Northwestern quarterback Jack Lausch was not discouraged by his team’s performance in its 23-3 loss to Wisconsin on Saturday.
“I don’t think much changed [from last week’s win over Maryland],” Lausch began. “We executed well, we moved the ball well. That’s the crazy part about football, you get down in the red zone and if you don’t execute, the score doesn’t reflect how you move the ball sometimes. I thought as a whole we could have executed a lot better obviously. I think this was close. I think the score didn’t reflect how we played…I don’t think there’s far to go.”
Related: What Northwestern head coach David Braun and players said after loss to Wisconsin
He shares the sentiment after Saturday’s game saw Northwestern finish with 209 total yards — 82 of which come through the air. The Wildcats drove inside the Badgers red zone twice. The first trip ended with a blocked field goal and the second with a made 26-yard chip shot field goal.
Here is Northwestern’s full drive chart from the 20-point loss:
- Four plays, 32 yards — punt
- Six plays, 14 yards — punt
- Three plays, two yards — punt
- Four plays, eight yards — missed field goal
- 11 plays, 65 yards — blocked field goal
- Three plays, seven yards — punt
- Three plays, two yards — fumble
- 13 plays, 59 yards — field goal
- Three plays, three yards — punt
- One play, -18 yards — safety
- Three plays, seven yards — punt
- Three plays, -1 yards — punt
That is 12 total drives excluding a kneel-down to end the first half. One safety, seven punts, a fumble and three field goal attempts. That is not quite a dynamic afternoon from the offensive group.
Lausch on the difference offensively today: "We executed well, we moved the ball well…We could have executed a lot better obviously. This was close. The score doesn't reflect how we played."
"There isn't far to go."
— Inside NU (@insidenu) October 19, 2024
The star of the game, then, was the Badger defense against a Wildcats offense that had shown some recent life. Saturday was the second time in three weeks Wisconsin held its opponent out of the end zone entirely. It has now allowed just 16 total points over that three-game stretch — that form directly coinciding with the start of the team’s three-game win streak.
Northwestern drops to 3-4 with the loss. It has solid strong form at times this season, including its 37-10 road win at Maryland. But an outing with 82 passing yards and 209 total yards often won’t be enough to beat top Big Ten competition.
Wisconsin is back on the field next Saturday against No. 3 Penn State.
Northwestern, meanwhile, moves forward with a road trip to Iowa. Lausch and the Wildcats offense will need to find significant improvement if the team is to reopen the possibility of bowl eligibility.
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