The vast majority of the Northwestern community opted not to attend Saturday’s football game. Judging by how the Wildcats performed before the small crowd, it’s hard to blame people for skipping out.
People are sick and tired of watching NU give up more than 600 yards to opposing offenses. Parents shield their children’s eyes from the horrific sight of NU’s defensive secondary, which probably would have trouble competing at the level of many Division II schools. Fans don’t like it when their team fumbles away victories.
And this year, fans gave up on the Cats because they felt the Cats gave up on them.
But that’s not altogether true. The seniors wanted to win this game, and the underclassmen wanted to win it for them. Sophomore Torri Stuckey, who emerged as a future star at running back for NU on Saturday, bit his lip and lowered his eyes when asked about his fumble that gave Bowling Green possession with 1:30 left to play.
NU seniors like Kevin Bentley and Zak Kustok, while disappointed that their careers won’t be ending in a warm climate over winter break, salivated at the mention of the Fighting Illini, whom the Cats will battle on Thanksgiving.
Bentley, who did his part by making 19 tackles against Bowling Green, said he wants to finish his career by retaining the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk, the trophy kept by the team that wins the annual intrastate matchup.
Kustok, meanwhile, had one of the most dominant offensive performances by a single player in NU history with 532 yards of total offense. He said after the game that he would trade that new school record for 100 yards and a victory.
But the numbers don’t mean much when you lose. This game, this team and this year really boil down to one thing: The Cats can’t play defense.
Linebackers Bentley and Billy Silva are good, and linebacker-turned-defensive end Napoleon Harris is clearly NFL-bound, but all that proves is that linebackers are the least important element of a defense.
The talent on this year’s NU defense is so weighted toward the middle that it’s almost as if one was designing an experiment.
The question: What happens if you put excellent linebackers on the field with an inexperienced line that allows three rushing touchdowns a game and with an injury-prone secondary that incessantly commits pass interference?
The result: The linebackers get caught in the middle, forced to defend quicker wide receivers and catch running backs from behind for 10-yard gains. They’re swallowed by a defense that allows 38 points per game.
Randy Walker seems to accept this shortcoming. “We needed 44 points (Saturday),” he said.
That attitude is not going to help NU escape from its rut. Any time a team scores 40 points, it should win. Period. If it doesn’t, then there’s something wrong with the defense.
Kudos to Falcons quarterback Josh Harris, who had a part in all six of his team’s touchdowns (three passing, two rushing and one receiving). He clearly knew what he was — and wasn’t — up against Saturday. You could almost hear his stomach growling every time he stepped back into the shotgun to pick apart NU’s secondary, or to grab an easy 6- or 8-yard run.
And then there was Bowling Green’s game-winning drive. Could NU’s waning bowl hopes have been crushed any more symbolically? In front of the smallest Ryan Field crowd of the year, Harris confidently strode downfield for a 78-yard, 59-second touchdown drive. On the two-point conversion attempt, the Cats, who had just used their last timeout to help a battered defensive lineman catch his breath, didn’t have time to get Dan Pohlman into position at outside linebacker. Disorganization and lack of talent made for a lethal combination — Bowling Green’s Cole Magner ran to Pohlman’s side for an easy two points.
NU receiver Jovan Witherspoon said after the game that he was watching from the sideline, praying for “one big stop.” They didn’t get it. NU hasn’t gotten it all season long.
Bentley said he’d “love to spoil Illinois’ bowl hopes” on Thursday. More likely, Illinois quarterback Kurt Kittner is going to feast on NU’s defense just like everyone else has. But now that the Cats are eliminated from bowl contention, the 11th game is irrelevant — this problem is long-term.
Both Strategy and manpower need to improve. It appears that sophomores Stuckey and Kunle Patrick, and freshmen Witherspoon and Tony Stauss are skilled enough to maintain a high-powered, high-scoring offense for the next two or three seasons.
But if the defense doesn’t get its act together, there will be more 43-42 losses in NU’s future.
Joe Ziomek is a Weinberg senior. He can be reached at [email protected].
