Stock up, stock down as Wisconsin drops Northwestern under .500

A lot to like early, not a lot to like late.

The ‘Cats held their own against Wisconsin for the first quarter of action, but it quickly got ugly after that. Let’s take a look at who’s rising and falling after an anemic performance by NU’s offense.

Stock Up

Coco Azema

Azema made Braedyn Locke pay for taking a third-down deep shot over the middle in the first quarter. He patiently waited for the errant throw and nabbed it for a 12-yard return to NU’s 42-yard line.

While the ‘Cats were unable to capitalize on their field position, Azema recorded his first interception of the season and the third of his career. For such an impact player who’s been largely absent from the stat sheet this year, this interception could be huge for Azema’s confidence going forward.

Najee Story

Story made his presence felt against the Badgers’ interior offensive line. He and Carmine Bastone squeezed the pocket and brought Locke down for a seven-yard loss. Story’s second QB takedown of the season went down as half a sack on the stat sheet. In the third quarter, the junior also recovered a fumble forced by Greyson Metz.

Story has made excellent progress this year after failing to record a sack in his first two seasons in the purple-and-white. He will be vital as the ‘Cats take on tougher offensive lines like Ohio State and Michigan.

Third-down defense

Considering how dreadful Northwestern’s offense was on third down, its defense turned up the heat on that side of the ball. The Badgers finished just 4-for-12 on third down as the ‘Cats blanketed Locke’s receivers. Most notably, Azema nabbed his interception as Wisconsin looked to move the chains. Damon Walters almost got a pick of his own on third-and-goal, but it bounced right off his hands.

It was going to be a tough task for the secondary without Devin Turner, but the unit’s resilience on third down was encouraging.

Honorable mentions: Greyson Metz, lakeside vibes, Jack Lausch’s scrambling, Mac Uihlein

Stock Down

Jack Lausch

There won’t be many passing plays to highlight in this week’s installment of Lausch’s Launches. The QB’s arm was off early — he completed just two of his first eight attempts in NU’s first two drives. In the second quarter, he saw a wide-open Bryce Kirtz up the middle for what would’ve been a touchdown, but he simply couldn’t put it in the right spot. Lausch finished the first half with just 54 yards on 4-for-14 passing, but not before he lost a fumble at NU’s 1-yard line with 47 seconds left in the second quarter. His cough-up resulted in an easy touchdown for Cade Yacamelli and a 14-point lead for the Badgers heading into the locker room.

The ‘Cats started to drive the ball in the second half, but Lausch missed another receiver while rolling out on third-and-goal. To start the fourth, he showed his inexperience when he took a sack for a safety to put the Badgers up 23-3. Lausch finished the game with a rough 82 yards on 9-for-24 passing — not good enough in any FBS offense.

Run defense

The ‘Cats allowed 51 yards on eight attempts to Tawee Walker in the first quarter alone, including a 24-yard breakaway on a drive that ended in a touchdown for the Badgers. Braedyn Locke scampered into the end zone untouched for an eight-yard run for Wisconsin’s first score on the day. After Lausch’s fumble, Yacamelli essentially walked into the end zone on a three-yard touchdown run. In all, the ‘Cats allowed Walker to romp for 126 rushing yards in the game.

Stuffing the run is one of NU’s calling cards on defense. But after allowing six plays of 10 rushing yards or more, Tim McGarigle has a lot to work on with his guys this week. NU will head west to face Iowa, whose rushing offense averages 5.8 yards per carry heading into Saturday (10th-best in the nation).

Health

Injuries keep mounting for the purple-and-white. A.J. Henning got knocked out of the game in the first quarter with an upper body injury after attempting a leaping catch on the far sideline. On defense, stalwart linebacker Xander Mueller limped off the field following a Badgers run, unable to put pressure on his right leg. Neither player returned for the ‘Cats.

These are two massive injuries for NU. Henning is a primary target on offense, while Mueller leads the ‘Cats in total tackles. With starting kicker Jack Olsen already out, David Braun has to hope that neither player will miss too much time.

Luke Akers

It was a rough day for Akers in his second week as punter and kicker. One of his first quarter punts was deflected, wobbling just 30 yards, while Akers came up way short on a 52-yard field goal attempt early. A few minutes later, his 28-yard field goal attempt was blocked, completely killing the momentum that the ‘Cats had built in that second-quarter drive. On his last punt of the game, he capped off his rough day with a 26-yard shank that set the Badgers up with excellent field position.

With Olsen out until further notice, Akers needs to step up in the kicking game. He showed the ability to do so in College Park, but this stinker on the lake was a wake-up call.

Honorable mentions: David Braun’s decision-making, false starts, Zach Lujan, NU’s offensive line, Damon Walters’ hands