A rude Big Ten awakening continued to expose Northwestern’s offensive troubles.
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After Northwestern’s 24-5 loss against Washington, coach David Braun made it clear the ‘Cats didn’t play their brand of football. In the game’s first 20 minutes, the Wildcats’ defense allowed 17 unanswered points as Will Rogers and Denzel Boston carved up Northwestern’s secondary.
After the initial onslaught however, Northwestern’s defense woke up from its snooze allowing just seven points the rest of the game. On the other hand, its offense never clicked.
Northwestern’s 112 yards of total offense against Washington were the fewest in a single game by the ‘Cats since at least 2000. The offense’s inability to move the football felt eerily similar to games from last year against Iowa and Penn State where the Wildcats couldn’t convert opportunities into points.
In his second career start, Jack Lausch struggled, completing 8-of-27 passes for 53 yards and two interceptions. Northwestern’s 53 passing yards were the fewest since a 52-3 loss against Ohio State in 2019 where Aidan Smith finished 6-of-20 for 42 yards passing. Down offensive linemen Jordan Knox and Nick Herzog from the get go, as well as mid-game injuries to Jack Bailey and Josh Thompson killed any protection from a group that had allowed just one sack through three weeks.
Lausch also couldn’t connect with Bryce Kirtz who hauled in just one catch for two yards. After a six-catch, 91 yard performance against Miami of Ohio in Week 1, Kirtz has just six catches for 49 yards since, his smallest consecutive three game workload since the last three games of 2022.
Northwestern’s run game also suffered, especially without its main playmaker in Cam Porter who was unavailable. Northwestern rumbled for just 59 rushing yards, its fewest since posting 45 yards on the ground against Penn State last season.
“When you talk about our brand of football, it’s balanced football,” Braun said after losing to Washington. “It’s keeping people honest, it’s establishing the run game. We’ve got to get back to that.”
The run game is also important for making third downs manageable, something Northwestern has struggled with through the season’s early going. The only Big Ten team under 30% on third downs, Northwestern’s 27.5% third down conversion rate impacted the Wildcats’ offense against Washington. Finishing 2-for-13 on the money down, Northwestern only had two third-and-longs (over nine yards from the line to gain) against Washington. But six third down rushes for 17 yards wasn’t efficient enough as the ‘Cats had their worst day on third downs percentage wise since a 2-for-15 day against Wisconsin in 2020. This is already after a dismal 3-for-16 game against Duke in Week 2.
And then come the red zone problems.
Averaging just 3.25 red zone trips per game, the Wildcats are tied for the Big Ten’s third fewest red zone opportunities per game, a sign of an offense that struggles to sustain point-scoring drives. But it could always be worse. They could be Michigan’s offensive jalopy. However, Northwestern is the only Big Ten team scoring in under 70% of its red zone opportunities.
Against the Huskies, two trips inside Washington’s 4-yard line led to just three points as questionable play calling and a decision to kick a field goal wiped away any chance at a comeback. The funny thing is the field goal only boosts Northwestern’s red zone rate as it counts as points scored during a trip to the red zone.
Perhaps more accurate is Northwestern’s touchdown rate in the red zone. In 13 red zone trips, Northwestern has just six touchdowns, a 46% rate of cashing in for six which ranks 16th in the Big Ten. The only teams worse are Michigan State and UCLA.
“That’s where we need to make our money,” Lausch said after losing to Washington. “That’s our bread and butter. We got to find a way to get yards there.”
Braun made it clear that having Porter available would have been helpful in those goal-to-go situations, but Washington’s front structure stonewalled any potential of Northwestern climbing back into the ballgame.
A third of the way through the season, Northwestern’s third down and red zone inefficiency has turned an offense with pieces into a unit worse than the sum of its parts. Having an inexperienced signal caller in Lausch also makes the margin for error narrower as new offensive coordinator Zach Lujan hasn’t quite found the right buttons to push consistently. Injuries to the offensive line, Porter and wide receiver depth don’t help either as dropped passes, pressure and o-line struggles were some of the main problems against the Huskies.
The good news though is that after Northwestern’s worst offensive performance since at least 2000 in its Big Ten opener, there’s only room to improve.
Here’s where Northwestern ranks nationally after Week 3 — notice the offensive changes from last week:
