An ugly day in Durham
Northwestern took a 3-0 lead on a 40-yard Charlie Kuhbander field goal with 9:28 left in the first quarter. That turned out to be the highlight of the game for the Wildcats, as it was all downhill from there.
Duke quarterback Daniel Jones shredded the Wildcats for 413 yards of total offense and four touchdowns to lead the Blue Devils to an easy 41-17 win that was uglier than the score indicated for the team dressed in white.
Duke outgained Northwestern 538-191 in total yards and had more than double the time of possession, 41:18 to 18:42. As much as anything, third-down conversions told the story of this one: Duke converted an unheard of 15 of 22, while Northwestern was 1 of 10.
Here are our six points on a game to forget in Durham:
Northwestern’s running game was MIA: Everyone expected Duke to bring its safeties up to try to contain Justin Jackson and the running game, but very few expected it to be so successful. Including sacks, Northwestern rushed for a total of 22 yards on 21 carries in the game – and that was after some yardage in garbage time boosted the total. The Wildcats were sitting at one yard until the final minutes of the game. The prolific Justin Jackson, who runs for 100 yards falling out of bed, finished with 18 yards on seven carries. Duke’s defensive front dominated the line of scrimmage and tacklers swarmed to the ballcarrier. That put the Wildcats into third-and-long situations again and again, as the hole they dug for themselves only got bigger.
Jones, not curiosity, killed the Cats: Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald called Jones a “terrific” quarterback earlier this week, and on Saturday Jones proved the coach prescient. Doing damage with his arms and legs, Jones had himself a career day. He completed 29 of 45 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns. Of course, it helped that Jones was pressured very rarely and had a surplus of time to throw on most of his attempts. Most surprising, though, was Jones’ ability to chew up yardage on the ground, as he finished with a game-high 108 yards on 16 carries and two more scores. His longest run was 17 yards and on his 4-yard, second-quarter touchdown run he barreled through three Wildcats to reach across the goal line.
The Wildcats’ banged-up secondary was exposed: Northwestern went into this game with just Montre Hartage, Trae Williams and walkon grad transfer Moe Almasri as healthy cornerbacks as both corners who were injured last week – Marcus McShepard and Brian Bullock – were sidelined. So safety Kyle Queiro moved to corner and Jared McGee took his spot at safety. Then, McGee was ejected after a controversial targeting call in the first quarter, leaving the Wildcats with slim pickings. Freshman J.R. Pace played safety and Trae Williams got his first action of the season at corner after tearing his Achilles last spring. Northwestern’s shortcomings were a major factor as Duke receivers were generally running free, and the Wildcats were afraid to dial up blitzes that would leave the inexperienced DBs in one-on-one situations. It was a recipe for disaster.
One call started a tsunami of momentum for Duke: At the end of the first quarter, McGee hit David Koppenhaver as he caught the ball near the goal line. The ball bounced into the air and was intercepted by Godwin Igwebuike to thwart a scoring chance. But the referee called targeting against McGee, who was ejected, and Duke got a first down. That penalty turned into a seven-point swing two plays later when the Blue Devils scored to take a 7-3 lead and touched off a series of events that all but put the game out of reach for Northwestern. On Duke’s next possession, Williams fell in coverage and Jones hit a wide-open Chris Taylor for a 52-yard touchdown pass. On NU’s ensuing drive, Cameron Green was stripped by Alonzo Saxton II after a catch, giving Duke the ball at the NU 37. That turned into another Duke TD. So in a span of just over six minutes, a 3-0 Northwestern lead turned into a 21-3 Northwestern deficit, and the Wildcats would never be within fewer than 11 points again.
Duke’s pressure harassed Thorson: Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson had a dismal day. He completed just 11 of 29 passes for 120 yards, with two interceptions and no touchdowns. He was under duress much of the time as Duke threw an array of blitzes at him, but he also made matters worse by holding the ball too long on occasion. He wound up getting sacked four times for 40 yards in losses. Even when he had time, though, Thorson was less than sharp, occasionally missing open receivers. With the running game stopped in its tracks the Wildcats needed a big game from Thorson, and he couldn’t deliver one. His receivers didn’t do him many favors, often failing to get open despite tight, man coverage by Duke’s corners on the outside.
This team is still looking for its identity: This certainly hasn’t looked like a Big Ten West title contender for the first two weeks of the season. The Wildcats want to run the ball with Jackson, but both Nevada and Duke were able to take that away from them. The offensive line is still struggling, and the receivers were corralled by Duke’s secondary. Defensively, Northwestern has yet to generate much of a pass rush and are plagued by missed tackles. Last week, Northwestern faced a 17-7 halftime deficit, made adjustments and rallied for a victory over Nevada. On Saturday, however, the 21-10 deficit the Wildcats faced proved to be insurmountable and, in fact, was just the beginning of an embarrassing rout that only got worse as the game wore on. This was the first test of the 2017 season, and the Wildcats failed miserably.