Northwestern had, by just about all accounts, a good defense last year. Despite finishing just 3-9, the Wildcats ranked in the top 30 nationally in important measures like total defense, passing defense and yards per play allowed.

The Wildcats were actually better last season in total defense than they were in 2018, when they won the Big Ten West. They allowed 355.7 yards per game in 2019, 35.2 fewer than the year before.

But Northwestern is aiming to be even better this year. A lot better.

“I think our goal is to just be the best defense in the Big Ten,” said senior linebacker Blake Gallagher matter-of-factly during a Zoom Call with media on Wednesday.

As if to reaffirm that statement, Gallagher caught himself just a few moments later.

“We pride ourselves on stopping the run and being one of…” – no, not one of, he seemed to say to himself internally – “the top defense in the Big Ten.”

While that is a reasonable goal for a defense that returns nine of its top 11 tacklers and will likely field eight seniors in the starting lineup, it will take some doing. Even with their lofty national standing, the Wildcats finished just seventh in total defense in the Big Ten, mostly because five conference teams finished in the top 12 in the country, including No. 1 Ohio State.

So where will the improvement come from? It will start with takeaways.

While the Wildcat defense was solid across the board in 2019, they created just 14 takeaways. In 2017 and 2018 – when the Wildcats won a combined 19 games, two bowls and a division title – they collected 25 and 26 turnovers, respectively.

That’s a big drop off. Gallagher says practice will be the key to getting back to where they were.

“It all comes down to doing it more in practice. If you don’t do it during the week, you’re not going to do it on game day,” said Gallagher, who had two of those takeaways last year, registering an interception and a fumble recovery. “We’re really trying to find new drills, and it really starts with that mentality. Having the mentality to take the ball away. Work it during the week, and work it on game day.

“When you have the opportunity to punch a ball out, rip a ball out, getting in a throwing lane and tip a ball up to take the ball away from the offense and give it back to ours, (it) has been huge. And we’re going to continue to work on that this camp and this season to hopefully create more takeaways.”

One player who could help the turnover bottom line is senior safety JR Pace.

One of Northwestern’s top playmakers, Pace had an uncharacteristically quiet 2019 season. His production fell off significantly from 2018 to 2019: his interceptions dropped from four to one, PBUs from seven to four, and tackles from 82 to 42.

That didn’t go unnoticed to Pace, who has started every game the last two years for the Wildcats. But he doesn’t only want to get back to his 2018 form; he wants to be better.

“I’ve got high expectations for myself, ways to help this team the best way that I can,” said Pace. “I definitely want to get back to that level of play, if not higher, than I was a couple years ago.”

While Pace and Travis Whillock give Northwestern two experienced seniors at safety, there’s no question that the strength of the defense is the linebacker corps.

The trio of Gallagher and Chris Bergin on the outside, and Paddy Fisher in the middle, started together all 12 games last year and finished 1-2-3 in tackles with a combined 266. They also accounted for four of the team’s 12 total interceptions.

Having that veteran leadership and familiarity with each other will be especially important in this most unusual of years, when preparation has been anything but routine. The Wildcats had their spring practice cut short, then had a 40-day layoff between when the Big Ten postponed the season in August and reinstated it in September.

“We’ve been playing with each other for three years now, coming up. Just that trust and that bond that we’ve built over the last couple years is huge, especially in a weird year like this,” said Gallagher, who has made a team-best 315 tackles over the last two seasons.

“We’re all on the same page. We’ve been out there, we have that experience with each other, kind of know what each other’s going to do, we play off each other.”

The Wildcats open the season on Oct. 24, at home against Maryland. But the month on the calendar won’t be the only unusual thing about this opener. It will also be played at an empty Ryan Field, without fans in the stands.

Gallagher isn’t sure what that experience will be like, but he already has a motto ready-made for it.

“It’s BYOJ,” he said with a smile, “bring your own juice.”

The players won’t be able to feed off the energy from the crowd, so Gallagher figures the guys on the field and on the sideline will have to supply it themselves.

“It’s going to be interesting. It’s going to be a challenge that everybody’s going to be going through,” he said. “But it’s something you’ve got to embrace the heck out of, right?...

“Everybody’s gotta get hyped on the boundary. Guys on the juice squad, younger guys, everybody’s gotta get hyped. The strength coaches always do a great job. You guys know (strength coach Alex) Spanos is going to get them going. It’s just a passion and energy we need to play with.”

A passion he hopes will make Northwestern’s defense the best one in the Big Ten.