That didn’t go as expected.
After routing Maryland the weekend before, Northwestern entered Saturday hoping to keep the juice flowing as Wisconsin visited the Lakefront. Instead, the Wildcats’ offense went silent as the Badgers rolled to victory, 23-3,
“We knew a good football team was coming in here and we did not perform to our standard,” head coach David Braun said in his opening statements following the game. “At the end of the day, disappointed in so many of the things that we pride ourselves on. Did not show up today, again. Got to win in the special teams game. Got to create takeaways and when you do create takeaways, got to turn those into points. Did not play complimentary football today.”
Northwestern (3-4, 1-3 B1G) missed field goals and had them blocked, had two big turnovers but failed to capitalize and gave up a safety at the top of the fourth. They also had six penalties for 45 yards.
Northwestern defensive back Coco Azema picks of Wisconsin quarterback Braedyn Locke on Saturday. (Damien Dennis/The Pit Media)
The Wildcats started strong as they held Wisconsin (5-2, 3-1 B1G) scoreless through the first quarter and had what should have been a momentum-shifting interception from Coco Azema, who carried the ball 12 yards to put Northwestern at their own 42 yard line with just under seven minutes left in the frame. They proceeded to go three-and-out.
With 3:03 left in the quarter, Luke Akers missed a 51-yard field goal.
“Going into the Maryland game, we were going to be a little more conservative early, just getting him an opportunity to get his rhythm and confidence,” Braun said of Akers. “But after the way he performed at Maryland, his consistence execution in practice — we felt like that’s a range he can consistently hit from. We knew points were going to be at an absolute premium today.”
Wisconsin’s following drive ended at the top of the second quarter with a touchdown off an 8-yard rush by quarterback Braedyn Locke to put the Badgers up, 7-0.
On Northwestern’s next drive, Akers had his second attempt — a 28-yarder — blocked by Wisconsin. The Badgers ended their following drive with a 41-yard field goal try that was blocked by Northwestern’s Jaiden Cameron.
With 47 seconds left in the half, quarterback Jack Lausch was sacked for a 5-yard loss and fumbled, allowing Wisconsin to score off a 3-yard run from Cade Yacamelli. The Badgers led at the half, 14-0.
Northwestern held Wisconsin to a three-and-out to start the second half and showed promise on its first drive, going 59 yards on 13 plays including a big 29-yard rush from Lausch to put the Wildcats at the 5-yard line. After a pair of rushes for a total of two yards, a false start flag pushed Northwestern back and ultimately led to a 26-yard Akers field goal.
Keeping pace, the Northwestern defense forced a fumble off Locke and recovered at the Wisconsin 44-yard line. The offense stalled again, going three-and-out before giving up an eight play, 80-yard drive to Wisconsin to fall behind, 21-3.
Northwestern took over on their 19 with five seconds left in the third. Lausch connected with running back Cam Porter short right for a 12-yard pass, but a penalty erased the play and pushed the ‘Cats back to their own nine. The fourth quarter began with Lausch being sacked in his own endzone.
Wisconsin dominated possession in the final frame while Northwestern penalties erased whatever hope was left for the Wildcats.
“At the end of the day, that starts with me,” Braun said. “The way we performed today is not a reflection, a positive reflection, on the way I had the team prepared to go. Got to reflect to find ways to do a better job to position our team to play winning football for four quarters.
“A lot of uncharacteristic stuff showing up today, and at the end of the day, that’s something that comes back on me. I own it.”
Wisconsin running back Cade Yacamelli (25) celebrates with teammates following his 3-yard scoring run in the second quarter. (Damien Dennis/The Pit Media)
Aerial nosedive
Lausch finished just 9-of-24 for 82 yards on Saturday, a far cry from the aerial offense Northwestern has exhibited the previous two weeks.
“They did do a good job of getting some pressure,” Lausch said. “I thought our guys up front did a really good job of dealing with that. It’s a part of football, you’re gonna get pressure. The difference really was just finishing in the redzone. … that makes all the difference.”
Tight end Thomas Gordon finished with four catches for 49 yards while Bryce Kirtz had two for 23. Porter also finished with a pair of catches for 13 yards.
Northwestern finished with 127 yards on the ground, powered by Lausch’s 55 yards and Porter’s 48.
Northwestern finished 2-for-13 on third down conversions.
“I’ve got to go back and watch it,” Lausch said. “Obviously have to be better there — you win football games on third down.”
Solid passing D
Northwestern allowed just 160 yards through the air on Saturday, holding Locke to 14-of-24 attempts with a touchdown and an interception.
“In the back end, we kind of pride ourselves on being good versus the pass and I felt we had some pretty good disguises that kind of deterred some throws,” Azema said. “Just sticking to the technique, things like that, we’re able to hold up pretty good.
The Wildcats did give up 199 yards on the ground, powered by Tawee Walker’s 126 yards on 23 carries.
Injury report
Wide receiver AJ Henning was injured in the first quarter Saturday. He left the game and was questionable to return but was ruled out during halftime. Calvin Johnson II stepped in for Henning.
“CJ Johnson has been one of our top performers in practice and someone that we have full faith in,” said Braun. “I won’t discredit how valuable AJ Henning is and what he brings to the table. There are certainly some things in our game plan that are very tailored to his skill set and losing a guy like him starts to chip away at that depth in the wide receiver room.”
Linebacker Xander Mueller did not play Saturday, with Greyson Metz earning the start.
“He’s a captain on the team for a reason,” Azema said of missing Mueller on the field. “It hurts to not have him out there, but, whenever Greyson Metz answered the call, you see him out there making plays. Screen stopping, forced fumbles, sack fumble; the guy stepped up but it definitely hurts. Metz came in and did his job.”
Next up
Northwestern travels to Iowa on Saturday, Oct. 26 for a 2:30 p.m. CST kickoff.
Wisconsin will host No. 3 Penn State that day in a primetime game at 6:30 p.m. CST.
