We bring you the 3-2-1 on Northwestern's 34-3 loss to Indiana and hand out some awards.

The running game now seems to be a question mark, too. NU came in with a tepid, though not terrible, rush offense that averaged 140 yards per game. Isaiah Bowser was ruled out for this game on Thursday, but they still had their leading rusher, Drake Anderson, and were getting Jesse Brown back for this one too. Brown, though limited this year, showed some real signs of productivity in the Stanford game to start the season and his return was seen as a definite plus. Those two, plus WR-turned-Swiss-army-knife Kyric McGowan, were tasked with carrying the ground game Saturday. Instead, they were grounded.

No “RB” averaged better than 3.8 yards per carry, and the team’s best running play - heck, best offensive play, for that matter - was the QB keep/QB lead play. Fifty-nine percent of NU’s rushing yards came from their QBs, and they were forced to play three of them against IU. Northwestern actually started hot right out of the gate, with a 22-yard Aidan Smith run on their first play from scrimmage, but unfortunately it ended in a fumble that really took the wind out of their sails.

IU came in with a respectable defense -- 51st in stopping the run -- but to hold NU to 60 yards under their average was disheartening to Wildcat fans. Perhaps most frustrating was the inconsistency on the Wildcat offensive line. They didn’t get much push in the run game and there was nary a run lane or crease for the backs to exploit. And any outside run or stretch play was quickly gobbled up by IU’s athletic back seven -- though aided by the hesitancy of NU"s backs, who’ve had more weight put on their shoulders by the injury to Bowser and the impotence of the offense as a whole.

We saw some quality depth in the defensive line Saturday. Six of the team’s 10 TFLs came from the defensive line, and half of those were registered by players that have not really seen a lot of snaps yet this season. Of course, the regulars did their thing, accounting for pressure and disruption in the backfield. But it was the lesser-utilized, young ‘Cats that earned some stripes Saturday; guys like Adetomiwa “Tommy” Adebawore, Jason Gold and Eku Leota. Leota is the eldest of the three, seeing the most amount of work, but his presence was much more visible Saturday than any other game he’s played so far this year. Despite losing DE Earnest Brown for the season to injury, eight different Wildcat defensive lineman registered at least one tackle, and seven of them had multiple stops. The future looks good up front.

It wasn't the best game by the referees. We're not pinning a 31-point loss on the men in striped shirts, but there quite clearly seemed to be little leniency given to the Wildcats and too many plays from IU where the official “looked the other way.” It was so bad that head coach Pat Fitzgerald drew a 15-yard penalty and, in his post-game press conference, simply said “I’m not talking about them (the officials), and I’m not going to talk about them (at the weekly press conference) on Monday”. That’s a pretty resounding statement, considering Fitzgerald is quick to deflect any sort of criticisms against the officials, often commenting that they “had a better vantage-point” than he did, “had to make a bang-bang call” or “are just doing their jobs.” And anyone who could read lips could clearly understand that Fitzgerald did not have those same sentiments on Saturday night. More on this in later...

Why have there been so much miscommunication and poor timing between the quarterback and receivers? We get it: there have been four different QBs who have thrown passes, and each one offers a different skill set. But these same four QBs have been at NU with many of these receivers for the last couple years (or more), working rep after rep in practice, 7-on-7, and pre- and post-practice activities, and we are still seeing a receiver break off his route while his quarterback extends it and launches the ball 20 yards further downfield in anticipation of something deeper. We’ve also seen receivers extend their route while the quarterback assumed a shorter break, and the ball and receiver aren’t anywhere near a point of connection. So the next question becomes...

How much longer do the current responsibilities stay in the hands of the current staff, and where does accountability begin? First, let us say we are not necessarily suggesting any coach should get fired, so don’t take it there. But this is a losing streak and a point of offensive futility like Fitzgerald and this staff have never experienced. And while Fitzgerald is probably the most loyal coach in the FBS when it comes to his assistants, even he (and some of the players) has to start wondering if it’s not just execution, but perhaps scheme as well. In the post-game press conference, Fitzgerald said that they may be “getting out-schemed.” So, if this is the case and the guys on the headsets across the field are doing it better, does there, in fact need, to be some change? And if so, how and when?

This offense is historically bad -- even for Northwestern. This has been the Wildcats' lowest point-per-game average since 1983, a year when they went 2-9 under the late Dennis Green and offenses were universally scoring about 25 points fewer than they do today. This team has quarterbacks but none of them can seem to get into rhythm and are missing the “easy” throws. The offense averages just 258 yards per game in total offense, rushing the ball for almost 10 more yards than they throw it. Unless you are a Top-30 rushing team, that’s not a good stat in a modern spread offense.

Still, this team's morale seems to be positive, even though they’re a frustrated group of players who have only known winning throughout their careers and want so badly to return to form, mainly for the seniors. They’ve got a good attitude and are continuing to practice like a championship team.

We’ll continue to trust in Fitzgerald when he confidently says, “we just gotta go back to work and fix things.” He reminds us, “I’ve been on the other side of this; we’ve got a tried and true formula; [we’ve got to] do things that winners do.” They are proven winners. They're just not winning right now.

Offensive game ball: WR Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman

“The Barber” was sharp in his limited targets, making three catches for 43 yards (14.3 ypr), with all of them resulting in first downs. The most impressive was his 21-yard snare in the first quarter where he showed good hands, in going up to get the ball, as opposed to waiting for it to come to him. He also displayed some impressive body control on that particular grab, knowing he was about to be hit from the oncoming Hoosier defender, but he still secured the catch and helped extend the drive for his team. Riley Lees also played well on offense, making some crafty catches, but the fact that Chiaokhiao-Bowman gave them a reliable option beyond the sticks and helped move the chains for a quarter of NU’s 12 first downs made him more worthy of this award Saturday.

Defensive game ball: WLB Blake Gallagher

Gallagher was all over the field, it seemed, giving us reason to wonder if there were actually two No. 51s in uniform Saturday night. “Gally” ended up with 11 tackles (eight of them solo), including two TFL and four stops at the line of scrimmage. He made several great open-field tackles, earning a 73% solo tackle percentage (the percentage of his total tackles that were solos).

Though Hoosier RB Stevie Scott III rushed for over 100 yards, he had a hard time finding his way past Gallagher,or finding any success to that side of the defense. One series in particular was near the end of the second quarter, when Indiana had what seemed like 10 plays inside the 10-yard line due to penalties. Gallagher continually thwarted the IU ball carriers, leading the swarm with his teammates to impede any attempt to across the goal line.

Special Teams game ball: PK Charlie Kuhbander and ST Alonzo Hampton

Kuhbander has literally been the only Wildcat to score any points in the last three games, and at least he’s been consistent. He hit his eighth field goal (in 10 tries) of the season, putting him at 80% consistency. That doesn’t make not make many feel fans any better about this season, but we have to point out the positives.

Hampton is starting to look like an ace special teamer, as he was the first downfield on several punts (and there were a lot of them) on Saturday. He and his posse of Joe Bergin and Raymond Niro flew downfield and gave “the look” to Indiana’s Whop Philyor as if to say, “we don’t care about the score, you’re not going to get any on us.”

Wildcat Warrior: DE Adetomiwa “Tommy” Adebawore

Earlier, we referenced the play of the backups on the defensive line, but it was Adebawore who stood out the most. Playing about half the snaps that veteran DEs Joe Gaziano and Samdup Miller got, the freshman from North Kansas City (Kan.) made the most of his time, logging two tackles, including a sack (the first of his career) and a TFL. He showed quickness off the edge and looks like he could be a player on the Northwestern defensive front in the very near future, further evidence that defensive line coach Marty Long continues to recruit and develop talent within his group.

In a game of disappointments, the best moment was seeing coach Fitzgerald verbally and demonstratively fight for his guys. Its well known that Fitzgerald typically has respect for the officials and the tough job they have to do; he normally does not go after them. But on Saturday night, he found reason to go to bat for his players. There were the calls that went against them -- like the Cameron Ruiz's pass interference in the first quarter, when Ruiz only made slight contact but seemingly, in no way, hindered Donovan Hale from making the catch. This “penalty” gave the Hoosiers an automatic first down and an eventual touchdown. Later, Ruiz and J.R. Pace were called for phantom PIs in the second quarter, on third- and second-and-goal, also leading to points. It also happened on the offensive side when Gunner Vogel was called for holding, even though his hands were inside the defender’s shoulders.

There were also the calls that should have been made against IU that were not called, like roughing the punter against Northwestern’s Andrew David. That led to a Fitzgerald eruption an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty. There were a couple of plays where PI couldn't been called on Indiana DBs covering Lees in the late-second and early-third quarters, when the aggressive defenders made hindering contact early and there was no call, even though it was evident earlier that the referees were not letting Wildcat defenders play in such a physical manner.

But the coup de gras was the late, no-whistle take down/body slam of NU QB Hunter Johnson that left him injured and caused him to leave the game. No penalty was called, and a still-frustrated, though more subdued Fitzgerald was astonished by the lack of protection for his defenseless player.

In trying times, it’s always good to see your leader back you up. We know that there will be poorly officiated games once in a while, but this team doesn’t need the odds stacked any higher against them. We appreciate a coach that shows fire -- even if his team doesn't.

Tim Chapman is a teacher and former Michigan high school football coach who is currently working on a book titled "ChampioN Underdog" about the 1995 Northwestern Rose Bowl team. Follow him via Twitter: @Champion_Lit. Email him at nufbhistorian@gmail.com.