Upon further review: Northwestern 31 Purdue 27

WildcatReport's Tim Chapman, a former high school football head coach, breaks down the Wildcats' win over Purdue.

1. The offense was (pleasantly) more efficient than we have seen to start the past few seasons. The first two drives started out about as well as you could wish for. The offensive line helped new RB Jeremy Larkin rush for a career-high 143 yards and two TDs, as well as protecting their rotating QBs – recovering veteran Clayton Thorson and green (pardon the pun) backup QB T.J. Green – by not allowing any sacks.

Both QBs completed better than 62 percent of their attempted passes with no INTs, no fumbles, and no costly mistakes. The confident and proficient play of Green should give NU fans added assurance, should Thorson need to take a little longer to fully recover (and be the full-time guy) before B1G play resumes against Michigan in three weeks.

Finally, the receivers caught everything thrown at them without any drops. All incomplete passes were either calculated misses by the QB, or great defensive plays by the Purdue secondary (helped by some missed holding/interference calls, especially against Bennett Skowronek).

2. Larkin will be good. Really good. We already called for this in our pre-season preview of the NU running backs, but it became evident to the national media and in the Twitter-verse that No. 28 earned many votes of confidence from his performance Thursday night. And the best thing was that he was multi-faceted.

In addition to his ground feats, he also caught four passes for 20 yards as a dependable outlet on the middle sit routes, as well as the flare passes in the flats. Most exciting, though, was wheel route he had in the fourth quarter, where he blew past two Purdue defenders and would have had a touchdown had Thorson not overthrown him.

In addition, he played the “Wildcat” quarterback effectively, scoring once and setting up another TD (of his own). This was something Fitzgerald and the coaching staff said they had been working on and we will likely see sprinkled in again until teams can stop it.

Finally, the physical Larkin proved to be a good pass protector of his quarterbacks. There was an instance in the fourth quarter when the Boilermakers brought a safety off the edge and Larkin stayed in and completely neutralized him, allowing Thorson to hit Flynn Nagel on a crossing pattern to the left for a key first down.

3. The defensive staff seems comfortable with their secondary’s cover skills. That may seem like a head-scratcher, given the fact that Purdue completed 65 percent of their passes for 270 yards, but the only real “big play” the Cats gave up was the 32-yard post route to Moore for a TD in the first quarter because Jared McGee took a bad angle on the ball. Other than that, a 19-yard completion to Jared Sparks was the biggest aerial yield.

We saw a lot of cover-1/”man-free” coverage, especially on third down from Mike Hankwitz’s defense. Any coach that plays this style, especially on third down, is placing a lot of reliance not only in his cover guys, but also his free safety in the deep middle. And given the results – Pudue was 2-for-8 on third-down passing attempts, which included a defensive pass interference call – the coaching staff seemed to have the right idea and their trust was rewarded.

1. Who will emerge as the deep threat? And before we dive in, let me define “deep” in this offense as anywhere 12 yards or more beyond the line of scrimmage. We saw a couple “deeper” balls thrown to Skowronek, but the Cats will need to have somebody they can throw to deep sideline or deep middle against cover-2 from time to time. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be deep in the air. If they can get bigger, more explosive plays from quicker guys like Nagel, Riley Lees or even younger guys like Kyric McGowan, JJ Jefferson, or, when they return from injury, Solomon Vault and Jalen Brown. If they can make a catch on a slant or shallow crossing route and turn it upfield into an explosion play, we’ll take that.

2. How long until Greg Newsome becomes the starter at CB opposite Montre Hartage? No disrespect to Trae Williams, but there were a few missed tackles and a penalty in the first half that brought some concern at the position. Then we saw Newsome step in in the second half, where he helped neutralize Rondale Moore, which, as we saw from the first half, was a tall order. Coach Pat Fitzgerald has always said that the best players are going to see the field. It will be interesting to see the depth chart next week.

This Wildcat LB crew is one of the best in the Big Ten. They find a way to get to the ball, and though there were a few missed tackles early (mostly by Paddy Fisher, ironically), they were solid when they needed to be and got better as the game went on and when the defensive line did their job. By game’s end, all three starters – SAM Nate Hall, MIKE Fisher and WILL Blake Gallagher – led the team in tackles, headed by Hall’s 10, seven of them solo. Hall also added a TFL and an INT, and Fisher forced a fumble in the game. As they get stronger and as the defensive line becomes even more stout, this group will put up a lot of resistance for opposing offenses.

The Defensive Front Seven. From a catalytic standpoint, this group helped the back seven get the impressive numbers on the stats sheet. The LBs were the leading team tacklers, and defensive linemen Jordan Thompson, Samdup Miller, Trent Goens and Trevor Kent combined for four TFLs (Hall also added one) and two sacks. The entire group created havoc and either rushed throws from Elijah Sindelar, flushed David Blough to run or beat them up in their throwing motions. The back seven picked up three INTs, with Hall earning one of them in dramatic fashion, and all three came as a result of Purple pressure on the two Purdue gunslingers.

RB Jeremy Larkin. In the first game A.J. (after Justin), many national (and even local) skeptics wondered how the Wildcats’ offense would fare without the program’s all-time leading rusher and just the fifth Power Five player with four 1,000-yard rushing seasons. But NU fans knew the shelves were stocked and were glad to see it come to fruition Thursday night. Larkin assured those in question that the Cats will be just fine as he ran for 143 yards on 26 carries (5.5 ypc) and two TDs.

LB Nate Hall. With so many worried about Hall’s physical capabilities fresh off an ACL injury during bowl week last season, he certainly allayed any concerns. He had a game-high 10 tackles to go along with a four-yard TFL and a diving INT that really helped bring momentum back to the Cats, leading to a quick score that put NU back up by 10 in the second quarter. It must be stressed again (because many are still underestimating his value) just how much of a key component Hall is to this dependably domineering defense. In the games the Wildcats win this year, Hall will be a big part of that success.

K Charlie Kuhbander. This was fairly easy to choose, considering the punting was at times shaky, and the return game was non-existent. Still, “Kuhbs” did everything he was asked to: make all four of his PATs and knock through his only field goal attempt. We’ll throw some love in there to Tyler Gillikin as well, as he nailed all of his punt and PAT snaps, and was typically the first (by a good margin) to get downfield on punt coverage.

There were a lot to go with here. There was the Hall INT, the show of class by the Wildcats to keep composure when Lorenzo Neal threw a vulnerable Larkin to the ground after the whistles, the 46-yard Larkin burst up the middle and other personals, Green’s third-down strike to Nagel. But perhaps the best moment of the night was seeing No. 18 trot out from the sidelines and direct the offense with command on that opening drive that resulted in a Wildcat touchdown. After so many lost their breaths during that frightening, freak injury in the Music City Bowl, seeing throw perfect balls and elude the rush likely drew the biggest smiles of Thursday night.

QB TJ Green or CB Greg Newsome. This honor goes to an unsung hero who may not have had the most spectacular numbers in the stat sheet but did a lot to help ensure success for the team. I normally don’t believe in ties, but this was for two very good reasons. On offense, Green was charged with keeping this offense going and allowing Thorson to ease back into competition for the 2018 season. He did well, leading the Cats on two scoring drives, completing 64 percent of his passes not making any costly errors – no sacks, INTs or fumbles.

The second reason for this tie was the job that Newsome did to step in and go one-on-one against Moore and Jared Sparks. He held his own, making five tackles and a good PBU. He didn’t give up any big plays and showed that he would not be intimidated by Big Ten play, even against the sensational Moore. What was even better, he actually showed some swagger at times, as if to suggest, “I’ll shut you down.” Keep an eye out for Newsome, who could be a starter very soon.

Tim Chapman is a teacher and former Michigan high school football coach who is currently working on a book titled "ChampioN Underdog" about the 1995 Northwestern Rose Bowl team. Follow him on Twitter: @Champion_Lit.