MADISON, Wis. — Northwestern knew its passing defense was ranked 112th in the country coming into Camp Randall Stadium Saturday.
But the Wildcats also recognized they had the 49th-best rush defense, and they thought it could only get better with junior defensive end Loren Howard returning against No. 6 Wisconsin.
So when NU’s secondary had its best performance of the season and the Badgers gained 208 yards rushing on their way to a 24-12 win, junior defensive tackle Barry Cofield was surprised.
“I’m really disappointed with our run defense,” Cofield said. “We’ve had our problems with the pass all year, but we’ve been pretty solid against the run.
For us to come out and give up so many yards on the ground … is probably the lowest point for me.”
Wisconsin was led by senior Anthony Davis, who rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries.
Sophomore Booker Stanley added 50 yards on 15 carries, and junior receiver Brandon Williams tacked on 25 yards with one carry in the second quarter.
The result was NU’s worst attempt at stopping the rush since it gave up 251 yards at Minnesota Sept. 25.
“I really thought we would do a better job against the running game than we did,” NU coach Randy Walker said. “That was kind of our goal coming into this. I don’t think it’s any secret that Wisconsin is going to try to rush the football and take it to you.”
The Cats stalled Wisconsin’s offense in the first quarter, holding the Badgers to three points on 25 yards rushing and 48 yards passing.
Senior cornerback Marvin Ward intercepted a long pass by sophomore quarterback John Stocco on Wisconsin’s second play of the game.
But the second quarter was a disaster, as NU allowed 77 yards on the ground and 60 yards throwing.
The Badgers scored two touchdowns, one passing and one running, giving them a 17-0 halftime lead.
“I don’t think they wore us down,” said NU linebacker Tim McGarigle, who led the Cats with 14 tackles. “We kind of hit a lull on defense in the middle of the second quarter to about the middle of the third quarter.”
Stocco converted 13-of-21 passes for 178 yards, as NU’s secondary improved on its 284.3 yards allowed per game and displayed its best performance of the season.
But Wisconsin entered the game 11th in the Big Ten in passing offense, so Walker knew the key would be stopping the run.
While upsetting the Badgers 16-7 in Evanston last season, NU held Wisconsin to 135 yards rushing.
“The secret of our success a year ago with this football team is we played well against the run,” Walker said. “And we couldn’t stop the run (Saturday).”
The Cats’ defensive line failed to apply much pressure on Stocco, and junior defensive end David Thompson had NU’s only sack.
Howard had one tackle in limited playing time.
But the biggest problem for NU’s defense might have been the Cats’ offense, which faced the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense.
“The strength of Wisconsin’s team has been their defense, so we knew that it would be a defensive struggle,” Cofield said. “And to come out and give up 17 points in the first half was disappointing.”
Wisconsin completed a 16-play, 65-yard drive in the fourth quarter that took 7:09 off the clock.
The Badgers left the Cats with a 12-point deficit with 20 seconds to play, and Walker could only watch his team’s two-game winning streak end.
“They just kind of methodically took the football and took a bunch of time off the clock,” Walker said. “And that’s all she wrote. Somehow, some way, we didn’t come up with the same kind of execution that we’ve had in other games.”
Reach Teddy Kider at [email protected].
