During Northwestern’s loss to Washington on Sept. 21, graduate student wide receiver Bryce Kirtz recorded just one catch. It marked the first time in 22 months that he failed to notch at least two receptions.
On Saturday afternoon against Indiana, Kirtz matched his career-high 10 catches in his second-ever 100-yard game. Meanwhile, graduate student wide receiver A.J. Henning tallied six catches for 67 yards and two touchdowns. It’s the first time in their careers that Kirtz and Henning combined for at least 16 catches in a game.
But the duo’s exceptional performance — and redshirt sophomore quarterback Jack Lausch’s second-half improvements — proved insufficient. The Wildcats’ (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten) offense couldn’t keep pace with the Hoosiers, (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) led by quarterback Kurtis Rourke. NU succumbed to the visitors 41-24.
“It’s just continuing to get better, continuing to figure each other out,” Lausch said. “I think all experience is good experience. I thought that game two weeks ago was obviously tough as well, but we got a ton better from that.”
Lausch’s first-half performance was far from encouraging, as he struggled to get the ball in Kirtz’s and Henning’s hands. The ’Cats’ first two drives mustered just 13 total yards.
Lausch finished the half with 54 yards through the air. Kirtz accounted for 27 yards with four catches, while Henning had one catch for four yards. Heading into the locker room, NU needed to get the ball to its top playmakers:
“Leaning on the older guys, me and Bryce, as a clutch in the pass game is going to be huge down the stretch,” Henning said. “Both of us are guys who have played a lot of ball and guys who are experienced.”
The first play from scrimmage in the latter 30 minutes was an 11-yard completion to Kirtz, foreshadowing the half that was set to come. Although the ’Cats punted the ball away later on the drive, their first touchdown through the air came on the next possession.
Set up on the Hoosier 38-yard line, Lausch dropped back and found Henning after a crisp, short out route. From there, the Frankfort, Illinois, native saw nothing but daylight, as he ran the ball into the endzone, putting the game within one score.
“I pride myself on breaking tackles and doing extra after the catch, getting that YAC,” Henning said.
On the ensuing drive early in the fourth quarter, Kirtz found himself behind the Indiana secondary, and Lausch connected with him on a 47-yard gain that put NU on the three-yard line.
During their postgame press conferences, coach David Braun and Lausch both discussed the team’s desire to get the ball into Kirtz’s hands more this game. In each of the previous three games, Kirtz had less than 30 yards.
“It was a point of emphasis obviously to … get (Bryce) going,” Lausch said. “That was awesome to see that result — and same thing with A.J. And we’re excited to keep building that connection and keep getting better.”
The ’Cats dialed up two run plays for graduate student running back Cam Porter with goal to go, but he failed to punch either try into the north endzone.
NU went to its trusty, gadget weapon in Henning. On a screen play, Henning forced a Hoosier defender to miss as he found himself beyond the pylons for the second time in the game.
“That’s one piece of AJ’s game that’s really impressive,” Braun said. “He’s so versatile, and I think Zach Lujan did a really good job of utilizing him in a lot of different ways.”
Saturday’s action was the first time Henning scored two touchdowns in a single game in his college career.
The ’Cats failed to score for the remainder of the game after Henning’s score, while Indiana scored two more touchdowns to secure their road victory. As NU embarks on a short week for Friday night action at Maryland, Braun said he sees a breakthrough unfolding for his offense.
“I thought you saw A.J. and Bryce really caught their rhythm today,” Braun said. “Jack did a really good job getting them the ball … To see some of that stuff linking up should lead to some confidence going into this week.”
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