What went right:
The Northwestern offense seemed to march down the field whenever it wanted to against Ohio State tonight at Ryan Field. For the most part, the quarterbacks put on a good performance, spreading the ball around and accurately hit their playmakers when they were open. Senior running back Venric Mark returned with a bang — literally and metaphorically. He showed off his strength by plowing through defenders and fighting for extra yards.
It was clear from the beginning that the defensive focus was to go for the strip when trying to tackle offensive runners. Two fumbles by OSU junior quarterback Braxton Miller were huge momentum swingers for the Wildcats.
Senior Rashad Lawrence stepped up for his team. Not contributing significantly in the first four games, the leader of the wide receivers group was a consistent target for the quarterbacks. His big play was a 67-yard catch and run in the fourth quarter to set up a touchdown a few plays later. Lawrence led the Cats in receiving with 149 yards on eight receptions.
What went wrong:
The red zone offense really struggled throughout the night. The unit could not find a way to punch the ball into the end zone on multiple possessions, costing it valuable points and allowing the Buckeyes to stay in the game.
The special teams unit hurt the Cats a lot, especially when it allowed a blocked punt in the first quarter to be recovered for a touchdown. Then, a kick catch interference penalty on junior cornerback C.J. Bryant gave the Buckeyes field position deep in Cats’ territory. To beat an elite team like OSU, NU cannot afford mistakes like that.
OSU senior running back Carlos Hyde looked like a pinball when bouncing off NU defenders. The powerback, who ran for 168 yards, gashed the Cats’ defense numerous times and ran through arm tackles with ease. NU must do a better job of taking down bigger backs and eliminating the holes in the middle of the line because its next opponent, Wisconsin, has an extremely dangerous rushing attack.
What it means:
There is no such thing as a moral victory for NU anymore. Coach Pat Fitzgerald has set a goal to bring championships to Evanston, and he has to win games against big-time opponents, not just come close. This loss will be a tough pill to swallow for the team, and it’ll be interesting to see how the Cats bounce back from an incredibly emotional weekend.
— John Paschall
