On Oct. 11, Northwestern entered SECU Stadium and dismantled Maryland with a resounding 37-10 win. The nearly 40,000 fans in attendance didn’t seem to affect coach David Braun’s squad.
The Wildcats (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten) now embark toward Iowa City for a conference road test against Iowa on Saturday. In his Monday press conference, Braun acknowledged the “hostile environment” awaiting NU.
Coach Kirk Ferentz is at the helm for his 26th season for the Hawkeyes (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten), who fell 32-20 to Michigan State last time out.
Both teams will look to avoid a two-game losing streak at the season’s midway point. Last season, Iowa prevailed in a defensive battle at Wrigley Field, where a game-winning kick doomed the ’Cats.
Here are three questions NU will have to answer to win as double-digit underdogs for the second time this season.
Can the ’Cats slow down Kaleb Johnson?
On Saturday, NU allowed a 100-yard rusher for the first time this season, with Wisconsin’s Tawee Walker amassing 126 rushing yards.
This past weekend’s action also marked the first time that the ’Cats allowed an opponent to exceed 150 total rushing yards in a game, as the Badgers notched 199 yards on the ground.
“We did not have our best tackling game,” Braun said. “I think that will always be a point of emphasis, but this week more than ever, it’ll be critical we play with good leverage, that we tackle well.”
NU now prepares to face the nation’s second-leading rusher running back Kaleb Johnson, who leads the Big Ten in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns with 1,035 and 13, respectively.
Entering Saturday, the ’Cats’ run defense remains in the conference’s top half. Braun confirmed that graduate student linebacker Xander Mueller’s status remains up in the air for now, meaning NU may need to embrace its “next man up” mentality in order to slow down Johnson.
“It’s gonna take more than one to bring Kaleb down,” Braun said.
What form will the NU offense be in?
The ’Cats’ offense has been an oddity through the redshirt sophomore Jack Lausch era. Some halves look like masterclasses, while others leave lots to be desired.
The lack of consistency in the offense leads to performances like NU had against Wisconsin, where the team failed to score a touchdown and converted just 1-of-3 field goal attempts.
“Jack also knows the performance that he put on tape on Saturday wasn’t his best,” Braun said. “He’ll be the first to tell you he’s hungry to get back to practice and improve, but it comes down to a lot of things.”
During his first five starts, Lausch has failed to exceed 100 yards twice. However, the Chicago native has also had three 200-plus-yard games, two of which led the ’Cats to dominant victories against Eastern Illinois and Maryland.
Braun has seen his signal caller play high-level football and said he’s confident in his ability to bounce back from his 9-of-24, 82 passing yard performance against Wisconsin.
“(He) just needs to continue to trust himself,” Braun said. “When he’s at his best, he’s getting the ball out on time. On deep throws, he’s getting the ball out early and trusting his wide receivers to hit a spot. The encouraging thing is we’ve seen those things out of Jack.”
On Monday, Braun did not confirm whether or not graduate student wide receiver A.J. Henning, who suffered an upper-body injury in the first quarter against Wisconsin, will take the field at Iowa. Henning leads the team with 34 receptions and three receiving touchdowns this season.
Will the ’Cats be able to re-establish the run game?
When Braun was asked about how Lausch could play more consistent football, he immediately referred to a part of the NU identity that has soured over the last few weeks.
“An established run game always helps,” he said.
During the season’s first three games, the ’Cats rushed for more than 130 yards in each performance, including a 203-yard showing against Eastern Illinois. Since then, as Big Ten play has gotten underway, NU has failed to reach that 130-yard benchmark.
The ’Cats, however, are coming off their best Big Ten showing in the run game (127 yards), and graduate student running back Cam Porter’s 48 yards was his most since returning to the lineup. Braun also credited Lausch’s ability to detect pressure and scramble as an aspect that helps NU on the ground.
“Looking back at the rushing attack against Wisconsin and even going back to Maryland, there’s positive things showing up,” Braun said. “There’s things that can certainly be built upon in terms of positive momentum.”
While going up against one of the Big Ten’s premier rushers, the ’Cats’ backfield trio of Porter, redshirt sophomore Joseph Himon II and redshirt freshman Caleb Komolafe will have to play their best to help the team knock off the Hawkeyes as 13.5 point underdogs.
“There’s no doubt for us to be at our best offensively, we’re going to have to find balance and consistently run the football,” Braun said.
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