By Charlie Spungin, NUSports.com
After suffering a narrow 29-23 loss to No. 5 Indiana on Sept. 25, Northwestern responded emphatically with a dominant four-game winning streak with an average margin of 20.8 points per game.
A week after returning from Bloomington, Northwestern defeated Penn State, 34-13, in the opener at New Ryan Field. The Wildcats followed that up with a dominant 45-14 Homecoming win over Ball State before traveling to East Lansing, Mich. to knock off Michigan State, 24-21. Then, back on home turf, the ’Cats downed Rutgers, 42-14.
“Coach Braun said it best: ‘One win or one loss does not define who we are or what this season is about,’” Assistant Head Coach and Running Backs Coach Aristotle Thompson said. “I think that the guys being able to get back to work after the loss early in the season and put one foot in front of the other and just keep working shows how resilient we are but also shows how much they care about each other.”
Northwestern will have to rely on its resilience this weekend as it takes on No. No. 21 Iowa on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 6:30 p.m. CT at Ryan Field. The Wildcats are coming off a 34-26 defeat in Oregon, snapping the four-game win streak.
Seventh-year defensive back Brendan Deasfernandes said that the team’s loss in Eugene, Ore. stemmed from “the little things adding up,” noting that fixing those errors will be key to jump-starting another win streak.
“Everybody may feel bad about the loss, but it’s more of a lesson,” Deasfernandes said. “What did we do wrong? Let’s fix it in practice. We know that teams around the country are looking at the things that teams did badly, so let’s fix it, and next time we get tested on it, we’ll be ready.
Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers Coach Tim McGarigle said that Dan and Susan Jones Family Head Football Coach David Braun’s message following both losses has been the same:
“Win the day.”
For fourth-year running back Caleb Komolafe, it’s about brushing off last week’s result. As Northwestern prepares to host Iowa, the team is embracing living in the moment.
“We’ll put our head down and go back to work,” Komolafe said. “We understand it’s a new week. It’s a next-day mentality. It’s onto the next. Win or lose, we’re always onto the next. That Oregon game is in the past, we’re onto Iowa. We’re focused on going out there, getting a win.”
Komolafe was a key part of the Wildcats’ response following Indiana, totaling 514 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns during Northwestern’s four-game winning streak. As a team, the Northwestern offense averaged 36.3 points per game during the four-game stretch, its most over a four-game span since the 2013 season.