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Rapid Reaction: Northwestern falls just short after giant rally vs. Duke
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Final Score: Duke 31, Northwestern 23
Brief Recap: Northwestern battled it out with Duke for as long as it could, but couldn’t keep the offense from scoring the football. Much like the Nebraska game, the Wildcats found themselves down multiple scores early on, but did not pull off a comeback this time around.
Northwestern got to a slow start on offense, and didn’t score until the 2nd quarter after it was already a 21-0 game.
Luckily Evan Hull and Ryan Hilinski showed up when it mattered. Evan Hull had 1 rushing touchdown, and 1 receiving touchdown. Hilinski threw Hull’s only receiving touchdown to him on a 39-yard score.
Duke also managed to slow down Hull on the ground, even though they couldn’t do the same through the air. If Northwestern wants to win more than 3 games this season, it’s going to need to be more consistent on offense.
Key Player: Evan Hull
Hull did everything he could to make sure that Northwestern came away with the win, but it wasn’t enough. While he didn’t get his usual production on the ground, he made up for it with his efforts in the receiving game. He scored 2 touchdowns before the smoke cleared.
Key Stat: 400+ yards of offense
Northwestern proved that the offense is there. Allowing at least 28 points both of your first two games is not a good way to go on defense. That has been part of the issue so far for Pat Fitzgerald. Northwestern won’t be able to play Nebraska every week unfortunately.
The Wildcats’ next game will be against Southern Illinois, so they’ll get a break. However, they will be tested after that when their B1G schedule starts. Northwestern will not play anymore more non-conference opponents after Southern Illinois.
Key Concern: Northwestern may need to find some more depth on offense. Hull and Hilinski can only do so much for the Northwestern offense. Other players may need to step it up in the future for Fitzgerald’s squad.
It won’t get any easier for them once the Wildcats get into the latter half of the schedule, especially against teams from the B1G East.
What it means for Northwestern: Northwestern struggled against a non-conference opponent after the great comeback game against Nebraska in Week 0. Fortunately for Northwestern, Fitzgerald gets a tune-up game next against Southern Illinois before shifting to the B1G games left on the schedule
Fitzgerald needs to figure something out quickly before Northwestern finds itself missing the bowl season once again. One thing is for certain, Northwestern needs to find some more depth on offense. It’s clear that the defense could be an issue for the Wildcats this season.
Grant Bricker covers the B1G for Saturday Tradition. His previous stops include the Williamson Homepage and Nashville Post.