Another poor performance leaves more questions than answers.
Welcome back to the film room everybody.
Well, that sucked. After a strong win in College Park, Northwestern returned to Evanston for one last game on the lake, hosting the Wisconsin Badgers. In another game where nothing went right offensively, the ‘Cats were trounced 23-3. It’s the second time this season that the offense only mustered three points, once again leaving more questions than answers. So without further ado, let’s dive in.
The numbers
It was another rough day at the office for Lausch. He finished the day 9-of-24 for 82 yards and added 64 yards on the ground with a fumble. For his efforts, No. 12 earned a 59.0 PFF offensive grade — consisting of a 52.4 PFF passing grade and a 66.8 PFF rushing grade. After a career-high 11.3 yards per attempt last week in Maryland, Lausch plummeted back down to earth, registering just 3.4 yards per attempt against the Badgers. He also had zero PFF big-time throws (a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window) and one turnover-worthy play. In another concerning trend, Lausch’s time to throw was increased for the second week in a row, clocking in at 3.31 seconds.
Lausch was protected well against Wisconsin, only facing pressure on 32% of dropbacks on Saturday. The redshirt sophomore tried to push the ball down the field, attempting 10 passes of 10 or more yards, but he only connected with his targets three times. As always, here is a chart of every throw from the shores of Lake Michigan:
While the numbers are not pretty, we all know the numbers do not tell the full story, so let’s dive into the tape.
The Bad
Lausch’s poor performance against Wisconsin can be traced back to one thing — fundamentals.
Doing the basics
Lausch’s struggles were not the ones I had become accustomed to seeing from him during his previous starts. In fact, that made it more concerning.
Should have been six.
Wisconsin is in a version of cover four, and NU runs a switch concept. Bryce Kirtz does a good job of finding the soft spot in between the linebackers and safeties on the dig and is wide open; however, Lausch just missed him. The reason for the inaccurate throw is simple— take a look at his feet. No. 12 never sets his feet, giving him no platform to set and fire. Instead, the ball is all arm power, similarly to a third baseman, causing the throw to be slightly off line. I understand the pocket is closing in, but if he could have just taken a split second to set his feet, the Wildcats are in the end zone. It’s a throw a Big Ten quarterback simply has to make.
This is a weirder one to talk about because it’s not a pass, but Lausch does a poor job of identifying the defense and making the right read. NU has three receivers to the top of the screen, and Wisconsin matches with three defenders; however, on the snap of the ball Hunter Wohler flies downhill on a blitz. The ‘Cats are trying to run the RPO, setting up a bubble screen for Calvin Johnson II on the outside. The key factor here is Wohler, so the redshirt sophomore should have his eyes locked on him pre snap and during the exchange with the running back. As soon as he sees No. 24 entering the run fit, the ball should be slung out to Johnson, who had open space and blockers in front of him. Instead, he never recognizes the defender coming and hands the ball off to Joe Himon for a loss.
It’s the difference between being in third-and-long versus third-and-short or better, and with how bad Northwestern has been on third downs, having more available play calls would be helpful. This is the next step I need to see Lausch take in his development if he wants to be the long-term solution for the Wildcats, and it needs to happen quickly.
He has got to get rid of the football.
Backed up against his own end zone, Lausch has to play better situational football and understand that he has to get rid of the ball here. He takes a three-step drop, and even though the middle of the pocket is clean, he decides to start moving to his right and runs straight into the arms of a defender for a safety. Two things: number one is the ball has to be out on time here or has to be thrown away. I wouldn’t be mad if he looked at his pre-snap read, didn’t like it, and moved instantly to his checkdown. I know I’m always preaching to get through the progression, but in the shadows of your own goal line, getting the ball out takes priority.
Secondly, the lack of trust in the pocket is extremely concerning. It is eerily similar to Brendan Sullivan, which is why I thought he did not have what it took to be successful at this level. When the pocket starts to collapse, Lausch’s first instinct is to tuck the ball, which is okay because he is so athletic, but it leads to tunnel vision at points. As David Braun said during this week’s press conference, “A guy with his athleticism can get in the mode when he feels any form of pressure, of just bringing his eyes down and taking off. It’s just taking that next step of being able to maybe feel some pressure, but slide in the pocket, keep his eyes down field and continue on in his progression.” Braun knows it better than I do, but it’s just jumping out on tape. Lausch’s internal clock has to get better if he wants to be a viable Big Ten quarterback.
Final Thoughts
After showing positive signs for the last two weeks, Lausch plummeted back down to earth against Wisconsin. It’s extremely frustrating to watch because the talent is there for the Chicago native, but the same mistakes have hampered his game time and time again. When he is off-script and scrambling, the ‘Cats’ offense is dangerous; however, the lack of pocket presence is starting to concern me. Traveling to Iowa City will only be his sixth game as a starter, but I need to see more from Lausch as a passer to feel confident about him moving forward. Being able to scramble and run is phenomenal, but if that’s the only part of his game, he is on a similar trajectory to the guy riding the pine for Iowa in 2024.