Northwestern may be a top 10 institution, but the Wildcats’ offense might want to take a few notes from Washington’s red zone success.
While trailing 17-2 on Washington’s 1-yard line with 5:07 left in the third quarter, Northwestern coach David Braun brought out his field goal unit to bring the Wildcats within 12. Kicker Jack Olsen nailed the 18-yard attempt, but the decision to kick rather than go for it on fourth down was head-scratching in Northwestern’s 24-5 loss.
On first-and-goal from the 4-yard line, quarterback Jack Lausch completed a two-yard pass to tight end Thomas Gordon. On second down, Lausch was stymied at the far pylon by a pack of Huskies before running back Caleb Komolafe couldn’t punch it in on third-and-goal.
And yet, with his offense struggling all game and the Wildcats trailing by two scores, Braun, just a single yard from a touchdown, opted to keep the game within two possessions by taking three points rather than roll the dice to get the ‘Cats within a score.
“Thought that getting it down to 12 would allow us to, instead of chasing a tie, go get two touchdowns and go win the football game,” Braun said postgame.
Washington responded on the ensuing drive with a touchdown. But Joseph Himon II gave Northwestern life, returning the kickoff 96 yards to Washington’s 2-yard line. After moving the line of scrimmage to the 1-yard line thanks to a Washington defensive penalty, the offensive wheels came off for good. Lausch couldn’t find Marshall Lang open on first down, Komolafe got stuffed up the gut on second down and Lausch and Kirtz couldn’t link up a play later.
On fourth-and-goal, Lausch looked for A.J. Henning, but his pass, aside from short of the goal line, was knocked aside by Bryun Parham.
The two red zone blunders were both infuriating and shocking, making you wonder why Northwestern couldn’t simply smash the ball up the middle. In consecutive drives, Northwestern had nine plays within Washington’s 4-yard line. The end result — just three points.
Under David Braun, the ‘Cats have melted under pressure during big moments in the red zone. It’s almost as if Northwestern has trauma from its previous mishaps, preventing it from making the same decisions again.
Going back to last season, you don’t have to look further than Northwestern’s dogfight with Iowa at Wrigley Field. Trailing 7-0 in the fourth quarter, Northwestern had first-and-goal from Iowa’s 2-yard line. With four consecutive snaps from under center, Northwestern ran the ball four straight times just to come up short of a touchdown. Although the ‘Cats scored a touchdown on their next drive, they lost 10-7.
For further proof, look at Mike Wright’s fumble on a QB sneak from the 1-yard line against Miami of Ohio in Week 1. Since that error, the Wildcats have refused to take snaps under center. Rather than a quarterback sneak on third-and-1 in double overtime against Duke, Wright’s speed option disaster is a hard one to forget. And despite needing just one yard for a touchdown twice against Washington, the ‘Cats opted for a field goal and a passing play short of the goal line when a QB sneak or halfback dive would have sufficed. The lingering effects of previously botched calls seemingly continue to impact decision-making.
“Zach [Lujan] and I are in constant communication throughout the week,” Braun said. “I told our players, if there’s any finger-pointing going on in our program right now, they should point the finger at me.”
While Northwestern’s defense continues to keep this squad in games, Northwestern’s offensive reality hasn’t changed. After succumbing to Washington’s early 17-point onslaught in the game’s first 20 minutes, NU’s defense held down the fort, recovering a fumble while allowing just seven points and 201 yards of total offense the rest of the way. The game’s opening quarter and a third were ugly, as the Will Rogers to Denzel Boston connection exposed the Wildcats’ pass defense. But in the second half, Tim McGarigle’s unit gave Zach Lujan a chance. A chance the offense couldn’t capitalize on.
Without bell cow back Cam Porter, as well as offensive lineman Nick Herzog and Jordan Knox, not to mention mid-game injuries to center Jack Bailey and guard Josh Thompson, Northwestern’s run game that was averaging 161.7 yards per game collapsed into just 59 yards on the ground. Himon and Komolafe combined for 29 yards on 12 carries, while Lausch ran 13 times for 21 yards.
“It’s not X’s and O’s, it’s being able to move and puncture the line of scrimmage,” Braun said. “Excited about continuing to ride with Caleb Komolafe and Joe Himon. But in those scenarios, a Cam Porter would certainly be an incredible asset with being able to get his pads down and pick up that one yard, two yards in short yardage situations.”
With the injuries up front, Lausch struggled in the pocket, getting sacked twice after Northwestern had only allowed one sack through three weeks. Rolling away from constant pressure, the redshirt sophomore seemed indecisive with the football, finishing 8-of-27 for 53 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.
“I’m just excited to look at the film and really slow it down and just see how I can get better,” Lausch said postgame.
A.J. Henning seems to be Lausch’s go-to target, something Northwestern needs to lean into. But even thought he had the potential to be Northwestern’s best offensive player any given Saturday, Bryce Kirtz has been eerily quiet since his six catches for 91 yards against Miami of Ohio. While he did target No. 17 seven times, Lausch only completed one pass to Kirtz for two yards.
That is a problem. So is Northwestern’s 112 yards of total offense — less than Boston’s 121 receiving yards and the fewest by Northwestern since at least 2000. Northwestern’s 53 passing yards were the fewest since the Wildcats had 42 passing yards against Ohio State in 2019, while its 59 rushing yards were the fewest since losing to Penn State last season.
The struggles on third down continue too. After a 3-for-16 day against Duke on third downs marked Northwestern’s worst third-down performance since a 2-for-15 day against Wisconsin in 2020, the Wildcats went 2-for-13 against the Huskies.
Although Washington controlled the entire feel of the game, the craziest part is that if Northwestern was clinical, punching in those two trips to Washington’s 1-yard line, the Wildcats would have had a chance to legitimately win this ballgame.
“Regardless of the outcome in those two goal line situations, I don’t think we played well, played our brand of football but we certainly had opportunities to make this a closer football game than it was,” Braun said.
Yet poor playcalling, poor execution for an offense devoid of identity without Cam Porter and an inability to get the football in Bryce Kirtz’s hands continues to put a hard ceiling on Northwestern’s success.
“We just got to find a way,” Lausch said on those red zone opportunities. “We got to find a way to finish.”