The Northwestern Wildcats wrapped up their season Saturday afternoon in Madison, losing to the Wisconsin Badgers 70-23 in their worst loss of the season. Although there was a whole lot of ugly on the gridiron (three fumbles, four interceptions) there were also some bright spots, giving ‘Cats fans hope for next season. Three things to take away from the final game of the 2010 season:
Turnover, turnovers and oh, did we mention turnovers?
Looking at Northwestern’s drive summary, it would seem promising that they didn’t have to punt the entire first half, until you realize they turned the ball over five times. Add that to another interception and a dropped punt in the second half and you get a total of seven on the game. Wisconsin scored 35 points in the second quarter largely due to the Wildcats’ inability to hold onto the football.
Defensive lineman J.J. Watt was the thorn in the side of the Wildcats’ offense. He caused four of the seven turnovers and was, at least indirectly, involved in all of them. If he wasn’t causing fumbles, he was in Evan Watkins’ face forcing interceptions. A quarterback has a very difficult time concentrating when someone with Watt’s power and speed is coming towards him on the blind side.
To add insult to injury, Venric Mark made his only mistake of the game late in the fourth quarter by accidentally touching a punt, allowing a Wisconsin recovery. These seven turnovers probably would not have changed the outcome of the game, though they certainly deflated the Wildcats’ spirits.
Special Teams
Give Wisconsin 559 yards. Give them defensive production with seven turnovers. Give them time of possession with 37 minutes. At least you can’t give them special teams.
It seems ironic after struggling the entire year, special teams puts up its best performance in the Wildcats’ worst defeat of the season. All of the credit for the game’s strong performance goes to freshman Venric Mark. The ‘Cats returned kick-offs for 318 yards with an average of 29.8 yards per carry. Mark had the first return touchdown of the season after breaking through Wisconsin for 94 yards. Ignoring the fact that this score allowed Wisconsin to put up another touchdown before the half ended, Mark’s run was a spectacular moral victory in an otherwise dreary game.
Mark’s performance today should get ‘Cats fans excited for the future.
There’s always next year
When a team allows 70 points to be scored on them and turns the ball over seven times, what else can you do but look towards the future? By the time the fourth quarter came around, Fitz was using the 43-point deficit to give his young players some much needed experience.
Evan Watkins had a lackluster game but showed some real promise. Although it wasn’t as pretty, he even looked a little like Dan Persa when he bumbled into the end zone for a six-yard run in the second quarter.
True freshman Kain Colter got to see some action with 16 total yards. Although he failed to complete a pass, he did show some speed in the second quarter when Fitz let him take some runs immediately after the snap. True freshman Adonis Smith ran for 29 yards and showed his ability to break tackles and gain some yards after contact.
With Persa, Trumpy and Schmidt out, all ‘Cats fans have to be looking towards the future. Those three combined for 32 of the 33 touchdowns NU scored before to the Wisconsin game, and all three will be back next year, barring more injuries. Hopefully, 2011 will be the year of the Wildcat.