Game thread for Duke vs. Northwestern

[DaCat]

And we start the 2h with an outside run

And to make it even harder on ourselves, whenever we run wide we always run to the boundary side.

 

[Cheech210]

Linebackers aren’t fast enough. And the dline is getting manhandled against Cushin. Yikes

 

[NUCat320]

Objectively, NU has outplayed DU since the first quarter. They’ve given us some openings. Maybe we take a shot here.

 

[DaCat]

Duke is feeling sorry for us. Now let's capitalize!

 

[Go Catz]

C'mon guys. Get the ball to Hull. Get on the board in the second half.

 

[phatcat]

Really need to score against this dreadful opponent

 

[jensberg]

Duke just looks more athletic and more powerful on the line of scrimmage which is surprising

 

[drewjin]

Get it to Gordon. Should have gotten it to him in the red zone.

 

[bjm989]

Not running on Duke nearly like we did on Neb

 

[GeauxCatsGeaux]

Not saying it was targeting, but Hull definitely got hit in the head pretty good.

 

[phatcat]

Such an effort even to get a 1st down.

 

[NUCat320]

4th down. Will we half-roll right?

 

[DaCat]

Lucky Hilinski, he escaped a pick.

 

[phatcat]

4th down. Will we half-roll right?

Wide, slow developing sweep

 

[NUCat320]

4th down. Will we half-roll right?

No. Found Hull to the left. Go Cats Go!!!

 

[phatcat]

No. Found Hull to the left. Go Cats Go!!!

Always a good idea to get him the ball..

 

[TejasCat]

Back in it! Why are going for 2

 

[Go Catz]

Hilinski looks rattled. Hull is awesome.

 

[Bwm57]

Reading this board you would think they were losing by 30.

 

[Go Catz]

Reading this board you would think they were losing by 30.

We watched the first quarter

 

[Titanium999]

Reading this board you would think they were losing by 30.

We are outplaying them! Peddle to the metal and Porter up the middle too! Play action working too!

 

[bjm989]

Such a bad break there. Gotta hold ‘em!

 

[loyolacat]

Najee Story with the tackle......

 

[Bwm57]

We watched the first quarter

What have you been watching since?

 

[fcmchi]

Going for two now? If we hold them to a field goal we need eight. Fitz is not a good game coach. Did the same thing in Madison in ‘19.

 

[DaCat]

Such a bad break there. Gotta hold ‘em!

I guess that evens out the Hollis pick. Now we gotta hold them.

 

[Cheech210]

The Gods do not look favorably on us right now.

 

[phatcat]

Such a bad break there. Gotta hold ‘em!

We had a couple of breaks. Tipped INT. Dropped Hilinski INT. Gotta get a stop now

 

[DaCat]

Also the FS1 announcer Devin Gardner is clearly rooting for Duke, so annoying.

 

[phatcat]

Had to listen to Sweet @#$%ing Caroline but not that moldy cringy put your hands in the air

 

[FanatiCat]

That lucky tip could be the deal breaker. We had the momentum and could’ve been poised to get the ball back for a go ahead TD. Instead they’re suddenly in position to make it a 2 score game which will be really difficult to make up in 13 minutes without some (multiple) lucky breaks of our own.

 

[jensberg]

Just getting beat so bad at both lines of scrimmage so disappointing not to mention the horrible open field tackling and poor linebacker play

 

[chicagocatfan24]

Going for two now? If we hold them to a field goal we need eight. Fitz is not a good game coach. Did the same thing in Madison in ‘19.

They have an analytics team making these sort of calls. Obviously Fitz gut is the end all/be all but those calls come from upstairs usually

 

[jensberg]

That play right there running back drags four of our players for three yards just unbelievable

 

[NUCat320]

I’m surprised there wasn’t a review there. I’m not sure on the exact rules, but his toe was down, *then* he secured the ball, then he landed out of bounds.

 

[DarthCat]

And there it is. 400 yards of offense given up to Duke. Fifth straight game giving up over 400. Last stop was 370 to Iowa.

 

[Cheech210]

Why we don’t just drop 9 guys back on our third and long plays is just beyond me. It was McCalls calling card on third and long. Worked so well for us.

 

[CatManTrue]

And there it is. 400 yards of offense given up to Duke.

We’re on pace to give up less than 500 yards yet again! JON’s really improved since last year.

 

[NUCat320]

They have an analytics team making these sort of calls. Obviously Fitz gut is the end all/be all but those calls come from upstairs usually

It never makes sense to go for two until the endgame is known. Exception is when you’re down 24 in the second half.

Missing two is a huge loss of momentum. Fitz generally has a great sense — and generally motivates his players and instills confidence — but this is one time where he should’ve taken the points.

 

[corbi296]

That last Duke TD was an incomplete pass. Ball was juggled and did not gain possession until feet were out of the Ned zone. FItz should have challenged.