Northwestern had its weekly press conference on Monday to rehash a tough 30-23 loss to Duke and prepare for Saturday's matchup with Ohio.

Here are our takeaways:

Northwestern students are back on campus, and the excitement from head coach Pat Fitzgerald and the players was palpable heading into Saturday.

“I'm even more excited to get back in Ryan Field in front of our students,” Fitzgerald said. “It has been since 2019, I can't even do the math on those numbers since the last time we had our students in the building. So [we are] looking forward to them having a good morning. Save some juice and energy for the building when you get in there at 11 o'clock.”

The Wildcats student section can be notoriously flighty. But now that classes have started and everyone is on campus, Fitzgerald and the Wildcats hope for a solid student presence as Wildcat Welcome brings underclassmen to the stadium.

It was a streaky defensive performance for Northwestern against Duke. The Wildcats allowed 30 points in the first half, and none in the second.

Linebacker Peter McIntyre, who had a career-high 15 tackles against the Blue Devils, echoed a common refrain from the defense this season, pointing to communication and mentality for the defense’s struggles.

“[We] need to have better communication,” McIntyre said. “We can't make the amount of mental errors [we] made in the first half and be the team that we want to be moving forward.”

McIntyre made it clear that the defense is taking on the burden of accountability for its hot-and-cold play, not putting it elsewhere.

“That's 100% on the players,” McIntyre said. “[We’re] making mental errors, not having [our] eyes in the right spots, not knowing our eyes and our keys. But we won't let that happen again. We’ll be prepared on the first play of the game next game.”

This unit has had some growing pains under new defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil and has given up more than 500 yards in two of three outings. But defensive players and Fitzgerald have consistently said that player execution, not coaching or scheme, has been the biggest issue for their play.

Northwestern had two players score their first Wildcat touchdowns on Saturday: wide receiver Jacob Gill and tight end Marshall Lang.

Lang saw some limited time last season but stepped up big against Duke. His two catches for 24 yards and a touchdown led the tight end room on the game.

Gill, who hails from Raleigh, N.C., just down the road from Durham, and had a large rooting contingent at Wallace Wade Stadium, finished with two catches for 34 yards and a touchdown.

Fitzgerald was complimentary of them both, as they accounted for both of the touchdowns the Cats scored through the air.

“[I’m] excited and proud of these guys,” Fitzgerald said. “Had a couple young guys get their first taste of the end zone with Marshall Lang. And then same thing with Jacob Gill. And I think Jacob had about 20 to 30 family members there at the game. To have that experience happen for him, is awesome.”

It has been another slow start for the Wildcats this season, and Fitzgerald has been disappointed with the incongruity between the team’s historical identity and this year’s early play.

“We [have] got to play cleaner football,” Fitzgerald said. “We can't put ourselves in a hole, you just can't do that. And we cannot turn the ball over at the rate that we're turning the ball over and expect to be successful.

"Over my time, our hallmark has been execution, the turnover ratio, and then playing with just a relentless Wildcat effort. And we've played with pretty solid effort. It's not where it needs to be yet.”

So far this season, Northwestern has a turnover differential of -2 through its three games. The team hopes to push that back towards even, or positive, with the 0-3 Ohio Bobcats coming to Evanston this Saturday.