EVANSTON - Northwestern's offense struggled yet again, their defense couldn't hold onto a late lead in regulation and Duke escaped Evanston with a 26-20 win in double overtime.
This marks the sixth straight win in the series for the Blue Devils, a team that's supposed to be a direct peer for the Wildcats, if not a rung lower in the ACC compared to the Big Ten.
The Wildcats struck first in the game with a field goal, Duke responded with a touchdown after a Wright interception deep in his own territory. But a muffed punt gave Northwestern the ball at the Duke 11 and they took a 10-7 lead with 6:32 left in the second quarter.
They clung to that lead, adding a field goal early in the fourth quarter, all the way until Duke sent the game to overtime with a field goal with 14 seconds left.
Head coach David Braun's frustration was measured but apparent postgame.
"That's a couple of weeks in a row we had the opportunity to open a lead in the second half and we didn't capitalize," he said.
Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy was 24-for-39 for 242 yards and three touchdowns, with 50 yards and two of those touchdowns coming in extra time.
Northwestern quarterback Mike Wright never found his footing. He was 20-for-36 for just 158 yards with an interception, and should have had several more on errant or ill-advised throws.
Braun stood by his quarterback but made his position clear.
""Mike did some good things tonight but he needs to improve," he said. "When we made our decision, we knew we were going to ride with Mike. We're constantly evaluating everyone on this team but we're rolling with Mike right now."
Here are our takeaways from Northwestern's tough loss to Duke in double OT:
Wildcats need more from QB-OC battery: This was the second straight game that the Wildcats had 13 points at the end of regulation. Northwestern's defense was outstanding in both games, holding Miami to just six points in a win, but they weren't able to hold Duke off forever.
Yes, the Blue Devils marched on them late and in overtime, and linebacker Xander Mueller was first to take blame for allowing the field goal at the end of regulation. But the Wildcats have to be better on offense.
Their current philosophy and execution operate under an unsustainable margin for error. Braun made it clear the starting quarterback job was still Wright's, but was as brusque in his assessment of his quarterback as I have heard. Gone were the talking points of patience and warriors he used when Ben Bryant and Brendan Sullivan struggled in 2023.
"He needs to do a better job of valuing the football, taking care of the football and operating within the offense," Braun said.
The winds were a substantial factor in the kicking game and may have extended over to the quarterbacks. Murphy and Wright threw 15 and 16 incompletions, respectively, after all.
Braun cut his offense, which is yet to throw for a touchdown, no such slack.
"It definitely affected the special teams play, for sure," Braun said. "Throwing, we walked away from warm ups thinking it'd be relatively unaffected...thought it affected the kicking game, not as much the passing."
Questions about Lujan and the offense: The game hinged in the second overtime with Duke up 26-20 when, on third-and-1 from the 4, the Wildcats ran Wright wide where he was strung out by the Duke defense for a loss of eight. His final throw on fourth-and-9 was incomplete out the back of the end zone.
Running back Cam Porter, with 16 caries for 93 yards and two touchdowns at that point and had every positive yard in the second overtime, did not touch the ball on third-and-short.
Braun and Porter both said the right things postgame.
"I think Coach Lujan would be the first one to tell you that the way that Cam Porter was running the ball at that time, we’d like to have that play-call back," Braun said.
“I trust Coach Lujan," Porter said. "He’s our offensive coordinator and I know he’s gonna make the right decisions and try to put us in the best position to succeed. So whatever happens, I’m rolling with Coach Lujan and anything he decides.”
They should be fine next week vs. Eastern Illinois, an FCS team, at home, but next is Washington on the road. This team's runway dwindles alarmingly fast as one of the toughest second half schedules in the country looms.
Lujan came into Northwestern with a prodigal resume and palpable excitement at a program that has struggled for so long to deliver on that side of the ball. Two games is hardly a sample size to lock in judgment one way or another, but 33 points through two games, with just 26 in regulation, is a very shaky foundation before the Wildcats hit conference play.
The jury is still out, but, after last night, the welcome party is clearly over for both Lujan and Wright.
Defense has elite depth, performance: There's no doubt this Duke team looks a step down from last season's squad, but Northwestern's defense still held their second straight opponent under 14 points in regulation.
Mueller and safety Devin Turner tallied 11 tackles each, Theran Johnson picked off Murphy and RJ Pearson and Anto Saka got home for sacks.
Saka has become appointment viewing, plain and simple. When he gets to cut loose and attack the pocket, his speed leaps off the field. He has always been a high-potential player in past seasons; he's starting to live up to it now.
Despite lingering injuries to Brendan Flakes and Carmine Bastone, Northwestern's defensive line continues to be formidable. Young players like Evan Smith, Josh Fussell and Robert Fitzgerald have contributed seamlessly in the secondary. Neither Duke nor Miami (Ohio) cracked 100 rushing yards, and Duke cracked 300 total yards thanks to overtime.
Porter asserting himself as lead back: Braun deemed the running back room a 'three-headed monster' with Porter, Caleb Komolafe and Joseph Himon II, but Porter firmly put himself in the lead against the Blue Devis, especially down the stretch where he had every carry of both overtimes, and both touchdowns for the Wildcats.
Porter had a 44-yard run on the first drive to help set up a Northwestern field goal. He continually hit holes hard and broke tackles throughout the game.
Both Komolafe and Himon have played serviceably, even though Komolafe fumbled in the second half, but Porter has gone out and proven why he's a two-time captain and why he deserves to be played like a lead back going forward.
He finished with 16 carries to Komolafe and Himon's 11. Expect that gap to continue to widen.
It's still early: This result was brutal. Braun and the players were visibly spent, and the team's emotions were clearly fraught after failing to finish off a Duke team and win a game that felt there for the taking all night long.
But it's still very early in the season and plenty of time for Northwestern to turn its fortunes around.
This program has made bowl games in consecutive years just eight times. Their run of five straight wins stretching back to Wisconsin last season had to come to a close at some point, and this was unfortunately it. There are real concerns at quarterback and in crunch-time play calling, but this time last season the Wildcats were about to get run off the field by Duke.
The Wildcats have an elite defense that's only going to get better under new defensive coordinator Tim McGarigle, as their young players grow more and more comfortable at this level. Their coverage teams on kicks and punts have drawn fumbles and flipped fields.
Though the quarterback situation feels drastically different in its reliability, this staff and this team have showed unbelievable improvement within the course of a year just last season. Now they have the opportunity to prove it again.
"It's about finishing football games, something we pride ourselves on so much here at Northwestern, and have for a long time..." Braun said. "I am highly optimistic about this football team and where it's headed."
