For the an entire half, Northwestern fans felt a growing sense of déjà vu. In last year’s non-conference losses against Western Michigan and Illinois State, the driving force the Wildcats’ defeat was poor line play. Today, Northwestern narrowly avoided a similar loss. Once again, it was the men up front that put Northwestern in a tough position.
Offensive line issues
The Wildcats averaged only 3.1 yards per carry despite facing a defense that gave up 300 rushing yards per game last season. They were unable to create holes for Justin Jackson for most of the game, as the senior running back had to break numerous tackles just to gain positive yardage multiple times.