The 2018 Northwestern Wildcat defense was pretty good. Good enough to carry the team to the Big Ten West division championship, anyway.

The Wildcats defense may not have been statistically impressive – they finished eighth in total defense, allowing 390.9 yards per game – but as head coach Pat Fitzgerald likes to say, “stats are for losers.” The defense was successful because they were good against the run, stingy in the red zone and created plenty of turnovers.

Northwestern’s rushing defense was fourth-best in the Big Ten and 26th nationally at 129.6 yards per game. In the red zone, they were fourth in the conference in opponents’ scoring percentage (80%) and second in touchdown percentage (46%). They also created 26 turnovers, second-most in the league.

So, the question is, how does that defense go from good to great in 2019?

Chances are that any improvement will start with their two leaders – defensive end Joe Gaziano and middle linebacker Paddy Fisher. Both players are going into their third year as starters, have been elected as captains and earned All-Big Ten honors the last two seasons. They're also on several preseason All-America lists this season.

Fisher’s answer was a simple one. “Stick to the script,” he said at Big Ten Media Days on Friday. “Keep doing what we’ve been doing; keep trusting in each other and communicating.”

Fisher, a redshirt junior who has made more tackles (227) than another other player in the Big Ten over the last two years, stressed communication, discipline and fundamentals as the keys to any improvement by the Wildcats defense.

But at the same time, he understands that to play well is to play fast, and playing fast comes from “cutting it loose.”

“At times we played hesitant at point of attack; not running through and wrapping though tackles – especially me,” he said.

Gaziano, a fifth-year senior who ranks second in the conference with 16.5 career sacks, talked about many of the same ideas. But he pinpointed a specific area where the defense could improve. Not surprisingly it was about sacking the quarterback.

“Getting to the QB was a problem (last year),” he said. “We need to put offenses in disadvantaged situations – second- and third-and-long – and stop momentum.”

He’s got a point. The Wildcats finished 11th in the Big Ten in sacks last season, with just 24, or 1.7 per game. They also placed a lowly 76th in the nation in tackles for loss. The Cats will need to attack the backfield more effectively to limit the run and pressure the pass against the balanced offenses they will face in 2019.

And while Northwestern’s run defense was pretty good a year ago, Gaziano realizes that things can always be better.

“We were good, not great. We need to use our depth, be strong in our gaps and not allow ourselves to get moved around,” he added.

Fitzgerald agrees that there’s plenty of room for his defense to improve. He thinks his team’s 1-3 start last season had a lot to do with the defensive side of the ball.

“Our early (team) struggles last year were because of our defense,” he said. “We had mental busts, communication issues; we didn’t tackle well; our turnover ratio and turnovers caused was not where it needed to be early. But then as it meshed, our defense got better and that was better for our offense.”

Giving up big plays is what sunk the Wildcats in early-season losses to Duke and Akron, and it came back to bite them in the Big Ten championship game loss to Ohio State, as well.

Northwestern’s defense will have to plug some holes left by graduation this season. Up front, the Wildcats must replace starting defensive tackles Jordan Thompson and Fred Wyatt. Gaziano has confidence that guys like Alex Miller, Trevor Kent, Jake Saunders and Joe Spivak will provide strength in the middle of the line.

Similarly, Fisher’s linebacker corps has to fill in for the departed Nate Hall. “I feel very comfortable playing with [Blake Gallagher],” said Fisher. “He’s constantly working to learn and get better. And Chis Bergin is a freaking dawg who lives for football, workouts, and Saturdays.”

Looking at the bigger picture, Fitzgerald likes his personnel group.

“We’ve got good synergy; a good mix of experienced talent and young talent. We’ve got to come together now in the next month,” he said.

He also likes what he saw this summer from his players.

“These guys have worked tirelessly. They’ve shown up and worked their rear ends off. They need to continue to grow and to get better,” he said.

Fitzgerald couldn’t be more confident in the leaders of his defense. He has seen Fisher and Gaziano grow from clueless rookies to wise veterans, and he knows that their teammates are in good hands with both of them in charge.

“Joe’s been a worker-bee since he got into our program. He’s an unbelievable mentor and older brother to our young D-linemen,” he said. “Paddy learned from a great group of linebackers, with Anthony (Walker) and Nate (Hall),” and now he is passing those lessons down to the younger linebackers in the unit.

Fitzgerald, as always, likes to focus on what’s in front of them and not look back, even if it is building on prior success.

“The rearview mirror is small and the windshield is big for a reason. If you get caught looking back, you’re on a collision course with failure,” he said. “Once we get that synergy and connection between the front seven and back seven, I think we’ll be pretty good.”