We give you the 3-2-1 on Northwestern's 13-10 loss to Nebraska and hand out some awards.

Quarterback Aidan Smith gives Northwestern options, but he needs to throw the ball better. Yes, Smith ran the zone-read game pretty well and gave the Cats some good footwork on the outside. And he did improvise pretty well and kept more plays alive than Clayton Thorson or Hunter Johnson. Still, Smith did miss some shorter, low-risk passes, sailing them too high or leading his receivers a bit too far outside. He lacked the certain touch that was required, especially on some third-down slant, or "sit" routes. These are the throws that have to be made consistently if the Wildcats are to turn their fortunes back in the right direction.

This defense is legit. For another week, the Wildcats’ defense greatly limited the opposing offense. In five games, they’ve allowed just nine offensive touchdowns - an average of less than two per game. They came into the week with a defense in the top 48 in five major defensive categories, including defensive yards per play (27th), scoring defense (31st), pass efficiency defense (43rd), rush defense (47th) and third-down defense (48th). They are getting solid play out of their D-line, all three linebackers and, as the secondary molds into shape at the CB position, this unit will end up as one of the Big Ten’s best (provided they stay healthy).

JJ Jefferson is slowly becoming the top playmaker. The sophomore was second in receptions in the game with four (for 25 yards). He’s currently sitting at third on the team in receptions, but he’s tops in scoring (2 TDs -- NU's only receiving TDs this season), yards-per-catch (31.2) and longest catch (50 yards). But it’s what we don’t see on the stats sheet that is most enticing. The sophomore from Texas is starting to slip by defenders, get behind the coverage and flash that high-end speed that the offense can capitalize once it gets going. On top of that, he’s also looked good on punt returns, leading the team with a 13-yard average on three returns.

Where has this Riley Lees been all season? For much of the past three seasons (save for maybe the Holiday Bowl last year), Lees has been a role player, a complementary player in the Wildcats' attack. So we haven’t really seen the edge that came out against the Huskers on Saturday. There was the punt return he tried picking up in the first quarter (which seemed like a dumb play, but if it touched a Nebraska player, then he played by the rule). With his kick return and stiff arm (see our Wildcat Moment below), his route-running and layouts on passes over the middle and to the outside, and his punt return dancing to get all he can and move the ‘Cats forward, Lees made his presence known throughout the contest.

If Hunter Johnson is healthy for the Ohio State game and starts, how short of a leash will he have? Fitzgerald “confirmed” that the reason for Smith’s start, in addition to his sharp week of preparation in practice, was the questionable health of Johnson, who started the first four games of the season. Though reporters questioned head coach Pat Fitzgerald’s sincerity in the decision, he did not back down from the notion that Johnson's reported knee injury was the reason he called on Smith. So, if Johnson is 100% after three weeks of recovery and gets the start against the Buckeyes, will the Wildcats stick with him to the finish, even if he struggles? Or will Fitzgerald and offensive coordinator Mick McCall be quick to opt for the feisty Smith behind center, either as a relief man or as a change-of-pace? The next game may show which direction the quarterback position is headed for this football team.

This bye week comes at the right time. The Wildcats are down their top running back (Isaiah Bowser), offensive lineman (Rashawn Slater), a starting cornerback (Trae Williams) and a quarterback (Johnson). Add that in with some other bumps and bruises (egos included), three consecutive losses and the worst five-game start in Fitzgerald’s coaching career, and this week off to “roll up [their] sleeves and get to work,” according to Fitzgerald, is very much needed. Like Fitzgerald always suggests, it starts with the coaching staff, and perhaps this extra week of reflection and deeper analysis (analytics, if you will?) will properly enable the Wildcat staff to find answers to the questions and challenges that the uneducated cynics have been so critical about.

Offensive game ball: QB Aidan Smith

As we suggested might happen after the previous week’s gutty second-half performance against Wisconsin, Smith got the start and really didn’t disappoint, all things considered. He was the team’s leading rusher, passer and scorer against Nebraska. Sure, the Wildcats only scored 10 points, but, like Fitzgerald said, for a quarterback in his first start, “he played his heart out, in front of 95,000 fans; I think he did great.” His strength was the way he handled the ball on the zone-read calls. When he gave the ball, he carried out his fakes extremely well; he did the same when he kept the ball, riding the ball into the belly of the back and pulling at the right moment. He averaged four yards per carry, netting 64 yards and a rushing touchdown. Throwing the ball, he completed 19 passes for 136 yards with a completion percentage of just under 60% and the one interception that many feel should have drawn a pass interference call against Nebarska, but nevertheless ultimately cost the Wildcats the game.

Defensive game ball: DE Joe Gaziano

Gaziano continues to lead the defensive charge with his play up front. He made seven tackles (four solo) on Saturday, with three tackles for loss (TFL) and a sack, No. 24.5, which put him alone in second place on the Wildcats’ all-time sack list, behind only Casey Dailey's 28. Gaziano, a fifth-year senior, easily controlled the Huskers in front of him, helping take away the edge and containing quarterback Adrian Martinez and the Nebraska running game inside. This Gaziano-led front seven has now held their opponents to under 140 yards rushing for three straight games.

Special Teams game ball: Tyler Gillikin

The third-year long-snapper on punts and kicks has a track record of great snaps starting each and every crucial special teams play. But it’s more than just the perfect snaps: Gillikin was downfield on nearly every play on Saturday, putting pressure on the return men in red and helping set his defense up in comfortable defensive field position. The snapper often gets overlooked and, with Gillikin’s play on Saturday, we can easily recognize his value here.

Wildcat Warrior: CB Cameron Ruiz

Hats off to Cameron Ruiz, who many kind of forgot about early in the season. When Williams went down, it was Alonzo Hampton who stepped into the starting job and had more of the microscope on him. But right there was Ruiz, who had a couple of good games and then really came into his own on Saturday. The sophomore finished second in tackles with eight - seven of them solo - along with two TFLs. Many of his top plays came on second- and third-down, when the Cats’ D really needed someone to step up. He also did a great job covering punts, punctuated by a spectacular open-field stop of J.D. Spielman in the second quarter. He was a candidate for our defensive game ball, but the underdog way he fought his way to success makes him this week’s Warrior.

After a field goal expanded Nebraska's lead to 10-0 in the second quarter, Lees went back to return the ensuing kickoff. William Prysztop sent it deep, and Lees took it through a seam on the right side and burst down the sideline for 50 yards, punctuated with an aggressive stiff arm of a Husker tackler who managed run him out, but not without some attitude. This was an moment that really juiced up the Wildcat sideline and energized the offense into getting a field goal out of that drive.

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.