Halfway through the season, Northwestern is halfway to bowl eligibility. And with a remaining slate of Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan, Notre Dame, Purdue and Illinois, the Wildcats should get to six wins … shouldn’t they? Here’s a look back at the 24-17 loss to Minnesota that ended their three-game winning streak.
Offense: C+
Justin Jackson (106 yards) and Trevor Siemian (32-for-50) were solid, but NU’s longest play went for 21 yards. Northwestern has only three plays of 30-plus yards all season. That’s a good half for Baylor. It’s also last among the 128 FBS teams.
Defense: B-
The 274 yards allowed (121 rushing) looks nice, but Minnesota snapped it just 54 times. The Wildcats let the Gophers convert 7 of 13 third downs (national average is about 42 percent), had only one sack, by Chance Carter, and one takeaway.
Special teams: D
Jalen Myrick was barely touched on his 100-yard kick return. Chris Gradone had a punt of 11 yards and Solomon Vault fumbled a kickoff out of bounds at the 3.
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Coaching: C
Right tackle Eric Olson’s two illegal formation penalties were troubling. Minnesota defenders were glued to NU receivers the entire game, indicating a victory for Gophers defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys.