Northwestern’s defense came out hungry on Saturday. The Wildcats satisfied their appetite with a sack lunch that included a big helping of Dysert.
After giving up 10 sacks last week to Cincinnati, Miami (OH) entered the game allowing the second most quarterback takedowns in the country, 4.2 per game. NU’s defense took advantage of the young RedHawks offensive line, sacking Miami quarterback Zac Dysert eight times – the most by a Big Ten defense all season. And the Cats managed to set that mark without senior defensive end Corey Wootton, who was sidelined for most of the game with a tweaked ankle.
“Our defensive staff just did a good job of putting together a good game plan,” sophomore defensive end Vince Browne said. “We wanted to get after (Miami quarterback Zac Dysert). We went out and executed, and good things happened.”
Junior linebacker Quentin Davie led the charge, notching three sacks and forcing fumbles on two of them. Browne had arguably his best game of the year, recording one sack and eight tackles.
“They had some good guys on the defensive line,” Dysert said. “They were a good defensive line, probably the best that we’ve seen so far.”
Fitzgerald praised the defense’s tackling, which has been scrutinized over the past few weeks, but still noted there is room for improvement.
“There were a few (sacks) that we missed,” he said. “It could have been a double-digit day.”
Special teams slip ups
While the Cats’ coverage teams performed well on Saturday, there were several gaffes in the kicking game. The first was a blocked kick with 12:32 left in the second half – junior kicker Stefan Demos’ first miss of the year.
The unit slipped again after NU’s second touchdown. Holder Zeke Markshausen was unable to corral a high snap, forcing Demos to pick up the ball and try to make a play. Demos ran to his right looking for an open receiver, and as he was about to step out of bounds, he threw up an underhanded lob that landed in the hands of Miami defensive end Anthony Shoemaker. Demos responded quickly to the interception, running down Shoemaker and tackling him before any damage was done.
“It was kind of funny that he threw it underhand,” senior quarterback Mike Kafka said. “I wish he would have thrown it overhand, it would have looked a little better. He was just going out and trying to make a play. It was pretty comical, I guess.”
Third down damage
In two previous starts, Dysert had rushed for 174 yards and thrown for 623. To counter the mobile Dysert and the RedHawks’ passing attack, the Cats’ defense came out in a nickel package – five defensive backs, four down linemen and two linebackers – several times, mostly on third downs. The strategy worked, and Dysert managed only 176 yards through the air and 63 on the ground. Almost one-third of Dysert’s passing yards came on Miami’s last drive.
“We went nickel based on certain situations on what they do and what they showed in our film study,” Fitzgerald said.
‘This package helped NU contain Dysert and Miami in key situations; the RedHawks converted only 4-of-16 third down situations. The Cats forced Dysert to run on four of those unsuccessful third downs and recorded a sack on two other occasions. The defense also stopped the RedHawks through the air – Dysert converted only two third downs with his arm.
“We covered pretty well,” sophomore safety Brian Peters said. “When the rush can get to (the quarterback) and we can cover well, it’s a deadly thing.”
