan Rodgers to wide receiver Jordan Matthews.
Northwestern answered with a field goal after 10-play, 52-yard drive that was spurred by Kain Colter’s legs, but the offense sputtered after that.
The Wildcats only had three more drives in the first half, all of which resulted in punts. Trevor Siemian relieved Kain Colter on that last drive but a dropped Tony Jones pass ended his first drive as a three-and-out.
Northwestern was down 10-3 at halftime, but it could have been far worse. Siemian’s second pass was batted up in the air and then dropped by blitzing linebacker Archibald Barnes. Had Barnes come down with the pick, it would have been a sure touchdown return.
Then on Vanderbilt’s last drive, Jordan Rodgers fumbled inside the 15 yard line, another surefire score that the Commodores gave away.
The Northwestern defense clamped down in the second half. Vanderbilt was forced to punt on their first four drives of the half, three of which were three-and-outs.
Siemian then relieved Colter at the end of the third quarter and immediately got the offense moving. He led an 11-play, 86-yard drive, Northwestern’s longest of the season, which was capped off by a 7-yard touchdown run from Venric Mark to give Northwestern the 13-10 lead.
The Commodores started their next drive at their own 31 and huge catch and run out of the backfield by their starting running back Zac Stacy for 55 yards put them inside the Wildcat 15. Vanderbilt got as close as the 4 but the Northwestern held strong and only allowed Vanderbilt to tack on a field goal to tie the game as the rain began to fall.
Siemian followed up by leading another brilliant drive down the field. Northwestern was stopped just short of a touchdown and took a 16-13 lead after Jeff Budzien’s third field goal. With two minutes left, Vanderbilt got the ball back but Tyler Scott sacked Rodgers on their first play and Rodgers lost another fumble.
The Wildcats lost yards on their next two plays, putting them in danger of giving Vanderbilt another chance. But on third down, Kain Colter sealed the game with a 29-yard touchdown on a designed misdirection run.
Three things we learned
1. The answer for the secondary is the front seven
After Vanderbilt marched down the field against the Wildcat defense for a touchdown on their first drive, it seemed like Northwestern’s secondary was in for a long day. But the defense looked all-world in the second half and it was due in huge part to the Wildcat front seven.
Outside linebacker Chi Chi Ariguzo followed up his excellent game last week by flying all over the field. He led the team with 10 tackles, three of which were for a loss. He also had a sack and a near interception. He just has a knack for finding the ball. David Nwabuisi missed a couple of tackles but also had a nose for the ball, recovering a fumble.
The defensive line was stellar as well. Three of the starters, defensive tackle Brian Arnfelt, and defensive ends Quentin Williams and Tyler Scott forced fumbles. Scott helped finish Vanderbilt off with a sack and forced fumble. He also had two tackles for loss. There is also depth on the defensive line. True freshman Dean Lowry looked great in a reserve role.
Northwestern held the Vanderbilt offense to fewer than than 100 total yards in the second half. After allowing a 55-yard pass, they had an excellent goal line stand that kept the Commodores out of the end zone.
Much of the credit for that goes to the front seven for generating so much pressure on Rodgers, not giving him much of a chance to challenge Northwestern’s weakened secondary.
2. Neutralizing Venric Mark — not so easy
Venric Mark may have been too good for his own good in Northwestern’s opener against Syracuse. Mark took an 82-yard punt return to the house for the Wildcats’ first touchdown of the season and broke Northwestern’s single-game record for punt return yardage (134), earning Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week. Vanderbilt must have watch the game tape or something because they seemed to know about him.
Their punter, Richard Kent, punted the ball six times, all of which were towering kicks that Mark could not return. In fact, Mark had a fair catch on each of Kent’s punts, garnering zero punt return yardage.
But even though Vanderbilt did not give Mark a chance to hurt them on special teams, he was an absolute beast out of the backfield. He ran for 123 yards on 24 carries and scored the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. On that same drive, Mark had what would have been an 86-yard touchdown catch called back after it was determined he stepped out of bounds.
He’s added weight to be the starting running back and his strength really shows. He rarely went down the first time he got hit, particularly behind the line of scrimmage, turning multiple losses into positive yardage. And as a former wide receiver, he is a constant threat to catch the ball out of the backfield.
Colter and Siemian have played very well in spurts but it’s already clear that Mark is far and away Northwestern’s best offensive player. Speaking of Colter and Siemian…
3. The No. 1 quarterback is…
Well, maybe there is no answer here yet.
But as a passer, Colter was ineffective in the first half, going 2-for-7 for only 11 yards. The offense moved well under his watch in the no-huddle on the first drive of the second half, leading to a field goal, but he overthrew a wide open Tony Jones on the next drive on what could have been a 73-yard touchdown pass.
Siemian executed the no-huddle spread offense to perfection in the fourth quarter, hitting six different receivers on his last two drives. He then marched them back down the field for 73 yards on 12 plays after Vanderbilt tied the game. That resulted in a field goal, giving Northwestern the 16-13 lead.
Just when it seemed like Siemian might have passed Colter as the clear No. 1 quarterback, Northwestern got the ball back on another Rodgers fumble and Colter came back out as quarterback. He finished Vanderbilt off with a 29-yard touchdown run.
After the game, Pat Fitzgerald affirmed that Kain Colter would remain the staring quarterback next week against Boston College. And why not? Technically, Colter is 2-0 this year as the starting quarterback.
But based on Siemian’s performance the past two weeks (18-for-27, 169 yards, 1 touchdown), he should continue to see the field. One would hope the coaching staff rewards the guy that led game-winning drives on back-to-back weeks. It will be an easier decision for the coaching staff if Colter’s passing performance does not improve.