The Good, The Bad and The Ugly in Northwestern's 24-6 Victory Against Indiana State

What went right for the Wildcats? What went wrong? Who played well? Who struggled?

The Good

Evan Hull

Building off the momentum he gained from last week's second half against the Spartans, running back Evan Hull kept it rolling against the Sycamores, racking up 126 yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns. Hull carried the ball early and often for the Wildcats and never let up, as he averaged a whopping 5.7 yards per rush. For the most part, handing the ball off to Hull was the only success the Wildcats had on offense.

Rush Defense

The Wildcat's defense must have heard all the criticism that came their way after letting Kenneth Walker III and the Spartan's offense run all over them last week, because they turned it around today. Contributing it to better communication and getting back to the fundamentals of tackling, the defense came out on fire and smashed the Sycamores in the mouth for 60 full minutes. When it was all said and done, Northwestern held Indiana State to a measly 31 yard on 22 carries for 1.4 yards per carry.

Special Teams

After struggling in last week's opener, kicker Charlie Kuhbander drilled his only attempt today, a career long 47 yard field goal, to give the Wildcats a 17-0 lead midway through the third.

However, Kuhbander wasn't the only impressive 'Cat on the special teams unit, as punt returners Brandon Joseph (2 returns, 111 yards) and Raymond Niro III (2 returns, 55 yards), set a program record with 166 combined return yards. Joseph and Niro III set the Wildcat offense up in great field position throughout the game.

The Bad

Offensive Consistency

While a win is a win, it wasn't pretty for Pat Fitzgerald and the Wildcats. A lot of that can be contributed to the passing attack (see below) but for the most part, Indiana State was able to hang around because of their defense. After going up 14-0 in the first, it seemed like the Wildcats would roll their FCS opponent. However, the Sycamores managed to keep themselves in the game by buckling down on defense and keeping the Wildcat's offense off script, by forcing multiple negative plays. The offense was simply not consistent, even Hull, who had a great game, didn't do much in the second or third quarters. The punt return unit set the offense up in great field position throughout the game, yet they were never able to cash it in. For this offense to get where it needs to be, they will need to keep their foot on the gas and play a complete 60 minutes, and a lot of that falls on the shoulders of Hunter Johnson...

The Ugly

Hunter Johnson (The Passing Attack)

While Evan Hull and the running game looked strong and competent, it was quite the opposite for Hunter Johnson and his receivers. After completing 70% of his passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns last week, Johnson was not able to come anywhere close to that against the Sycamore's defense. He went 9-16 for 66 yards with one touchdown against one interception. For whatever reason, Johnson and his wide receivers just weren't on the same page today. Whether it was miscommunication, being a hair late on throws, drops, it simply wasn't their day. Luckily for them, it was Evan Hull's day.

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