CHICAGO-If you’re looking for a sequence of plays to encapsulate Northwestern’s 2024 season, Saturday’s 38-28 loss to Illinois at a frigid Wrigley Field provided a good one at the end of the second quarter.
The Wildcats, trailing just 14-10, built an impressive 15-play drive. Quarterback Jack Lausch, who had been erratic to that point, as he’d been all season, completed three third-down passes, including a 26-yard back-shoulder throw to AJ Henning on a third-and-10 that was as good as any connection he’s had all season.
Northwestern eventually reached the Illinois 13. Then, the Wildcats started doing the types of things that cost teams opportunities to win football games.
On third-and-5, the offense was flagged for a delay of game, an inexcusable penalty in a critical situation, especially when they had a timeout in their pocket. Then, on third-and-10, Lausch dropped back and felt immediate pressure. He scrambled left but was run down and sacked by Malachi Hood for a loss of 8 to push them all the way back to the 26. Luke Akers was brought in to kick a 44-yard field goal amid swirling winds in right field, and his attempt sailed wide right.
A circumspect head coach David Braun took the blame for the delay of game.
"Operationally there is no excuse. It can't happen,” he said. “Wish I had that one back. I thought we were going to get the ball off but it's inexcusable...I have to call that timeout."
So instead of scoring a touchdown to take the lead into halftime or, at worse, a chip-shot field goal to bring them to within 1, the Wildcats still trailed 14-10. It’s been mistakes like those that has plagued the team all season and the primary reason their record is 4-8 overall and just 2-7 in Big Ten play – a mark that Braun called “not good enough” after the game.
Northwestern did some good things to get into the red zone against the Illini. But once there, when it mattered most, self-inflicted wounds cost them an opportunity to score points and be in position to win the game. It’s been a similar story all season.
That ugly sequence proved to be even more costly as the third quarter began. On Illinois’ second play of the half, Aidan Laughery cut back against the grain and sprinted 64 yards for a touchdown. Then, Luke Altmyer threw a 43-yard touchdown to Pat Bryant to make it 28-10. Those were two of Illinois’ four touchdowns that went for 30 or more yards.
The end result was a third straight loss to end the season and handing over the Land of Lincoln Trophy to their in-state rival a year after claiming it in Champaign. It also marked the program’s fifth loss in five games at Wrigley Field since they started playing at the Friendly Confines in 2010. They are now 0-2 against Illinois at Clark and Addison.
Lausch had a wild, up-and-down performance that mirrored his season. He completed 25-of-48 passes for a career-high 287 yards, though many of them came in the fourth quarter when Illinois was playing prevent defense. He tossed two touchdown passes but also had two interceptions on balls he never should have thrown.
In an interesting twist, true freshman quarterback Ryan Boe also got his first taste of college action. He completed 4-of-13 passes for 42 yards, with one interception and a fumble.
In all, the Wildcats’ two QBs accounted for four turnovers, but Braun was non-committal about whether his team needs to add a signal caller through the transfer portal in the offseason.
“I don’t know,” he said, before going on an extensive explanation about how every position would be evaluated in an effort to improve the team.
Still, Northwestern's offense accounted for 442 yards against the Illini, the most they produced against an FBS team all season. Henning, playing his final collegiate game, caught 10 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown.
Altmyer finished 10-for-17 for 170 yards for Illinois, with one touchdown and two picks. But the Illini ground game did most of the damage, as Laughery finished with 172 yards and three TDs on just 12 carries, part of an attack that rang up 212 yards on the ground. The Wildcat defense that had begun the year so strongly really withered down the stretch, as they surrendered at least 173 yards rushing in five of their last six games.
But give Northwestern credit; they didn’t pack it in when they were down by 18. They scored the next 10 points to cut the Illinois lead to 28-20 late in the third quarter.
Lausch converted a third-and-10 with a 25-yard completion to Henning and Luke Akers hit a 34-yard field goal to make it 28-13. Then the defense came through, as Anto Saka sacked Altmyer on third down, and he was flagged for intentional grounding, resulting in a 13-yard loss.
Illinois had to punt, giving NU the ball at the Illinois 40. Five plays later Lausch threw a fade to Henning for a touchdown and the Wildcats were within one score at 28-20.
But the Illini answered the bell again. Mac Resetich picked off a Lausch pass and returned it 28 yards to the NU 42. Then Laughery ripped off a 31-yard touchdown run right up the middle to make it 35-20.
On Northwestern’s next possession, Boe had his welcome to the Big Ten moment. He was sacked by Hood and Matthew Bailey recovered it at the NU 9. The defense stiffened, but David Olano hit a 24-yard field goal to make it 38-20.
Northwestern, though, kept on fighting. Lausch hit Thomas Gordon for a touchdown, and then Marshall Lang for the 2-point conversion to make it 38-28 with 1:04 left. But the Wildcats’ onside kick attempt was recovered by Illinois and Altmyer kneeled out the clock.
A tight-lipped Braun said the following when asked to assess the season as a whole, but he also could have been talking about this game.
“We’re all frustrated,” he said.
