ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Northwestern coach Randy Walker says football is about responding to adversity in key situations.
And the Wildcats needed a big response — a touchdown — after No. 9 Michigan opened the second half with an 82-yard drive that drained 3:43 off the clock and gave the Wolverines a 14-6 lead.
But when NU senior running back Noah Herron broke free of the Wolverines’ defensive line and ran 68 yards for a touchdown on the Cats’ first offensive play of the third quarter, Walker knew that response wouldn?t be enough, even with a 14-13 score.
"Unfortunately, we scored too fast," Walker said. "You have to take a touchdown anytime you get it. But we threw our defense right back out there, and we just never got back in the right rhythm."
NU (5-5, 4-3 Big Ten) came out of halftime flat and couldn’t keep up with the Wolverines (9-1, 7-0), allowing four unanswered touchdowns after Herron?s score.
The Cats couldn’t capitalize on first-half scoring opportunities and a good performance by Herron in Michigan’s dominating 42-20 win before 111,347 in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Saturday.
NU’s defense gave up just 126 yards and seven points in the first half, forcing the Wolverines’ offense to punt on four of six possessions.
After NU senior defensive tackle Luis Castillo nailed Michigan freshman quarterback Chad Henne for a six-yard sack to end the first half, the Cats headed to their locker room down 7-6.
"The big thing with us, and it has been all year, is getting to the fourth quarter and making it a close game," Castillo said. "And we felt we had the opportunity to do that after the first half."
But very little went right for NU after intermission.
"We lulled as a team, both offensively and defensively, at the beginning of the second half," Herron said.
The Wolverines’ offense stepped up and NU?s defense stepped down, as Michigan amassed 295 yards and five touchdowns in the last two quarters. The Cats were unable to stop a Michigan drive from resulting in a touchdown until 2:27 remained in the fourth quarter, when the Wolverines were already up 42-20 and had their starters out of the game.
"We just didn’t tackle very well today, " Walker said. "It sounds like a simple thing.
"We had guys in positions to make plays. You start getting a little excited out there. I think we probably played a little overexcited. Then you start leaving your feet and diving, and not very many good players are tackled by people who leave their feet."
After a first half with 54 yards and one touchdown, Michigan freshman running back Mike Hart got even better.
He finished with 151 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries, including 49 yards and a touchdown on Michigan?s opening drive of the second half. That enabled the Wolverines’ passing game to flourish. Henne threw to six players, totaling 187 yards and two touchdowns on 19-of-26 passing. Michigan committed few mistakes on offense, its only turnover coming on downs with fewer than three minutes left.
"That’s why they’re a great program, and they’ve been that way for a long time," Walker said. "They don’t beat themselves. They execute. They don’t give you the ball without you earning it. So I give them a lot of credit."
NU’s offense didn’t struggle with turnovers, but execution was a problem. The Cats visited the red zone three times in the first half, but they came away with just six points as sophomore kicker Joel Howells converted 2-of-3 field goals.
"Great teams score," NU quarterback Brett Basanez said. "They don’t put the ball in the kicker’s hands. We had a chance to do that, and we didn?t capitalize."
"You give credit to them because they’re a pretty good defense," Walker said. "But it would have been nice to make a play or two and not have to try three field goals."
Herron totaled 156 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries, his sixth 100-yard performance of the year.
And Basanez threw to eight players, tallying 211 yards and one touchdown on 23-of-43 passing.
But his only touchdown was on a nine-yard pass to junior receiver Brandon Horn, a score that made the game 42-20 with 4:48 left in the fourth quarter, when the contest was already out of reach.
NU’s 405 yards and two second-half touchdowns weren’t enough to make up for struggles on defense and on special teams, where Michigan was earning good field position all day.
"We need to make some plays, whether it’s force a turnover, which we didn’t, play better in special teams, which we didn’t, or come up with a special play on offense," Walker said. "We were just kind of void of that today."
The loss leaves the Cats tied with Michigan State for fourth place in the Big Ten. NU needs to win its last two games, a visit from Illinois and a trip to Hawaii, in order to earn bowl eligibility for the second-consecutive year.
Reach Teddy Kider at [email protected].
