Can the Wildcats repeat their dominant performance against Maryland and go toe-to-toe with Wisconsin?
Northwestern just had its best game of the season, beating Maryland 37-10 Friday Night. Led by a ferocious defensive line that forced turnovers all night and an ever-improving Jack Lausch, the Wildcats fought on both sides of the ball, earning their first Big Ten win of the season.
Now, heading into Week 8, Northwestern is scheduled to play Wisconsin in Martin Stadium on Saturday, October 19 at 11 a.m. CST. The Badgers will enter Saturday’s game with a 4-2 record for the season and a 2-1 record against Big Ten opponents. The ‘Cats, with a 3-3 overall record and a 1-2 Big Ten record, will look to get on equal footing with the Badgers with a win over them on Saturday. Here are three things to watch for on Saturday afternoon:
An unstoppable force vs an immovable object
In this case, the unstoppable force is Wisconsin running back Tawee Walker. In Wisconsin’s last two blowout games against Purdue and Rutgers, Walker has a total of six touchdowns and 292 rushing yards. He has an extremely high usage rate, attempting 24 carries against Rutgers, and he is a major red zone threat. Consequently, that makes the Northwestern defensive line the immovable object.
Against Maryland, the Wildcat d-line had three sacks, three fumble recoveries and one touchdown. The defensive line also utterly removed Maryland’s run game, and consistently put up a good fight in the red zone. It will be fun to watch to what extent, if any, this Northwestern defensive line will be able to stunt Walker’s production. The Wildcats currently have the ninth best run defense in college football and only allowed 59 rushing yards against Maryland. Meanwhile, Walker has rushed for 439 yards this season. Another big game from the Northwestern D-line is key for a Wildcat victory.
The Turnover Margin
Northwestern left the Maryland game with a +4 turnover margin, which came from three fumbles and one interception. The Terrapins had a longer time of possession, more yards and more first downs, but those forced turnovers allowed Northwestern to outpace them offensively and negate any significant yardage. Similarly, Wisconsin left its game against Rutgers with a longer time of possession, more yards and more first downs than Northwestern as well. If the Wildcats want to compete, they will have to force those same turnovers against the Badgers. Wisconsin quarterback Braedyn Locke has thrown at least one interception in each of his last three games, so the opportunity is there.
Northwestern has to worry about protecting the ball itself as well. Quarterback Jack Lausch has not thrown an interception in his last two games against Indiana and Maryland. The fact that the Wildcats protected the ball on Friday largely contributed to their dominant win.
Wisconsin does possess the 17th best pass defense in college football, though. No matter which side of the ball either team is on, the turnover battle is sure to be a defining factor in the winning team’s success. If Northwestern can win the turnover margin on both sides of the ball, they will put themselves in a good position to win on Saturday.
Run Run Run
In the first three games of the season, Northwestern relied heavily on running back Cam Porter to command an integral part of the Wildcat offense. In those games, Porter rushed for 63, 94 and 77 yards. However, Porter sustained an injury and did not play against Washington back on September 21st. Ever since then, Northwestern has failed to reintroduce a prominent run game to its offense, even with Cam Porter’s return. The Wildcats only ran for 80 yards on Friday.
Against a shaky Wisconsin run defense, though, which is ranked 66th in college football and allows, on average, 142 rushing yards per game, Northwestern will want to establish the run game if it wants to stay competitive. On Friday, spectators witnessed Jack Lausch’s further emergence as a possible run threat. Lausch rushed a total of eight times for 24 yards and one touchdown. If a hefty amount of Lausch and Porter runs can make their way into NU’s play-calling on Saturday, the Wildcats can possibly take advantage of one of Wisconsin’s biggest weaknesses.