Very rarely will a 24-point defeat look so good.
“Your Highness. The transmissions we received. What is it they’ve sent us?”
“Hope.”
– Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
On the surface, there may not be much reason to hope after Northwestern’s 31-7 loss to No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats gave up 420 yards of total offense — the second-worst mark of the season. David Braun’s squad was 6-for-16 on third downs, including failures to convert on nine of its final 11 opportunities. After punting on their first drive, the Buckeyes scored touchdowns on their next four.
So sure, there’s not much reason to hope just from looking at the stat sheet. And yet…the tone postgame was about as positive as it could be after a 24-point defeat.
“Hope is just showing up on game day and hoping it’s gonna happen,” Braun said in the bowels of Wrigley Field after the game. “Belief is operating in a way that is indicative of playing winning football on Saturday.”
If that’s the definition of belief, there’s no real reason to believe in Northwestern’s ability to close this season strong. But hope — well, there was real reason to hope “it” (pulling off a victory over a ranked opponent for the first time since 2020) could happen Saturday afternoon.
Just look at the Wildcats’ first two drives. Northwestern converted 4-of-5 third down opportunities, tallied seven plays of 10-plus yards and compiled 151 total yards. For comparison, Ohio State hasn’t allowed more than 250 yards in a full game five times this season.
“Against a really good team like this, you have to play a full game and start strong,” Northwestern quarterback Jack Lausch said postgame. “So I’m happy with how we started, and we’re going to continue to try and build off of that.”
Lausch should be proud of the offense. He threw for 201 yards against Ohio State (which boasts a top-five secondary in the nation), a mark that only Heisman candidate Dillon Gabriel has surpassed. On his designed runs, the redshirt sophomore tallied 44 yards on 10 carries. Over the past two months alone, his accelerated development has been incredible to watch.
“The proof is what we saw today,” Braun said of his signal caller. “To go up against the No. 2 team in the country that is stellar on defense, and play the way that he did in stretches, should be something for all of us to be really excited about.”
Eagle-eyed readers, of course, will note the in stretches part of that quote. And that’s fair. Northwestern committed three fumbles against the Buckeyes — two of which came on snap exchanges. The third happened to close the first drive, after Lausch escaped the pocket and tried to pick up the sticks with his legs. He could not, and a hit from Jack Sawyer jarred the ball loose.
“I think in the pocket, it’s two hands on the football. He does have some habits in the pocket that is concerning,” Braun said “Scrambling, in those situations, we’ve got to make sure that we’ve got two hands on the ball and we’re protecting it.”
Lausch concurred with his head coach. Even with the success the Wildcats found against a stingy Ohio State defense, clearly, the failures still weighed on Northwestern’s quarterback after the game.
“I’ll be better. That can’t happen. I can’t fumble the ball,” Lausch said. “I have to put us in the best position to succeed.”
And for the most part, Lausch did. Northwestern’s 251 total yards of offense are more than every Buckeye opponent save Oregon, Nebraska, Penn State and (oddly enough) Marshall. The defense, too, held Ohio State to just 420 yards — just eight yards worse than the mark Iowa gave up to the Buckeyes.
The real issues were Northwestern’s rushing attack and Ohio State’s propensity for explosive plays. But that isn’t exactly surprising — the Buckeyes have held three opponents under 50 yards rushing this season, so at least the Wildcats didn’t join THAT club. And against Purdue, Ohio State tallied 12 plays of at least 15 yards. Against Northwestern, the Buckeyes could muster “only” eight. It’s still not ideal. But even the Wildcats’ rough patches show that they gave Ohio State a much tougher fight than the scoreboard indicated.
Of course, the loss does ensure that Northwestern has no room for error. A bowl game is still possible, if not plausible, but it requires at least one victory over the next two games to even have a smidgen of opportunity. The Wildcats travel to Ann Arbor to take on a wounded but still dangerous Michigan team, followed by a rivalry matchup at Wrigley Field against Illinois. It’s a tough road ahead, but one this Northwestern team is eager to traverse.
“I don’t think we look at it as pressure, I think we look at it as opportunity,” Lausch said after the loss. “You have two games to win to make a bowl game, and I think we’re really excited to attack that.”
Braun is just as enthusiastic about the future.
“The men that we have in our locker room right now…any given Saturday, I’ll go with that group,” Braun said. “I still don’t think we’ve played our best football.”
And that is perhaps the best reason to hope of them all.