The Northwestern Wildcats have dropped their second game of the season, moving to 1-1 after losing 26-20 against the Duke Blue Devils.
The Wildcats lost in double overtime against the Duke Blue Devils in a very close game that unraveled for the Wildcats late in the game. Quarterback Mike Wright looked better in his second game overall, but threw a costly interception for the Wildcats. Northwestern is going to have to go back to the drawing board ahead of their next game against Eastern Illinois.
Northwestern Wildcats Lose Exciting Double Overtime Clash Against Duke
The Northwestern football team has suffered their first loss of the 2024 season after losing to the Duke Blue Devils. Northwestern put up quite a tough fight as the home team and brought the game into overtime. Unfortunately, the Blue Devils were too much as they executed their game plan against the Wildcats.
The Wildcats generated 289-yards of total offense and scored two touchdowns on the ground as well. Running back Cam Porter was someone who did not get the ball as much as he would like in the Wildcats first game against Miami (OH). Porter was active against the Blue Devils, recording 93-yards rushing and two touchdowns as well for the offense.
Quarterback Mike Wright did not look great in his debut for the Northwestern football team, but looked improved against the Blue Devils. Wright still made errors, between his interception and a few over throws, but displayed talent both passing and rushing. Wright recorded 175-yards total against the Blue Devils and did not record a touchdown.
Ultimately, the issues for the Northwestern football team against the Blue Devils were all mental. Northwestern got lucky at times between a missed field goal and quarterback Maalik Murphy overthrowing some open receivers. However, the Wildcats could not capitalize and score off of these mistakes by the Duke Blue Devils which lost them the game.
What Went Wrong For the Northwestern Football Team Against Duke?
There was plenty of issues that Northwestern had throughout the game, but the main issue was their struggles to execute. Northwestern could not get any sort of deep or long-range play to work against the Blue Devils defense. In particular in the fourth quarter and overtime, the Wildcats failed to execute on offense and defense when they truly needed to.
The Blue Devils drove down the field and settled for a field goal late in the fourth quarter, but ended up missing it. The Wildcats were given field position at their own 20-yard line and were called for a holding penalty the first play, backing the offense up. Northwestern was forced to punt after being given a chance to try and move the ball down the field.
Northwestern then allowed the Blue Devils to drive 55-yards down the field and make the game-tying field goal with seconds left on the clock. In overtime, the defense also struggled allowing two touchdowns on three plays and ultimately losing the clash. The offense also struggled down the stretch, with the game ending after Wright lost eight-yards on a designed run.
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