Don’t let the 33-24 final score fool you, Northwestern’s defense played its best game of the season, given the situation.
Northwestern took a three-point lead into the locker room and it was hard not to think that should have been more. The Wildcats managed just three points off of three first half Wisconsin turnovers despite taking over in Wisconsin territory on two occasions. While it was the defense that kept Pat Fitzgerald’s team in the game, it was Wisconsin’s edge in the field position battle that proved insurmountable for Mike Hankwitz’s group.
Ultimately, Northwestern couldn’t put together the complete game it needed to play on Saturday.