To pass, run you must: Week 5 film room

There are good and bad things to be taken away from this game. Preston Stone finally had a (pretty) clean game, and it came against a Big Ten foe. On top of that, Caleb Komolafe had a career day while Griffin Wilde looked more than just the part. When analyzing it all further, there were a few plays that are a bit questionable. A win is still a win though, and in this conference with this schedule, take each and every one you can get. With that being said, let’s look at the numbers.

The Numbers

Stone posted his highest PFF offensive grade of the season thus far, a 77.9. He was the third-highest graded offensive player for Northwestern behind Komolafe with a 79.9 grade and Wilde with an 87.1 grade (tied for 11th-highest this week out of all FBS wide receivers).

Stone was slinging the ball around well, including one PFF “big time throw” (a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window). He averaged 6.4 yards-per-attempt (the same as last week), but this time it worked out better. Stone did only throw for 115 yards, but did so on 12-of-18 with a touchdown pass as well. He excelled in play action this week, posting an 89.5 PFF offensive grade on play action plays. The pass blocking all around was much better, especially with Ezomo Oratokhai, who posted an 85.6 PFF pass blocking grade this week. Jackson Carsello also impressed, posting a 77.2 PFF pass blocking grade and a 72.4 run blocking grade.

Komolafe and Joseph Himon II both had successful days on the ground. Komolafe carried the ball 27 times for 119 yards (career high) and a touchdown, while Himon had eight carries for 58 yards. Wilde caught seven passes for 98 yards and his first FBS touchdown, while no other Wildcat caught more than one ball (Drew Wagner had two receptions but both were flip passes so hard to count that). With the numbers all taken care of for the most part, it’s time for the film.

The Good

Northwestern has found its offensive identity.

Run, run, run

The run game for the ‘Cats continued to look strong after the bye week. The run blocking has continued to be a bright spot, as do the running backs for this team.

Running the ball on a 3rd-and-7 from your own 26 yard line is a gutsy call. It did work out though as Komolafe followed his blockers and found a lane for a 10-yard gain and a first down. All five offensive lineman won their battles on this run and opened up a gaping hole for Komolafe to run with his head down to get to the line-to-gain.

Himon also wanted to get in on the fun. While he only carried it eight times, he had two runs of 20+ yards. This was his longest of the day, going for 24 yards. Himon used his speed around the outside off the jet sweep as he broke a tackle and ran along the sideline before being taken down out of bounds. Wilde had a tremendous block on this play, as did Frank Covey IV and Lawson Albright. Ryan Boe was in at quarterback on this play as well as it seemed to be a read option that he could’ve taken himself. He wasn’t afraid to get his hands on a defender either.

This was Himon’s other 20+ yard run. This one was exactly 20 yards, but still a tremendous display of the improved Northwestern run blocking combined with Himon’s burst. If it weren’t for the sideline, Wagner’s block could have allowed for Himon to take it to the end zone. Hayden Eligon II picked up a strong block when Himon was turning upfield, as did tight end Alex Lines.

Play action is a quarterback’s best friend

Apart from a 20-yard dime to Wilde on 4th-and-4, Stone saw tremendous success when there was a play-action fake involved on the play.

Komolafe had just picked up a first down on a 3rd-and-7 run the play before. Obviously, the natural instinct would be to bite on the run the play after. This is where play action is at its best, and the ‘Cats execute it perfectly. Stone fakes to Komolafe, takes a few steps back and finds Wilde on the medium out route after he dusted the defender. Great blocking and perfect accuracy; can’t ask for much better than that.

Wilde is by far and away Stone’s favorite target and also his best receiver. Right after Himon ran for 20 yards, Stone faked the handoff to him in the gun and found his go-to guy on the deep corner route. The route concept worked perfectly as Wilde found an open spot for a 25-yard gain. If he hadn’t tripped, the play wouldn’t have gone for many more yards. Still, it was a big play and an impressive throw from Stone. He also had all the time in the world in the pocket.

Wilde’s first ever FBS touchdown came on another play-action fake from Stone. UCLA bit heavy on this fake, especially with where the ball was on the field. Wilde won off the snap and slanted inside where Stone found him for six. The blocking held firm, and Stone quickly released the pass as the ’Cats caught the Bruins off guard in the secondary.

The Bad

Northwestern led UCLA 17-3 at half. The final score was 17-14, even with the ‘Cats possessing the ball for 19:21 of the 30:00 in the second half. The drives were long and methodical, but the execution at the end wasn’t always there.

Decisions, decisions

In the second half, Northwestern gave UCLA more chances than it should have to get back into the game (and even win it).

While this play call isn’t awful, the timing is. In UCLA territory, Stone rolls out to his right side without a play action fake (which had been working tremendously all day) and tries to hit a crossing Wagner. A couple things here: Wagner was right near two defenders when he was targeted, he needed to dive for it and was still five yards from the line to gain if he had caught it. The ‘Cats looked here to be playing for a field goal, but the next play was a punt from the opposing 37 yard line. A 54-yard field goal isn’t easy, especially in college, but a punt from the UCLA 37 seems baffling.

First of all, why is this a pass play. UCLA has one timeout left, Northwestern has been getting more than four yards per carry and a first down would ice the game. Instead, it’s a straight shotgun drop back where Stone tries to escape the pocket and runs directly into two Bruins defenders. The pass blocking on this play wasn’t even bad. Stone could have stayed in the pocket a bit longer. He also had Hunter Welcing on the crossing route immediately and could have iced the game that way. UCLA didn’t score on its next drive, but Northwestern gave the Bruins the chance to tie the game or even win it.

This was bound to happen

Signs pointed to this happening at some point.

If Northwestern had lost the game, this would be one of the main reasons as to why. It felt inevitable that one of Olsen’s field goal tries would be blocked, and that was proven correct against UCLA. The Wildcats could have gone for it on fourth down to extend the lead even further, or if they failed the fourth down try, it would have pinned the Bruins inside their own five yard-line. Instead, the block created a touchback and resulted in a UCLA touchdown just five plays later.

Final Thoughts

Like I said earlier, a win is a win. There were a lot of positives to take from this game for sure. The running game clicked, the blocking was strong both on the ground and through the air, and the play-action pass opened up the field, allowing Stone to carve up UCLA’s defense in the first half. While decision-making and play calling could still improve to better match the flow of the game, it was a solid performance overall.