Football

It would have taken a perfect storm for Northwestern to pull an upset of No. 4 Penn State in Evanston. The visitors boasted an explosive offense and a fearsome defense and had steamrolled most of their opposition to date.

To lose to the Nittany Lions (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) is no shame. It was the manner by which the Wildcats (2-3, 0-2) sunk to a 31-7 defeat Saturday, piling up mishaps and miscues to waste any chance of making the game competitive, that left a sour taste in the mouths of the homecoming crowd and coach Pat Fitzgerald.

“I don’t think we were ill-prepared. We just didn’t execute,” Fitzgerald said. “We had ample opportunities to seize momentum and just couldn’t get that done collectively.”

“One-man breakdowns,” a common refrain from Fitzgerald after the game, tanked NU’s offense. On the Cats’ first offensive possession, they turned a first-and-goal at the 10-yard-line into second down at the 28 before an interception by junior quarterback Clayton Thorson. The sequence proved a microcosm of the first half, when NU drove past midfield four times and came away empty-handed on each occasion.

For a Cats team seeking an early spark against a superior opponent, missing chances to get on the board was untenable, Fitzgerald said.

“Self-inflicted wounds,” Fitzgerald said. “You can’t do that against a good football team. We had opportunities.”

The 10-0 halftime deficit was a testament to NU’s defense, which limited big plays and held superstar running back Saquon Barkley to minus-1 yard on the ground in the first half. The Cats’ defensive line shined, getting after Barkley and Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley in the backfield to blow up plays.

NU made the Nittany Lions work on offense for much of the game. But a momentum-shifting turnover or defensive score never came for the Cats, and the cracks started showing as the game wore on. A 38-yard gain off a missed tackle set up an easy Barkley touchdown to stretch the lead to 17-0 after halftime, and a 53-yard dash from Barkley for another score put the game out of reach before the end of the third quarter.

“Keeping them inside and in front was one of our goals for this week. … We did that for the most part,” senior safety Kyle Queiro said. “We’ve got to do more, though. We’ve just got to do more.”

With NU’s offense showing few signs of life, the second half offered little hope of a comeback for the hosts.

Following the game, Fitzgerald said his staff would look at schematic and personnel changes to get the offense back on track; after notching fewer than 200 yards before a late, Matt Alviti-led touchdown drive, there appeared to be plenty of work to do.

“Our defense gave us a chance to win that game,” Thorson said. “We’ve got to respond to adversity, just got to keep going.”

Beating a potent Penn State team could have steadied a turbulent season that began with high expectations. Instead, the Cats’ flaws were laid bare as the Nittany Lions raced past them en route to an easy victory.

Now at 0-2 in the Big Ten after a disheartening homecoming defeat, NU will travel to Maryland next Saturday in search of a bounceback.

“Five games into the season, I’ve got a pretty good idea of what our issues are,” Fitzgerald said. “You’ve just got to fight through them. I know (the team) will.”

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @maxschuman28