By David MorrisonThe Daily Northwestern
MADISON, Wis. – For the second week in a row, Northwestern went into the visitors’ locker room at halftime trailing a higher-rated conference opponent by less than 10 points.
For the second week in a row, the third quarter knocked the Wildcats out of contention.
Wisconsin, like Penn State last week, tacked 17 points onto its lead in the third quarter, creating an insurmountable 34-9 deficit.
“We’ve got to start faster than we are right now,” coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “As we come back out, we’ve got to be sure to make proper adjustments and get our guys in the right place to make plays.”
NU started the opening drive of the second half at its own 20-yard line and took the ball 32 yards into Badger territory, before an incomplete pass and a run for no gain forced a punt.
The Cats would gain 26 yards the rest of the quarter.
“We weren’t able to get started after (the punt),” redshirt freshman quarterback Andrew Brewer said.
Wisconsin put up 10 points and chewed up 9:38 on two long drives, and senior safety Joe Stellmacher intercepted a Brewer pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown.
Brewer was 2 for 8 passing for 22 yards and the pick in the third quarter.
MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
After committing five turnovers in a 31-21 loss to Nevada on Sept. 22, the Cats stressed the importance of causing turnovers in winning a game.
Lately the Cats’ defense has been causing, but the offense has not been converting.
NU has forced five turnovers in its first two conference games, but has turned them into only 10 points.
Opponents have two takeaways in that stretch, but have scored touchdowns on both of them.
“Most of those turnovers were down in our end,” Fitzgerald said. “So we had to put together long drives. And I have to Wisconsin credit: They stalled us out and responded well when they had sudden change.”
The Cats recovered two fumbles by junior wide receiver Paul Hubbard, the Badgers’ leading receiver going into the game. Their other turnover came when senior cornerback Marquice Cole tracked down an errant pass and intercepted it in the front corner of the end zone for a touchback.
NU’s best starting field position after a takeaway was its own 39-yard line.
Like last week, Fitzgerald said he saw more opportunities for turnovers that the defense could not convert.
“There were a few more balls on the ground we didn’t get that I thought we had a chance to get,” he said. “We’ve just got to keep trusting each other.”
TRULY SPECIAL
Freshman Sherrick McManis picked up more yards on kick returns than the Cats could through the air Saturday.
McManis returned three kicks for 101 yards, including a 47-yard return in the first quarter that gave him returns of 40 or more yards in three of the last four weeks.
“He’s a very electric player,” Fitzgerald said. “He loves to have the ball in his hands.”
McManis is 36th in the nation with 23.9 yards per return. The rest of the Cats’ kick returners average 9.0 yards per return.
All of McManis’ returns came in the first half. Wisconsin junior kicker Taylor Mehlhaff sent all of his kickoffs in the second half out of the end zone.
NU’s average field position suffered, dropping from the 30-yard line in the first half to the 18-yard line after the break.
INCHES TO GO
The last time the Cats’ dropped their first two conference games was 2003. They finished 4-4 in the conference that year … NU is last in the Big Ten in total offense and total defense through its first two conference games … Senior safety Bryan Heinz, who was expected to start Saturday, didn’t dress and wore a boot on his right foot after injuring it in practice Wednesday.
Reach David Morrison at [email protected].
