Saturday’s 21-7 loss certainly encompassed more negatives than positives. Northwestern’s back seven defensively was just outclassed for an entire quarter, though the defense actually played pretty well the rest of the way. Outside of Flynn Nagel, receivers struggled to really create separation and make tough catches. The offensive line had problems before and after their tackles got hurt. Each of those concerns are valid. But despite a wholly unappetizing loss, the season is far from over.
This should seem relatively obvious to most of you, but Northwestern’s overarching goals this year have nothing to do with non-conference matchups.