The 3-2-1 going into Week 10

Here are three things we learned about the Maryland game, two questions we have moving forward and one bold prediction about the future as the Wildcats prepare to play Iowa at the friendly confines of Wrigley Field.

1. The Wildcats picked themselves up off the mat.

Last week after a bitterly disappointing 17-9 loss to Nebraska, interim head coach David Braun put his team's feelings simply.

"We have a locker room in there right now that is crushed," he said.

Northwestern didn't show any lasting effects from their heartbreak on Saturday. A Bryce Gallagher fumble recovery on the second Maryland possession of the game turned the tide after NU fell behind 7-0, and the Cats never looked back. Northwestern took the lead a little less than three minutes into the second quarter and didn’t relinquish it.

Brendan Sullivan led the offense to 24 first-half points, more than NU had scored in five of their seven games coming in. Northwestern didn't just bounce back from the heartbreak in Lincoln, the Cats arguably looked better than they had all season.

Plenty of teams would have let the bad taste from the week before linger and cost them another game. Not this Northwestern team. NU flushed the previous week and came out on Saturday like a team on a mission.

With their season hanging in the balance for all intents and purposes, Northwestern delivered a dazzling team win to upset the two-touchdown favorite visitors. The Cats are still yet to lose two in a row this season, always finding a way to bounce back.

Going back to July, Northwestern has faced adversity constantly. They've responded every time.

2. Northwestern's defensive line depth answered the bell.

With starting defensive end Richie Hagarty and key rotational defensive tackle Brendan Flakes both ruled out before kickoff, the already thin Wildcat defensive line entered Saturday even leaner than usual. That wasn't a problem, as the thinnest position group on the team flexed their depth all game long. The Cats stuffed a pair of Maryland runs from the 1-yard line en route to a second-quarter goal line stand to keep the Terrapins off the scoreboard. The group up front also produced four sacks on Saturday.

The star of the show was sophomore Aidan Hubbard. The Ohio native lived in the Maryland backfield, sacking Terps quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa three times. Hubbard had two sacks in his career coming into the game. When his team needed him to step up, he delivered a monster performance

Graduate defensive tackle RJ Pearson, a transfer from Bethune-Cookman, saw his most action of the season and came up big. Pearson got pressure on Tagovailoa numerous times before finally dragging him down for a huge third-down sack early in the fourth quarter to stall Maryland's momentum.

Even true freshman Michael Kilbane saw extended action for the first time all season. Kilbane didn't record any stats but pressured Tagovailoa on a handful of occasions, showing the talent that made him a four-star recruit.

Despite being hit hard by the transfer portal and injuries in 2023, new defensive line coach Christian Smith and his players have continued to produce. The next-man-up mentality among Northwestern's defensive line has been impressive, and a big reason for the defense as a whole's success. It doesn't matter if it's former walkons, transfers or inexperienced young players, everyone Smith has asked to step up has answered the challenge so far.

3. Braun needs to be more aggressive.

Braun has shown that he can be aggressive. This is the same guy who went for it on fourth down twice in his own territory in the third quarter against Penn State, including once on a fake punt.

On Saturday, though, Braun was noticeably conservative, and it nearly came back to cost him.

With Northwestern up by seven with a little over nine minutes remaining in the game, Northwestern faced a third-and-goal from inside the Maryland 1 yard-line. A confusing play that featured both Sullivan and Jack Lausch in the backfield resulted in an incomplete pass that brought up fourth down. Even with a pair of 220-plus pound backs at his disposal in Cam Porter and Anthony Tyus III, or the option of a tush-push QB sneak, Braun still opted to kick a 19-yard field goal with Jack Olsen.

Northwestern's defense came up with the stop they needed to close out the game, but had Maryland taken the lead late in the game, the four points Braun potentially left out there would have loomed large.

Braun is still finding his way as a head coach, and it's always easier to make adjustments after a big win. There's a delicate balance between aggressive and reckless, but when all you need is less than a yard, it’s time to roll the dice.

1. Where has this Northwestern offense been?

Northwestern's offense was widely and rightfully criticized after a complete disaster against Nebraska. Almost improbably, that same unit came out and ran like a well-oiled machine in the first half against Maryland.

Sullivan, who had struggled mightily in his previous action this season, threw the ball all over the field in the first half and put on a passing clinic. He completed 12-14 passes for 159 yards and a pair of scores.

The first score was a laser over the middle to Bryce Kirtz on a post from 23 yards out. The redshirt sophomore's second scoring toss might've been his best play of the day. Facing third-and-goal from the 3, Sullivan had a Maryland blitzer in his face immediately. But he managed to buy time by rolling to his left and then did his best Boo Buie impression, floating the ball over a Maryland defender to the waiting arms of Porter.

The offense slowed in the second half, only producing a trio of field goals, but the feel of Northwestern's offense was different than it had been since the second half of the Minnesota game. The unit operated with a confidence and efficiency that seemed impossible just a week earlier.

Offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian did a great job in the first half getting Sullivan outside the pocket on bootlegs, and Sullivan looked noticeably more comfortable. Bajakian also made a concerted effort to get his playmakers touches on easy throws. AJ Henning was heavily involved in the screen game and ended his day with five catches for 52 yards.

No one was more effective in the screen game than redshirt freshman running back Joseph Himon II. Himon caught a pair of screens for 67 yards, including a winding 53-yard pickup in the fourth quarter. Kirtz had three catches for 51 yards and the score. Cam Johnson had a pair of catches for 46 yards, highlighted by a beautiful throw down the left sideline by Sullivan for 34 yards in the first half.

It seems simple, but Northwestern finally came out with a coherent gameplan on offense, and results followed. Bajakian made a concerted effort to make Sullivan's life easier, let him use his legs and get the ball to NU's playmakers in space. It won't be easy to replicate the 33-point outburst against Iowa's outstanding defense next week, but the process should remain the same.

2. Will Northwestern's home-field advantage translate to Wrigley?

It was an incredibly light crowd on hand in Evanston on Saturday, but Northwestern continued the trend of looking like a different team at home. The win moved the Cats to 4-1 at home, while they've struggled to the tune of an 0-3 road record.

In those three road losses, NU is averaging 10 points per game. They're averaging 28.8 points per game at home. Some of that has to do with competition, but Northwestern just plays like a much more confident team when they're in Evanston.

Braun credits some of that with Northwestern switching back to using Ryan Field's locker room rather than the atrium of Welsh-Ryan Arena, as NU had dating back to the protocol-filled 2020 season.

Next week Northwestern will play at a neutral site for the first time in 2023, when they meet Iowa at Wrigley Field. NU will technically be the home team, so it will be worth watching whether playing close to home will have the same effect on Northwestern, or if there really is something special about Ryan Field.

Northwestern and Iowa will go under the historically low over/under line of 29.5 points.

Neither Northwestern nor Iowa are known for lighting up the scoreboard. Both teams are in the bottom 10 of all Power Five teams in terms of scoring.

Oddsmakers have taken notice. The over/under for Saturday's game at Wrigley Field opened at 29.5, which would be the lowest in college football history.

Each of Iowa's last two games have gone under 29.5, while Northwestern and Nebraska's low-scoring affair netted only 26 total points. Five of the last 10 meetings between the Wildcats and Hawkeyes have ended with totals of under 29.5.

These teams know each other well, and usually do a good job of limiting what the other can do on offense — which typically is very little to start with.

Both teams would prefer to keep the ball on the ground, and have struggled when trying to put the ball in the air. Add to that the fact that both teams will be playing with a backup quarterback if Ben Bryant can't go for NU, and you have all the ingredients for a pitcher's duel at Wrigley.