Here are three things we learned about the Howard game, two questions we have moving forward and one bold prediction about the future as the Wildcats prepare to enter their bye week.

1. Northwestern still hasn't played a complete game.

Halfway through the season, Northwestern has still not played their best football for four quarters of any single game.

The Cats took a 16-0 lead into the break on Saturday and looked to be coasting to a win against FCS foe Howard. The second half was a much different story. The Bison thoroughly outplayed the Wildcats for the final 30 minutes, nearly pulling off a stunner on Homecoming in Evanston.

After a quiet first half, Howard running back Eden James looked like his Hall of Fame father, Edgerrin. The sophomore gashed NU for 139 yards in the second half, including a 64-yard sprint to the end zone down the right sideline in the fourth quarter.

Overall, Howard outscored Northwestern 20-7 in the second half as the Wildcats hung on for dear life for a 23-20 win to get back to .500.

Linebacker Xander Mueller, whose first-half safety helped jumpstart the Wildcats, noted that playing a complete 60 minutes is something NU talks about trying to find during the week.

"Putting four quarters together is a huge emphasis that we need to keep working on, haven't done it so far," he said.

A dismal first half set up a furious comeback against Minnesota two weeks ago, and NU couldn't keep Penn State under wraps for the second half. So it was disheartening to see the same problems crop up against a program Northwestern has significant advantages over.

Everyone in Evanston will take wins no matter how they look, but there might not be too many more coming if Northwestern can only look like a competent operation for half the game.

2. The offensive line has some soul searching to do.

Howard had three sacks through four games when they arrived at Ryan Field on Saturday. They left with seven sacks on the season.

Backup quarterback Brendan Sullivan's general discomfort and tendency to hold onto the ball too long didn't help out the big guys up front, but the line of scrimmage when Northwestern had the ball didn't look like a Big Ten team against a MEAC team.

Offensive line coach Kurt Anderson is in his fifth year, and the results have simply not been good enough. When it's the sixth game of his fifth season and the line can't open holes in the running game or protect effectively against Howard, it may be time to look in the mirror.

The reason Sullivan was even playing is because the line was unable to protect Bryant against Penn State, to the point that he left the game with an injury after his sixth sack. It's hard to be an effective offense with an offensive line struggling the way that Northwestern's has been, especially the last two weeks.

The bye week is important for Northwestern as a team, but especially for the group up front. NU has already shifted starters this year, subbing in Josh Thompson for Zachary Franks at right tackle. Whether another shuffle in the lineup might help is unknown, but something has to give.

Sitting at .500, all of Northwestern's goals are still in front of them. They need the offensive line to pave the way to get them there.

3. The bye week couldn't have come at a better time.

A bye week at the midway point of the season is naturally well-timed, but a hurting Northwestern team needs a week to get back on track.

With starting quarterback Ben Bryant and receiver AJ Henning both out against Howard, Northwestern's offense struggled to find any semblance of rhythm other than bookend drives to begin and end the first half. The offensive line struggled all day. The defense was sliced and diced the whole second half, and looked in desperate need of a breather.

Fortunately, they get one. The Wildcats will be rested and as healthy as they can get at this stage to take on the home stretch of six Big Ten opponents. Plenty of them appear winnable, especially after a much-needed respite from the grind of the season.

Getting into this bye week at .500 seemed impossible just a couple months before the season. Now Northwestern finds themselves in that spot, but things are far from perfect in Evanston. Northwestern has work to do, both in the training room and on the practice field, during the bye if they want to make something of the 2023 season, but they still have to be feeling pretty good heading into it.

1. This is Northwestern's best wide receiver group since...?

New wide receivers coach Armon Binns has only been in Evanston for about 10 months, but his impact has already been felt. Receiver has been a position where Northwestern lagged behind in recent years, but that position has been somewhat of a strength in 2023.

Even missing the dynamic Henning, Northwestern leaned on the guys out wide to make plays against Howard. Bryce Kirtz got back into the Ryan Field end zone on a four-yard slant to end the first half. He finished the day with four grabs for 41 yards and the aforementioned score.

His running mate Cam Johnson finally found the end zone for the first time in purple, too. In the third quarter, Sullivan rolled to his left looking for someone downfield. Johnson broke off his route and headed straight for the end zone, and Sullivan put the ball right on him for NU's lone second-half score. The Arizona State transfer finished his homecoming with four grabs for 55 yards in addition to his trip to pay dirt.

The trio of Henning, Johnson and Kirtz now has 748 yards and six touchdowns at the midway point, even with Kirtz and Henning each missing a game. Those numbers certainly aren't going to blow anyone away, but the production and reliability NU has seen out of that trio is as good as there's been in Evanston in a long time.

Especially with a struggling ground attack, if Bryant and Henning get healthy over the bye week, there's a chance for the Cats' passing attack to really take off over the back half of the season.

2. Did Cam Porter's stranglehold on the backfield loosen?

There hasn't been much competition for touches in the Northwestern backfield in 2023, but that might've changed on Saturday.

Cam Porter had a fine game with 78 yards on 18 totes for 4.3 yards per carry. He seemed to have more room to run in the first half, but Northwestern was intent on trying to inject life into a dormant Sullivan-led passing attack.

Porter has been a steady and dependable playmaker for NU, but he still lacks burst after his 2021 knee injury. Redshirt freshman Joseph Himon II has burst in spades, as he showed off when he picked up 12 and 10 yards on back-to-back carries late in the first half. For a reason that is known only to offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian, Himon only got one more carry the remainder of the game.

Late in the game, NU leaned on big-bodied junior Anthony Tyus III to churn yards and time as Northwestern limped across the finish line.

Tyus finished the game with 44 yards on seven carries, good for 6.3 yards per carry. After dealing with injuries early in the season, Tyus looked fully healthy for the first time all year on Saturday, and results followed.

There's no need for Porter to lose his role as lead back; he's been productive in 2023. But Himon and Tyus both showed that they have value to add to Northwestern's offense: Himon as a quick, change-of-pace back and Tyus as another bruising, downhill runner. Getting Tyus and Himon more touches will also allow Porter to come off the field sometimes and keep him fresher, something he hasn't had for most of his senior season.

Northwestern's 2024 quarterback is not currently on the roster.

Northwestern got another glimpse of a Ben Bryant-less world on Saturday and it wasn't particularly pretty.

Sullivan put up a deceptively productive stat line. He completed 13 of 18 passes for 131 yards and a pair of scores. He was credited with 15 carries for 38 yards and another touchdown. But his 25.8 QBR (0-100 scale) does a better job of detailing the kind of day it was for the redshirt sophomore.

The day started well, with Sullivan's 35-yard scamper capping a breezy opening-drive scoring march for Northwestern. It didn't look close to that easy the rest of the day.

Sullivan never looked settled in the pocket, running himself into sacks or short gains, even when his offensive line gave him clean pockets. Aside from the touchdown scramble, Sullivan had 14 carries for three yards. Sacks hurt that number, for sure, but that is just not productive quarterback play. Pair that with a hesitation to let it rip and trust his arm, and that nets offensive results as poor as NU had on Saturday.

Whoever takes the mantle as Northwestern's head football coach for 2024 and beyond will likely have to look outside the program for his new signal caller. The results on Saturday were barely enough to beat a .500 FCS team, and the new coach will hopefully have his sights set higher than that.

It's nothing new for Northwestern, but the Cats will again go portal shopping after 2023, when Bryant runs out of eligibility. Sullivan can return next year, as can third-stringer Ryan Hilinski, if he opts to use his COVID year. Jack Lausch is more wide receiver than quarterback at this point, and Aidan Gray has yet to see the field in his true freshman season.

Northwestern has had mixed results with transfer triggermen. Hunter Johnson and Hilinski fell well short of expectations. Peyton Ramsey was a massive success, and Bryant so far in 2023 has produced better results than anyone could have reasonably expected under the circumstances.

As the portal consumes more and more of college football rosters every year, there will be no shortage of options for the new head man at Northwestern. They'll just have to sell the right guy on their vision for a brighter future in Evanston.