Just plain ugly
EVANSTON-Northwestern’s much-maligned offense achieved a new low on Saturday.
The Wildcats got drummed 31-7 by No. 4 Penn State at Ryan Field in a game the home team was never really in.
How bad was Northwestern’s offense? The Wildcats didn’t score until just 1:46 was left in the game, thereby avoiding what would have been the program’s first home shutout since Nov. 3, 1999, a 34-0 loss to Michigan State in Randy Walker’s first year as head coach in Evanston. That next season saw the arrival of the spread offense that has become the team’s identity.
Until now, maybe.
Penn State led 10-0 at the half and were never really threatened by a Northwestern offense that produced just 19 yards in the second half before its meaningless touchdown drive in garbage time.
Here are our six points on a loss that dropped Northwestern to 2-3 (0-2 Big Ten):
The offensive line had another tough day: One week after allowing eight sacks, head coach Pat Fitzgerald shuffled his starting offensive line. Andrew Otterman replaced Rashawn Slater at right tackle, Blake Hance moved from left guard to left tackle to supplant Jared Thomas, and JB Butler came in at left guard. The new lineup didn’t work. Hance got beat for a sack and flagged for holding, and then Jonathan Holland bullrushed him and hit Clayton Thorson’s arm on a pass to cause an interception. And that was on the first drive. The Wildcats’ first two drives ended in turnovers that could be attributed to the offensive line – Thorson’s interception, and then a fumble on another sack. Northwestern continued to move players in and out of the lineup, to no avail. Thorson got sacked three times in the first half for 25 yards in losses, and wound up getting dropped four times in the game and hurried on seven more attempts.
Miscues plagued the Cats in the first half: Northwestern outgained Penn State 166-146 in the first half, but sacks, turnovers and penalties were the reasons they trailed 10-0 at half. The Wildcats turned it over three times in the first half on Thorson’s fumble and two interceptions – though his last pick was just a heave to the end zone on the last play of the half. Ill-timed penalties also wiped out two big plays in the first half: a rare offensive facemasking on Justin Jackson wiped out his 28-yard run, and a pass interference call against Montre Hartage erased his interception in the red zone.
Northwestern’s defense pretty much stuffed Barkley and the ground game: For the second straight week, the Wildcats contained a powerful running game and a great running back. Penn State All-America Saquon Barkley had minus-1 rushing yards in the first half. He had just four net yards on 12 carries near the end of the third quarter when he juked a defender in the hole (and got a block from an official on Godwin Igwebuike) and was gone for a 53-yard touchdown run. Barkley finished with 75 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns rushing. The Wildcats clearly focused on stopping No. 26, and as a result, quarterback Trace McSorley proved to be the difference maker – maybe the lone difference maker in an offensively-challenged game. McSorley was 13-for-16 for 148 yards and a touchdown in the first half and wound up 25 of 34 for 245 yards and one TD before getting pulled halfway through the fourth period. Northwestern picked its poison, and the defense got its primary job done.
Northwestern REALLY needs to find an answer offensively: For the second straight week, Northwestern’s defense turned in a commendable performance. For the second straight week, the offense let them down. Once Penn State took a 10-0 lead at 12:04 of the second quarter, the game appeared to be just about over as Northwestern’s attack just didn't seem capable of putting two scores on the board. Consider that the Wildcats went three-and-out on four of their first five possessions of the second half. The other drive? It lasted all of four plays. In the third quarter, Northwestern generated 21 total yards of offense. Fortunately, none of the defenses Northwestern faces from here on out are as good as the two they faced in their last two games.
Jackson didn’t get the record: Justin Jackson said he felt better this week than he has in quite some time and looked like it. The problem is that he just didn’t have much room to run, and then the Wildcats had to abandon the run as they fell further and further behind. Jackson, who needed 83 yards to pass Damien Anderson as Northwestern’s all-time leading rusher, finished with just 66 yards on 16 carries. It would have been nice for The Ballcarrier to eclipse the mark at home, but maybe it was fitting that he fell short in a game where the offense couldn’t get out of its own way. Jackson has reached the 100-yard mark in just two of five games this season – not coincidentally, they were NU’s two victories.
Looking ahead: The good news is Northwestern’s schedule lightens up considerably after facing two undefeated Top 10 teams. The bad news is that the Wildcats are out of the Big Ten West race at 0-2 and essentially two games behind Wisconsin. This was a team that harbored dreams of getting to Indianapolis for the Big Ten championship game; now it is left playing out the string and jockeying for a decent bowl game with seven weeks remaining. Still, Northwestern has a chance to go on a little roll. The Wildcats have already played the two best teams on their schedule. Looking at the remaining games – Maryland, Iowa, Michigan State, Nebraska, Purdue, Minnesota and Illinois – there are none that look like a clear-cut loss. Or a clear-cut win, for the matter.