EVANSTON-Here are our takeaways from Northwestern’s 31-23 loss to Duke on Saturday at Ryan Field.

Another slow start doomed the Wildcats: During his press conference on Monday, Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald said that the No. 1 thing his team was working on over the two weeks between games was fixing the team’s habit of getting off to slow starts.

That message was not received by his team.

Duke scored the first three times it had the ball to open a 21-0 lead just 33 seconds into the second quarter. The Wildcats could get no closer than five points the rest of the way.

The defense, especially, failed to answer the opening bell. Duke went on 77-, 80- and 90-yard scoring drives to rack up touchdowns over the first 15:33. They had 247 yards of offense at that point and were averaging a mind-boggling 14.8 yards per play.

“We talked about starting fast (all week in practice),” Fitzgerald said after the game. “We failed at that.”

Fitzgerald said that Duke didn’t really do anything they didn’t expect, but big plays were again the culprit for a team that fell victim to quite a few last season. The Blue Devils hit the Wildcats with an 81-yard reception by Eli Pancol, a 42-yard touchdown run by Jordan Waters and a 51-yard catch by Jalon Calhoun off of a tipped pass.

To their credit, the defense put its abysmal start behind them and settled down. Duke didn’t score again until the start of the fourth quarter.

The Cats had two shots at redemption: Northwestern, being Northwestern, came roaring back to make a game of it. Twice the Wildcats cut the lead to five points in the second half, but they could never get over the hump.

The Wildcats got the ball with 4:31 left, trailing 28-23, but Ryan Hilinski threw his first interception of the season to Brandon Johnson at the Northwestern 34-yard line. He lamented that he threw the ball off his back foot and across his body, cardinal sins for a quarterback.

At the time, that turnover looked to be the final nail in the Wildcats’ coffin, but the defense stiffened at the goal line, forcing the Devils to settle for an 18-yard Charlie Ham field goal.

Trailing by eight, the Wildcats got one final chance and drove down to the Duke 12-yard line. On third-and-1, offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian called for a running play that fooled the Duke defense. Hull ran the ball straight up the middle and looked to be ready to cross the goal line when he fumbled the ball into the end zone. Johnson recovered it with 12 seconds left for a touchback.

Game over. Instead of a chance for a two-point conversion and overtime, Northwestern was instead saddled with its first loss of the season, and fourth in a row to Duke.

Hull’s reaction was simple. “Disbelief,” he said.

Hull had an outstanding day that ended badly: It was a shame that Hull’s day ended so tragically because he had a game for the ages.

Hull had 14 catches for 213 yards and a touchdown to go along with 65 rushing yards and another score. His receiving yards were the most for a Northwestern running back since Todd Sheets in 1980.

“That’s two games he’s been absolutely spectacular,” said Fitzgerald. Hull rushed for 119 yards against Nebraska in the opener.

Hull, still raw from the rollercoaster finish, said that his teammates were there to pick up his spirits after the game. He said he also relied on his faith and God’s plan.

“I credit my teammates a lot,” he said. “I’m so thankful for them.”

Hilinski’s message to Hull focused on the future.

"I told him it’s me and you,” said Hilinski. “Let’s just keep going, keep leading these guys. Let's go 1-0 next week. All of our goals are still in front of us. We can still win the Big Ten."

Northwestern’s offense put up 500 yards for a second straight time: The Wildcats’ offense is generating numbers no one thought possible at the start of the season. On Saturday, they put up 511 yards against Duke, two weeks after hanging 528 on Nebraska.

Last year, Northwestern averaged just 322.4 yards and 16.6 points per game. This year, those averages are up to 519.5 and 27.0 after two games.

Most of Northwestern’s yards came through the air against Duke, as Hilinski threw for 453 yards, with two TDs and an interception, on 60 attempts. That wasn’t by design, said Fitzgerald, but, “when you’re down by three scores, you’ve got to throw the ball.”

A game after rushing for 224 yards against Nebraska, Northwestern managed just 76 and 2.2 yards per carry against the Blue Devils.

Fitzgerald said that Hilinski answered the bell when his team needed him to air it out.

“At times, he was outstanding,” said Fitzgerald. “He gave us a chance to win the football game. He’s just got to keep coming.”