Michigan vs. Northwestern

THE GOOD: Defense. Northwestern's defense balled out once again. They need to keep this up in order for Northwestern to turn this season around.
THE BAD: Running game. Northwestern's running game was obviously dealt a huge blow with Larkin's retirement, but someone needs to step up in his absence.
THE UGLY: Blocking. PLEASE FIRE ADAM CUSHING. PLEASE FIRE ADAM CUSHING. PLEASE FIRE ADAM CUSHING. PLEASE FIRE ADAM CUSHING. This is getting ridiculous. How many games does Northwestern have to lose because of poor offensive line play before Fitzgerald realizes Cushing needs to go. On almost every big play in the second half, Thorson was under extreme pressure. This needs to be fixed immediately if Northwestern wants to turn this season around.

Bye Week vs. Northwestern

THE GOOD: Rest. Northwestern gets to rest up heading into conference play.
THE BAD: Momentum. Northwestern had no momentum coming into the bye week, so it is tough to find much to springboard off of during the bye week.
THE UGLY: No game. No game meant there was not a chance for northwestern to improve heading into conference play, something they could've used.

Akron vs. Northwestern

THE GOOD: Jeremy Larkin. Larkin has been the only consistent force for Northwestern. It's nice to see that at least one player cares.
THE BAD: Kicking. Northwestern can't continue to leave points on the field. That's unacceptable and is demoralizing for the team.
THE UGLY: Tackling. Northwestern had so many opportunities to put Akron away if they wrapped up and tackled. Normally this is a strong suit for Northwestern, but this year it has been very costly. This needs to be fixed immediately.

Duke vs. Northwestern

THE GOOD: Defense. Northwestern's defense had a little rough patch in the second quarter, but other than that they were dominant. It was great too see a dominant performance from the defense after struggling early in the game. They will need to keep this up in order for Northwestern to be successful.
THE BAD: Receivers. Flynn Nagel was the only receiver who showed up. Drops and failure to get separation plagued Northwestern all game and really hurt the offense.
THE UGLY: Blocking. Adam Cushing needs to be fired this instant. If Fitzgerald refuses to fire assistants, then he goes too. Northwestern can't start every year struggling offensively because no one blocks. That's no way to build a program, and it needs to stop now.