Classes begin at Northwestern this week. You can forgive the Wildcats’ defensive players if they think they’ve been in school for about two weeks.
Northwestern will start preparing for the Big Ten schedule immediately by going back to school on defense in the wake of Saturday night’s overwhelming 52-21 loss at Arizona State.
“We don’t have an answer right now,” coach Randy Walker said after the Wildcats allowed a school-record 773 yards, also the most Arizona State has ever piled up. “I wish I could say it’s something magical.”
NU’s first loss came a week after a 38-37 victory over Northern Illinois. So in the last two weeks, the Wildcats have allowed 89 points and 1,312 yards, more important numbers than the 2-1 record they will take into Saturday’s game against Penn State at Ryan Field.
Plenty of blame can be passed around. Missed assignments were common, but it has been a learning experience for the young Wildcats.
“They have to learn from the last two weeks,” senior linebacker Tim McGarigle said.
In Big Ten play, the Wildcats might not see an offense like No. 18 Arizona State’s. Sam Keller completed 20 of 31 passes for 409 yards and four touchdowns. Freshman Keegan Herring ran for 197 yards and two scores.
The Wildcats’ league schedule includes all five of the Big Ten’s ranked teams–No. 8 Ohio State, No. 11 Purdue, No. 14 Michigan, No. 17 Michigan State and No. 21 Iowa.
“We’d like to be able to battle teams like this because when we get to the Big Ten schedule, there will be teams that pride themselves on running the ball,” defensive tackle Barry Cofield said. “We have a lot of young guys, and I hope this was a learning experience for them.”
The Wildcats are young in the defensive line and secondary, and they remain in search of a pass rush. They didn’t record a sack Saturday night despite lineup changes. Backup linebacker Demetrius Eaton started at defensive end and Kevin Mims moved to tackle, where he had two tackles for losses.
“It’s still getting off blocks and making tackles and plays,” Walker said. “When the ball’s in the air, make a play on it. To me, it’s as simple as that.
“We have to regroup. I’m not sure where to go on defense. I did not expect to give up 52 points.”
Walker is not going to pull the plug on playing youngsters, though given his depth situation, there may be little choice.
“In some cases, maybe, some guys were thrown into the deep end,” Walker said. “But we’ll hang in there with them. I love Demetrius Eaton, his heart and his passion. Maybe he doesn’t have the savvy you’d like, but we’re sticking with him because he comes to play.”
Northwestern’s offense was unable to capitalize when it did build momentum. The Wildcats moved the ball on their first possession, but Joel Howells missed a 43-yard field-goal attempt. On their second possession of the third quarter, trailing 38-14, they moved to the ASU 10 but lost the ball on downs.
“We need to have a higher sense of awareness that we need to score,” quarterback Brett Basanez said.
Whether it’s offense or defense, it will be an interesting week in Evanston.
“Nothing makes a loss worse than not learning from it,” Basanez said.
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tabannon@tribune.com
