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Coach David Braun started his Monday press conference by keying in on Northwestern’s need to practice hard and respond to its loss on Saturday.
Over the last two weeks, his team has failed to notch an offensive touchdown and has been outscored 63-17. The Wildcats’ (3-5, 1-4 Big Ten) offensive output has been nearly doubled by its opponents over the last two weeks, having been outgained by 342 yards.
NU will hit the road to face Purdue as Braun hopes to avoid losing three consecutive games for the first time as head coach.
The ship hasn’t been very smooth sailing for the Boilermakers, (1-6, 0-4 Big Ten) either. After a dominant 49-0 win over FCS Indiana State, Purdue has dropped six consecutive games, including losses by 59 points to Notre Dame, 46 points to Wisconsin and 35 points to Oregon.
Last year, the ’Cats took down the Boilermakers 23-15 in the old Ryan Field’s finale. NU hasn’t won back-to-back games against Purdue since 2017 and 2018.
Here’s what to watch in West Lafayette this weekend.
An offensive resurgence may be imminent
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jack Lausch has thrown for less than 100 yards in both of his two most recent outings, as the ’Cats have only produced three offensive points since Wisconsin took the field at Martin Stadium on Oct. 19.
On Monday, Braun stood by Lausch as his starting quarterback despite the offense’s immense struggles. NU’s offense is producing just 271.1 yards per game — the worst mark in the Big Ten — and 18.4 points per game.
“He needs to play better, but we also need to play better around him,” Braun said. “Jack knows he needs to play better. (I’m) very confident that he’ll do everything in his power to make sure that that happens.”
On the flip side, the Boilermakers have allowed 451.6 yards per game and 38.4 points per game, both the lowest figures in the Big Ten and among the bottom five for Power Four schools.
Braun pointed toward a variety of factors that can help the offense find its footing against Purdue, including winning the field position battle, having better offensive line play and improving the wide receiver room’s health.
He added that the Boilermakers’ lackluster defensive statistics cannot “lull” the ’Cats to sleep, acknowledging that they must approach each game with the same attitude.
“Defensively, they’re going to play a lot of man coverage, a lot of single-high defense,” Braun said. “They do a good job of disguising their big zone off that, and we’re going to have to find ways to find efficiency in whatever way we can find it.”
The importance of winning the third down conversion battle
Over its last three games, NU has failed to convert more than three third downs in any game. Offensive coordinator Zach Lujan’s unit has converted just 7-of-39 of its third downs during that span.
When Braun was asked how he would evaluate his third-down offense, he quickly responded that it is “ineffective”.
Meanwhile, Purdue hasn’t been much better, converting 10-of-33 of its third downs over the past three games. The two teams rank at the bottom of the Big Ten in third-down conversion rate, with the ’Cats having the second-worst figure in the nation with a 25.2% rate.
From Braun’s perspective, the best way to improve on third downs is by performing better on earlier downs.
“A lot of it comes down to being better on first and second down,” Braun said. “We have to create more third and four, third and three, third and two, third and one scenarios that we have a great deal of confidence in our ability to convert, move the chains.”
Over the last three games, NU’s average third-down distance has been 6.9 yards, 4.7 yards and 7.5 yards.
Coming hand in hand with more successful early down play, Braun said it’s important to keep the defense on its heels with down-the-field plays, similar to what happened against Maryland.
“We need to find some ways to create some explosive plays,” he said. “It is very difficult to methodically, consistently throughout a game move down the field in 5-yard, 10-yard, 11-yard increments.”
NU’s run defense could be slipping
Three games into the season, the ’Cats boasted a top 10 run defense. Since then, the wheels have started to come off.
After allowing just 57.7 rushing yards per game and no total rushing touchdowns in non-conference play, NU has allowed more than 140 rushing yards in four of five Big Ten games. In every conference game, the ’Cats have allowed at least one rushing touchdown.
Against Iowa, NU allowed season highs with 203 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. Graduate student linebacker Xander Mueller did not play and is also unlikely to play Saturday, according to Braun.
The Boilermakers have a pair of efficient running backs with Devin Mockobee and Reggie Love III. Mockobee has totaled 510 rushing yards on the season, while Love III has tallied 319. Both players rank top ten in yards per attempt in the Big Ten.
Last season, Mockobee rushed for 54 yards and one touchdown against the ’Cats.
“This is (the) Big Ten,” Braun said. “Every week, you’re facing one heck of a back.”
Braun emphasized the importance of slowing down the run by having good tackling technique, something he said the team lacked against Iowa.
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