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Pat Fitzgerald talks poor offensive execution, concerns with officiating following loss to Indiana
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Another week, another dreadful offensive performance out of Northwestern.
The Wildcats dropped a 34-3 decision to Indiana on Saturday in Bloomington, falling to 1-7 on the year and remaining winless in B1G play. A season after winning the B1G West, Northwestern has been eliminated from the bowl picture by the first weekend in November.
Once again, the defense tried to keep things close, but was worn down thanks to an offense that struggled to stay on the field. Northwestern still hasn’t a scored a touchdown since Oct. 5, a 13-10 loss to Nebraska in Lincoln.
Pat Fitzgerald addressed another poor offensive performance after the loss, taking full responsibility for Northwestern’s inability to get into the end zone.
“Can’t lose the turnover ratio. I thought we had a pretty good offensive game plan that we failed to execute,” Fitzgerald said. “It starts and ends with me and I have to take responsibility for that.
“They won the turnover battle and that was a pretty big factor in the game.”
Northwestern finished the night with three turnovers.
Another highlight of the night was Fitzgerald’s frustration with the officiating crew, particularly in the first half. The Wildcats finished with 9 penalties for 97 yards, which included an unsportsmanlike conduct call on Fitzgerald in the first half.
“I should’ve been given a sideline warning. I wasn’t warned. I don’t think the Big Ten followed that protocol,” Fitzgerald said of his penalty. “I was expressing my opinion. I guess I expressed it too much.”
Fitzgerald also said that he went a little too far on Saturday, and that’s something that can’t happen as a head coach.
“I can’t lose my cool. My guys are a direct reflection of me and I let them down tonight,” Fitzgerald said. “But I’ll flip over a table for my guys. I’m gonna fight for my guys.”
Northwestern will be back on the field in Evanston next week against Purdue.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB