By David MorrisonThe Daily Northwestern
For the first time all season, Northwestern had a legitimate chance to take halftime lead against a Big Ten team.
Trailing by four, an 18-yard, third-down completion set up an NU 1st and 10 at the Purdue 47-yard line with 1:48 left.
But instead of continuing to pass, the Wildcats kept the ball on the ground – giving redshirt freshman quarterback Andrew Brewer two carries and sophomore running back Tyrell Sutton one.
Punter Slade Larscheid came onto the field, and Purdue promptly took the ball 85 yards in 10 plays and kicked a field goal to extend its lead to seven points.
“What I was trying to do was get a first down and score,” coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “Then we got into a 3rd and (6). And I’m not a big fan of throwing the ball (on) 3rd and (6), into the wind, especially when we hadn’t had much success throwing the ball.
“We had a play we thought would work, and obviously it didn’t.”
For the third straight week, NU had no response in the second half. The Boilermakers shut out the Cats (2-5, 0-3 Big Ten) and scored a 31-10 win.
Purdue (5-2, 2-1) held the Cats’ offense under 300 yards for the third straight game. In conference play, NU is last in the Big Ten in total offense, with 235 yards per game.
“We can come up with a lot of reasons for what’s been going on,” sophomore running back Tyrell Sutton said. “But if you can’t pinpoint it and correct it, excuses really don’t mean too much.”
The Cats gained just 127 yards after halftime and failed to score for the third straight game. NU has been outscored 55-0 in conference play in the final 30 minutes.
Fitzgerald said the team worked specifically on coming out well after the half, even including a 15-minute “halftime” midway through practice, but he hasn’t seen the effects yet.
“One week is not a magic pill,” he said. “If I had it to do all over again, I’d probably do it earlier in the season.”
The Cats did not waver in their commitment to the run, attempting 42 runs and 15 passes. They managed 83 passing yards against a defense that gave up an average of 284.7 yards per game going in, second-to-last in the nation.
Brewer, starting his third collegiate game, was 2-for-2 for minus-8 yards in the second half.
Brewer had completions of 37 and 18 yards in the first half. His other five completions totaled four yards.
“I don’t mind throwing the ball downfield,” Brewer said. “I trust the coaching staff to get in the right plays and trust the direction that they want to go. Whatever happens, if we run the ball 60 plays a game, that’s fine with me. I just want to win.”
The Boilermakers passed 52 times and had 23 more plays than NU despite only possessing the ball 56 more seconds.
Fitzgerald said Brewer has a “long way to go” to get to the level of Purdue junior quarterback Curtis Painter.
“But obviously we need to make plays. It’s not just him alone,” Fitzgerald said. “The quarterback always gets singled out – he’s the hero when we win and when he doesn’t have a great performance, a lot of things get thrown on his shoulders.”
The Cats had six drives where they failed to record a first down and punted eight times. They average 8.3 punts in conference play and have 243 more punt yards than total offense.
“It’s on us,” Brewer said. “Regardless of what coach calls, regardless of what defense they give us, we’re talented enough to go out and do it. Unfortunately we haven’t been consistent in getting it done.”
The Cats’ next four opponents have a combined record of 22-6 and include perennial powerhouses Michigan, Ohio State and Iowa.
While Fitzgerald said the team’s confidence is high, NU has lost four straight games and has been outscored 105-26 in Big Ten games.
“Everyone goes through a year of adversity,” Sutton said. “And I guess this is our year.”
Reach David Morrison at [email protected].
