It was a close call, but the ‘Cats win a thriller in overtime.
In what was a must-win game for Northwestern, the ‘Cats came out on top 26-20 in overtime thriller over Purdue. Now sitting at 4-5 on the season, here’s who stepped up and who struggled in West Lafayette.
Stock Up
Jack Lausch
Lausch wasn’t perfect by any means, but he made massive strides in this game. While there were still occasional overthrows and mishaps, Lausch looked much more disciplined than he had been in other recent games, often opting for short, efficient passes instead of forcing deep throws into contested coverage. In the first half alone, Lausch threw for 104 yards, surpassing the total of 62 yards he had against Iowa. He was fairly consistent in moving the offense down the field, with the ‘Cats also scoring as many points (17) in the first half as they did against Wisconsin and Iowa combined.
Part of Lausch’s success could be contributed to him playing against one of the nation’s worst defenses, but that doesn’t take away from his success whatsoever. Lausch needed a game like this after the past few performances, and displayed such improvements against the Boilermakers. He also didn’t have one of his biggest targets in Bryce Kirtz to throw to, making Lausch seek out other pass catchers including Frank Covey, Marshall Lang, and Thomas Gordon, who all got involved in some capacity. Lausch was also a force with his legs, carrying the ball 11 times for 26 yards. Overall, it wasn’t a flashy performance for Lausch, but the improvements were very noticeable for the sophomore signal caller. The game-winning touchdown pass to Joseph Himon also gave Lausch 250 passing yards for the game, a new season high.
Third down conversions
Northwestern came into this game with a conference low 26% conversion rate, with Purdue immediately above at No. 17 with a 33% clip. However, the offense displayed significant improvements in this department, converting 6 out of 7 attempts in the first half. Most of these conversions were in short yardage situations, an area where the ‘Cats haven’t been overwhelmingly successful this year. This success started from the outset with Cam Porter converting on the very first drive, and did not seem to stop. These conversions allowed Lausch and the offense to sustain drives and move down the field, something that it wasn’t able to do well in recent weeks. Thomas Gordon made a particularly impressive grab on one of these conversions, hauling in a one-handed reception in the second quarter.
NU’s offense was so efficient in the first half that its first punt didn’t come until the first drive of the second half, when the ‘Cats went three-and-out. The conversion rate did decrease overall in the second half, but still remained over 50%, as Northwestern finished the day 9-for-16 on the money downs. It was a glaring improvement in an area that’s been extremely poor for the Wildcats this season, and something Jack Lausch and the offense should hope to continue improving upon in the season’s three remaining games.
Run defense
Coming into this game, many expected that NU would struggle to stop the run and have their way against Hudson Card, but the inverse happened for the ‘Cats defense. Devin Mockobee and Reggie Love form one of the best running back combos in the Big Ten, but found no success against a stout NU front seven that wasn’t as good at getting to the quarterback. Mockobee recorded 10 carries for 29 yards, averaging under three yards per carry. This comes in significantly lower than his season average of 6.2 yards per carry, showing how well Northwestern dealt with the junior halfback. Love also faltered, averaging just over a yard per carry on only six total yards.
Northwestern needed a game to improve its run defense after having difficulty containing Kaleb Johnson last week, and this game surprisingly gave them such an opportunity. It inspires further confidence in this defense’s ability to keep this team competitive in games when its offense can’t do as much of the heavy lifting. In total, Purdue earned just two yards a carry and tallied only 47 rushing yards.
Honorable Mentions: Theran Johnson, Cam Porter in the passing game, Jaylen Pate, Joseph Himon, Luke Akers, Northwestern’s bowl aspirations, fans’ stress levels
Stock Down
Northwestern’s pass defense
Northwestern’s front seven has been very reliable this season, but they struggled to find Purdue’s quarterbacks, primarily Hudson Card. Card had ample amounts of time to get the ball out, with the ‘Cats giving minimal pressure and not recording any sacks in the first half. Jaylen Pate was the only Wildcat to record a solo sack, with Pate crucially bringing down Card for a short loss during NU’s goal line stand in the third quarter that forced the Boilermakers to settle for a field goal. Even when Card faced pressure, he was often able to elude the defenders and find an open receiver, which happened especially in the fourth quarter.
The secondary wasn’t much better, with the clear exception of Theran Johnson, who shined once again with the exception of a unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in overtime. They gave up a bunch of deep throws that allowed Purdue to move quickly down the field, and weren’t much better in contesting sideline passes. The fact that the defense bent but didn’t break on multiple occasions should inspire some confidence, though, as Purdue was stalled and forced to kick twice after driving all the way down the field.
Cam Porter on the ground
Expectations were high for Northwestern’s running backs against a Purdue run defense that conceded an average of 215 yards per game coming into this matchup. However, while Joseph Himon had a big 51 yard touchdown run in the first quarter, Porter had a very minimal impact on the ground. He only registered 11 carries for 17 yards, averaging under two yards per carry against a poor run defense. This total was much lower than what Porter recorded against Iowa, when he ran for 50 yards on 13 carries. The title of this stock down has “on the ground” in it for a good reason. Porter was much more present in the passing game, catching eight passes for a lofty 85 yards and leading the team in receving yards. In that way, Porter somewhat redeemed himself, helping massively contribute to NU’s victory.
Ryan Hilinski
Hilinski only threw three passes, but his limited performance likely won’t earn him any extra opportunities at quarterback for the ‘Cats this season. David Braun’s decision to rotate him with Jack Lausch was head-scratching to say the least, especially considering that Lausch was playing well to start out the game. On his first throw, Hilinski bounced a slant pass to AJ Henning, and later threw a deep ball that easily got intercepted by the Purdue secondary. Hilinski proceeded to throw an interception into contested coverage a few plays later, and only returned to the game for a Hail Mary style play at the end of regulation. It might be Hilinski’s final time appearing in a game for the ‘Cats, as he unfortunately didn’t do enough to merit rotating with Lausch, who looked vastly superior.
Honorable Mentions: Josh Fussell, Early timeout usage in the second half