MADISON, Wis. — Northwestern became the first team to score in the first half against Wisconsin this season.

That was about it for bright spots, save for a few moments in the fourth quarter when the Badgers loosened up their defense at the end of a 24-15 win. Wisconsin’s defense suffocated almost everything the Wildcats wanted to do and scored 14 points itself, nearly matching the output from NU’s offense.

“There are some things that are there that for whatever reason we’re not seeing it, and we’ve got to help our guys see it better,” coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “So that’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna be relentlessly positive and we’re gonna just keep coaching the heck out of them.”

NU’s running game has also struggled this season. Isaiah Bowser led the attack last season but has battled injuries this year, and redshirt freshman Drake Anderson again earned more playing time than the sophomore on Saturday. The Cats totaled 2.4 yards per carry against the stout Wisconsin defense and couldn’t get anything going early on, save for a pair of explosive plays that led to a first-half field goal.

Protection was a problem all day, as unblocked rushers were camped out in the backfield for most of the game and made it hard for either Hunter Johnson or Aidan Smith to get into any kind of a rhythm.

Johnson left the game after taking a massive hit late in the second half and was replaced by Aidan Smith, who threw a pick-six and lost a fumble but also moved the Cats down the field with efficiency and threw his first career touchdown.

“Starting out, I didn’t play like I wanted to, or how I was recruited to play,” Smith said. “Once I felt like I got into the flow of the game, everything started coming a little bit easier.”

Still, it was far too little, too late, especially as NU missed a pair of two-point conversions that prevented the Cats from pulling within one score.

Saturday’s dismal offensive showing wasn’t the first of the year. NU couldn’t get anything going in the opener against Stanford and was dominated for most of the game in last week’s Big Ten opener against Michigan State. Now, with Johnson’s health in doubt, it’s unclear who’ll be at the controls of Mick McCall’s offense.

“I don’t know what’s going on with Hunter, but I’m really proud of the way Aidan stepped up. He made a big mistake, but I thought he improved as his experience went on in the game,” Fitzgerald said. “I was really proud of the way that he fought through the end of the game.”

This is the second straight season where the Cats have started 1-3, but there wasn’t any uncertainty at quarterback a year ago. NU has a lot to figure out before next weekend’s visit to Lincoln, where they’ll desperately want to avoid an 0-3 Big Ten start.

“I think we’re more than capable of it,” receiver Riley Lees said. “We’ve just got to do it on Saturday. At the end of the game we’re moving the ball well like we want to, we’ve just got to find what’s missing and get everyone together and just get a little mojo going.”

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