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It wasn’t as bad as I expected it was going to be. That’s for sure. Oregon is a consensus top 10 team in the country, and Northwestern put up a fight despite the 34-14 loss on Saturday. The offense showed signs of life throughout as the ground-and-pound was working, even without Cam Porter available. The defense looked serviceable considering the Goliath of an Oregon offense it was up against. The ‘Cats even looked to be the better team on special teams throughout. It was the passing game that wasn’t too hot. With all that said, it’s time to take a deeper look.
The Numbers
Preston Stone played more like he did in the opener, going 11-of-21 for 135 passing yards and two interceptions. He was given a 34.9 PFF offensive grade, consisting of a 31.3 PFF passing grade, a 59.1 PFF rushing grade and a 24.8 PFF fumble grade, his passing and fumble grades marking the lowest of the season for him thus far.
Stone averaged 6.4 yards per attempt, right smack in the middle of his two prior games. Like last week, he had two PFF “big time throws” (a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window). His average time to throw was at its highest of the season: 2.96 seconds. Interestingly enough, Stone was pretty good when under pressure. He did hold the ball for 1.01 seconds more on these dropbacks compared to when he was kept clean (3.71 vs 2.70), but his two interceptions came when he had a clean pocket, per PFF.
On the other end of the spectrum, you have what the running backs did. Caleb Komolafe carried the ball 16 times for 53 yards and a touchdown, posting a 69.4 PFF offensive grade. Joseph Himon II carried it 12 times for 59 yards and caught two passes for 20 yards, posting a 74.3 PFF offensive grade. Dashun Reeder led NU backs in rushing yards with 79, coming on a single play that ended in six. The run game should be a huge focus going forward as the ‘Cats were able to hang around and control some clock. Diving even deeper, though, let’s take a look at the film.
The Good
Despite the score and the disappointment in the overall passing attack, there were definitely some bright spots this week for the ‘Cats.
Keeping it on the ground
The final yards carry stat line came in at 4.8, even though that doesn’t tell the full story. If you take out Stone’s line on the ground and Reeder’s 79-yard touchdown, Northwestern rushed for close to 3.8 yards per carry. Take out the times Stone was sacked and his fumble, and the ‘Cats are up to 3.9 yards per carry. Now add Reeder back in and it’s around 6.1 yards per carry.
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Himon was bouncing runs to the outside today like never before. The best part was that it worked. In this play, Jackson Carsello does a fantastic job here with the initial block to open up the left side of the field for Himon. What’s even more impressive is the amount that Northwestern’s receivers will not shy on run blocking. Last week it was a big run blocking week for Ricky Ahumaraeze. This time, Drew Wagner got into the mix. Wagner runs full force into Devon Jackson, causing him to lose his balance for a second. This play could have been over right there if Wagner misses that block. If it wasn’t for Dillon Thieneman having a straight lane to initially slow down Himon, there’s a chance this goes for more. Ahumaraeze loses his one-on-one, but it was also a great move by Brandon Finney Jr.
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This play isn’t a run play, but it is for sure of note. This is the first true screen pass that Northwestern has run this season. It took three weeks, but it finally happened. The takeaway? The screen pass should be used more in this offense. Stone knew he would have a free rusher coming right at him, but he also knew he had to throw it short in the near-flat to find Himon. The blocks here set up perfectly as Himon has plenty of space between him and the nearest defender. If he had cut around the left side of Frank Covey IV’s block, this might have gone for six. Either way, a pancake is a pancake as Covey moves the defender with him around five yards and ends up putting him on his back. Caleb Tiernan does an excellent job moving in space and finding a defender to block as he completely took one of the Ducks out of the play. Hayden Eligon II also shows his willingness as a block here. While he did ultimately lose that rep as his guy was the one who tackled Himon, Eligon stuck with it all the way through.
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It doesn’t matter that it was in garbage time. The fourth career carry for Reeder (three carries against Western Illinois) went for 79 yards and six. It wasn’t a flukey play either. The offensive line does a fantastic job of opening up a lane for Reeder to get to the second level. One missed tackle and he’s off to the races with an impressive burst of speed. Ezomo Oratokhai and Carsello open up the A-gap enough for Reeder to squeeze through after he cuts inwards, but it was Eligon who made this play possible by picking up the defender that had an angle in the B-gap. If this offensive line can open up holes like it did on this play a couple times a game, breakaway runs will be more common for this Wildcats offense.
Airing it deep
We finally saw a little of what Zach Lujan’s offense is supposed to look like.
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Despite struggles, Stone has developed a real connection with Griffin Wilde. This play is just another example of the two showing off their chemistry. Stone had a clean pocket on this play and took his time, hitting Wilde in the sweet spot between the two deep defenders. If Stone led it a bit more then it could’ve been six, but either way it’s good to see that Stone still has the talent to make these throws. Beautiful play.
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This is the epitome of what Lujan wants to run. Have the offensive linemen each pick up a defender off a play action fake, give the quarterback time and let him uncork it deep. This is what Stone can do with that said time. Hunter Welcing plays a tremendous role in this play as he pulls from the left side to the right side of the offensive line to pick up the blitzing Oregon player and give Stone time to hit Wagner deep. The throw looks better the more you watch this play too, as Wagner stops and adjusts his body at the perfect moment while the defender is starting to fall over. Wagner high-points the ball in the air and gives the ‘Cats a big 40-yard gain.
The Bad
There is bound to be some bad after a 20-point loss. While the ground game got going and there were a few big passing plays, the rest of the passing attack was ultimately very lackluster.
Turnovers
Once again, turnovers completely halted momentum for Northwestern.
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The pocket was good here. No fault whatsoever on the offensive line. However, the decision-making from Stone was not ideal. He’s been hyper-targeting Wilde this season so far, and it shows here as he threw it around three defenders (one of them was on Wilde’s back). One thing leads to another, the ball gets tipped and into the hands of Bryce Boettcher for Stone’s first interception of the day on a play that could have been avoided.
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I still don’t understand what happened here. How. Luckily Stone fell back on the ball, but it halted momentum for the ‘Cats on that drive.
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Firstly, hats off to Jerry Mixon. He read Stone like a book on the running back Texas route and jumped in front of Himon at the perfect moment to get the interception. Still, Stone shouldn’t have thrown it to Himon. The offensive line gave him plenty of time in the pocket and even a clear path for him to run and pick up a few, but instead he decides to throw right when Himon turns his head and doesn’t seem to even process the defender who is right there with him.
Final Thoughts
I would’ve thought I’d be less bullish on this team coming out of this game, but it went better than expected. Stone didn’t look great; arguably, he looked his worst at moments in this one. That may be a testament to him not playing in a year and being sacked on the first play of the season. It could also have something to do with the play calling. The decision-making does need to improve, but if Northwestern can just pound the rock and control the game on the ground and with play action, this team can eke out its fair share of victories. I continue to be impressed with how the receivers on this team are blocking in the running game. In a cold weather game down the line, that could be the difference between a win and a loss.
The bye week is at a great time too. Northwestern is sitting at 1-2 right now and has played to chalk. The ‘Cats were underdogs against both Tulane and Oregon, both of which are legitimate contenders that can make the College Football Playoffs. The one game they won was when they were favored. The Ducks looked have looked dominant this season, yet NU still covered the spread. Going into facing the disaster that has been UCLA this season should be a spot for Northwestern to continue some of the momentum gained in that loss to Oregon, otherwise the season could and likely will get ugly really quick.
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