“Awesome” doesn’t capture the vast disparity between two very different halves

Northwestern’s 31-7 victory over Eastern Illinois was a true tale of two halves.

Jack Lausch’s first career start was far from awesome — at least at first.

Yet perched next to A.J. Henning in front of the media after Northwestern’s 31-7 victory over Eastern Illinois, the first-time starter used the word “awesome” at least five times.

“It was awesome,” Lausch said. “You know, it was so much fun to go out with my teammates…and to just go out with those guys and get a win and find some production in the second half was awesome.”

After Mike Wright’s poor start against Duke, coach David Braun announced Lausch would get the nod against the Panthers, mentioning the strides he’s made throwing the ball downfield and his ability to take care of the football as key catalysts for the promotion.

Yet through the first half against the Panthers, that progress was nowhere to be found. The redshirt sophomore underthrew his receivers, looked flustered in the pocket and if it hadn’t been for a strong final drive of the half, would have barely scraped together 20 passing yards. No. 12 was 2-of-10 at one point, but thanks to a 5-of-7 drive that began with 1:52 left in the first half, Lausch finished the first half with 64 passing yards on 9-of-20 passing. Those passing totals came alongside 62 rushing yards as the quarterback snaked his way past Eastern Illinois’ defense for three rushes of at least 10 yards.

“I think you just saw in the first half a first-time starter a little amped up,” Braun said postgame. “I think that two minute drill allowed Jack to get into a rhythm, [and] just be reacting and trusting his instincts. Really excited how that rhythm carried over into the second half.”

The second half was a 180-degree reversal from Lausch’s tough start. The quarterback ran just once, but found success airing it out, completing all 11 of his second half passing attempts for 163 yards and two passing touchdowns, the first of his career and Northwestern’s 2024 campaign. He finished the game 20-for-31 with 227 yards, two touchdowns and 62 rushing yards.

The offense was firing on all cylinders with Henning finishing with a Northwestern career-high 117 yards receiving, thanks to two catches for at least 45 yards. The graduate student also caught Northwestern’s first passing touchdown of the season, as Lausch dropped a beauty into the outstretched arms of Henning through tight coverage.

However, the gunslinger’s second touchdown throw of the night was a showcase of his potential to be special. Layering a ball over the top of Eastern Illinois’ defense, Lausch found tight end Marshall Lang for a toe-tapper in the back of the end zone.

“The confidence; the ability to come out in the second half when things weren’t easy in the first half are things that are really encouraging,” Braun said. “We understand what’s ahead of us…But I think you saw some things out of Jack today that are showing reason for a lot of optimism.”

And with Washington on deck, the biggest question mark is if Lausch can perform against stout Big Ten competition. After all, Northwestern’s quarterback went 4-for-13 passing against FCS competition before a strong end to the first half and a perfect second half rewrote today’s headlines.

But it goes back to the complementary football that Braun emphasizes each day with his group. Tied at 7-7 in the first half, Eastern Illinois had an opportunity to take a 10-7 lead on a 36-yard field goal attempt. Helped by the “maximum effort” Braun received from his special teams unit, Najee Story said no, using his outstretched arm to knock down EIU kicker Drew Schiller’s effort. That allowed Lausch to march down the field and change the game’s complexion.

With a 14-7 lead at the half, and the confidence of orchestrating a two-minute drive to perfection in his back pocket, nobody was able to stop Lausch’s locomotive once it got rolling.

“The biggest thing was taking a breath,” Lausch said. “I think that two minute drive helped a lot, playing in tempo, playing fast.”

That’s when the momentum shifted. After a testy, first 28 minutes of action that had you have to wonder if Northwestern was destined for another version of its clashes against FCS competition in recent years, the ‘Cats showed that their 31-24 loss to SIU in 2022 and 23-20 win over Howard last season are old news.

After a heartbreaking 26-20 loss to Duke last weekend and Braun’s decision to switch things behind center looming large through the game’s first 28 minutes, Lausch showed that he has the potential to excel in Zach Lujan’s offense. More importantly, he did exactly what Braun wanted him to do: take care of the football, with zero turnovers.

Now can he do it against Washington next week and the rest of Big Ten competition? We know Braun likes what he sees, but whether this is just the beginning of Lausch’s story or the start of a false sense of hope for Northwestern fans at the possibility of continuity at quarterback remains to be seen.

What can be seen, however, is that Lausch has the reins — and he’s got the talent to command them.