Northwestern was hoping to end a five-game losing streak against the Blue Devils, but came up just short in overtime in heartbreaking fashion, losing 26-20. Here’s a look at who’s on the rise and who’s on the decline after the Cats’ second game of the season.

Stock up

Cam porter

The Northwestern running back had 63 yards rushing last week against Miami (OH) on 4.8 yards per carry, a solid showing for the graduate student. Porter’s improvement as the ‘Cats’ leading rusher this season feels like the most important thing. He started his night against Duke with a bang, carrying the ball 44 yards down the field on his second rush of the game. He also got involved in the passing game early (something that normally isn’t a major part of his game) on an 11-yard gain. After the ‘Cats received a gift-muffed punt, Porter burst through the middle of the line and scored Northwestern’s first touchdown of the game.

Porter struggled a bit in the second half, but was productive in OT, scoring a touchdown and finishing with 93 yards rushing. Porter appears to be Northwestern’s only reliable back, at least thus far. Caleb Komolafe and Joseph Himon II combined for just 21 yards. Komolafe also had an ill-timed fumble right off a pick by Theran Johnson that quickly changed the momentum against the ‘Cats. Porter’s workload doesn’t appear to be in jeopardy at this point, but Northwestern needs more production from its other backs.

The line of defense

The ‘Cats were terrific against the run in the opener, allowing just 40 yards rushing on 1.7 yards per carry. It was a notable positive from their Week 1 win. They followed that performance up with another impressive performance against the Blue Devils. Duke had just 42 yards rushing in the first half with only two runs of 10-plus yards. Eli Pancol, a receiver, was the leading rusher in the half. The Blue Devils were similarly unsuccessful in the second half, finishing with 93 yards rushing. Northwestern came up with key run stops when it really needed them on third downs in this one, part of a dominant performance at the line of scrimmage.

The pass rush had four sacks last week compared to just two this week, but they generated pressure and did their job. RJ Pearson had a sack early in the third quarter that set the Devils back four yards and forced a punt. That appears to be a strength for NU, albeit in a small sample size.

Point team

A couple of big special teams plays helped keep the ‘Cats in the game during regulation. They recovered a botched punt in the first half, leading to Porter’s touchdown. Then, after hampering Duke on their first drive of the second half, Noah Taylor blocked a punt, leading to a field goal attempt by Akers. He missed a field goal from 29 yards, which is partly why this isn’t a common prop for special teams, but the punt team created the opportunity.

Luke Akers also had seven punts for an average of 38.6 yards, a solid showing for the junior punter. After a rough season punting last season for Northwestern, Akers has been solid in the early 2024 season. Henning wasn’t much of a factor when he returned, but the team around him stole the show on special teams against Duke.

Honorable mentions: Xander Mueller, AJ Henning, Braden Turner, Theran Johnson, Northwestern bunnies

Stock down

Scoring Touchdowns

Northwestern struggled to get the ball in last week, which is part of the reason the game remained close until the very end. It started with more of the same as the Cats’ first offensive drive stalled just outside the red zone and they had to settle for a Jack Olsen field goal. Early in the second period, Northwestern pushed the ball back into the opposite zone with some hard running and a few encouraging plays to AJ Henning, but they were unable to score. They got behind the sticks on a negative rush from Caleb Komolafe and then Wright took a brutal sack from seven yards to put Northwestern out of field goal range.

Early in the fourth quarter, Northwestern had to settle for another Olsen field goal (which he made this time to take a 13-10 lead). The ‘Cats simply haven’t been able to find the end zone as often as they’d like to this point in the season. And of course, not finding the end zone in double overtime sealed the heartbreaking loss.

Third Down Conversions

When Northwestern got behind the sticks early in this game, it struggled mightily. The ‘Cats were 1-of-7 on third down in the first half, leading to four Luke Akers punts. They were 5-of-11 last week, but noticeably struggled throwing the ball early in this game, completing just two passes of 12-plus yards in the first half.

The struggle continued early in the second half, as Northwestern failed on its first three attempts. It finished 3-of-16 on third downs for the game, a frustrating total that hampered the ‘Cats all night, slowing drives and putting immense pressure on the defense to get stops.

Mike Wright

The hope was that Wright would step up a bit and capitalize on some of the situations where he failed in Game 1, a game in which he excelled on the ground and through the air. He was worse in both areas against Duke. Wright threw for 158 yards and his pass completion percentage was a suspect 56%. On the ground, he had 17 yards rushing on 8 carries, down from 65 yards against Miami (OH). Wright also threw a number of poorly-thought-out passes and probably should have been intercepted more than once. He did throw one interception in the first half when a safety broke up his pass deep along the left sideline.

Northwestern needs Wright to take positive steps by dropping back and throwing as the season progresses. He clearly fell short in that regard in this game. But his ground game is a huge part of his overall game, and if he struggles there, it will likely always be a tough sell for this offense. In short, this wasn’t a good enough performance under the lights in Evanston.

Honorable Mentions: Penalties, Offensive Line, Caleb Komolafe