Ahead of Purdue's matchup with Northwestern on Saturday afternoon, Boiler Upload catches up with WildcatReport publisher Louie Vaccher to talk all things Northwestern football, including the Wildcats' struggles of late, the play of quarterback Jack Lausch and more.

I think most people, myself included, didn’t think Northwestern would win eight games again, if for no other reason than a tougher schedule. But their level of play on offense is way down this year. The defense is playing pretty well, all things considered, and has single-handedly kept them in games. But the offense is scoring just 18.4 points per game and has put up just a field goal in their last eight quarters. They have generated less than 300 yards of offense in four of their five Big Ten games and are easily one of the worst units in the Power Five this season.

One of the major factors is quarterback play, and the Wildcats really miss Ben Bryant, the sixth-year grad transfer who piloted the offense last season. Northwestern started the year with grad transfer Mike Wright, a guy with 38 SEC game appearances under his belt, but he was too reckless with the football for the coaching staff’s taste. He got pulled after two games in favor of Jack Lausch, who has had his share of struggles while learning on the job. (I’ll save more about him for the next question.) They’ve had some costly injuries on the offensive line, and the running game, usually a staple for Northwestern, has suffered.

But I think a significant part of the blame also lies at the feet of new offensive coordinator Zach Lujan. We were told that he fits his system to his player’s strengths and was a creative play caller, but we haven’t seen much evidence of that to date. Lujan is just 29 years old and has only coached at South Dakota State, where he won two national championships, had a Walter Payton Award-winner at QB and enjoyed superior talent to most of his opponents. He’s had a rough time adjusting to Northwestern, which features a young quarterback and a team that very rarely has a talent advantage, especially in Big Ten play. Lausch’s strength is his running ability, yet for the most part Lujan has had his QB throwing from the pocket. We haven’t seen much read-option to take advantage of his obvious athleticism. Some of Lujan’s decisions have outright angered fans – one that stands out is calling a slow-developing, double-move against Wisconsin with less than a minute left in the half and near their own goal line in a 7-0 game. The play resulted in a sack, a fumble and a Wisconsin touchdown just a play later. Northwestern has also had an uncharacteristic number of penalties this season, many of them pre-snap, against the offense.

Lausch has shown a couple flashes here and there in his six starts, but he’s been a below-average quarterback so far. He has the worst completion percentage (51) and quarterback rating (100.8) in the Big Ten. He has been very inconsistent with his accuracy: he hit three passes of 40 or more yards against Maryland, but he has also bounced some very short, easy passes three yards in front of his target. He also has yet to develop that timer in his head that tells him that he needs to get rid of the ball NOW. He’s taken sacks for safeties the last two weeks by holding the ball too long. Head coach David Braun thinks he’s hesitant and, on Saturday, didn’t have the confidence to pull the trigger when something was open. And after six starts and 157 passing attempts this season, you have to wonder whether that will ever come.

Northwestern knew there would be a learning curve this season with Lausch, but there hasn’t been much obvious progress. Last week was arguably his worst game of the season as he finished 10-of-19 passing for 62 yards, two interceptions and two sacks. He has thrown for less than 100 yards in three of his six starts and hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass since the Indiana game on Oct. 5. In his defense, he hasn’t gotten much help. He’s often under pressure and doesn’t have a reliable ground game. Quite often this season, Northwestern’s best offense has been Lausch dropping back, pulling it down and then taking off running.

Lausch is a gutsy kid that hails from the Chicago Catholic League, and fans and teammates alike love him. I think the staff was hopeful that he would become their quarterback of the future, but barring drastic improvement, I think they’ll be hitting the transfer portal again after the season in search of a starter, or someone that can at least challenge Lausch for the No. 1 job.

It’s a shame that Northwestern has had so much trouble in the passing game because they have a pair of very good wide receivers. AJ Henning is a burner with the kind of game-breaking speed that we don’t see very often in Evanston. He has leads the team with 36 receptions, including three touchdown catches. He’s a guy that can take the top of the defense. Bryce Kirtz missed the Iowa game with an injury but is expected to play against the Boilers. He leads NU with 414 receiving yards and has had two 10-catch games in his career. He is more of a possession-type guy but has the longest catch for the Wildcats this season at 55 yards and averages a team-high 15.3 yards-per-catch. Running back Cam Porter is a powerful, explosive 215-pound running back, but he still may be a little dinged up after missing the Washington game earlier this season with an injury. He has paid the price of a lack of a passing threat, as more and more often teams put eight in the box, play cover-zero and blitz the Wildcats.

One of the Wildcats’ best defenders and a team captain, linebacker Xander Mueller, will miss his second straight game with an injury on Saturday. That will hurt. But one guy the Boilers will want to keep an eye on is Anto Saka, a defensive end who comes in on passing downs. He is a quick-twitch guy with explosive get-off who has the speed to bend around the edge and the power to bull-rush a tackle. Mueller will be missed but middle linebacker Mac Uihlein has become a playmaker for the Wildcats this season. He leads the Wildcat with 56 tackles, and has 3.5 TFL and two sacks. In the secondary, Theran Johnson is Northwestern’s best cover corner and a guy who could have NFL potential. He usually gets the opponents’ best receiver and has more than held his own. He had a pick-six against Iowa last week.

I know that I’ve painted a pretty bleak picture, but I still think the Wildcats will get off the schneid and post a win over the Boilermakers. While Purdue has a slight edge offensively, neither team is particularly potent when it comes to scoring. But I think the Wildcats have a clear-cut advantage on defense. They’ll contain Devin Mockobee and the ground game, and they try to put pressure on whichever quarterback is in the game for the Boilers, Hudson Card or Ryan Browne. If the offense takes care of the football – and that’s a big if – I think the Wildcats will snap their two-game losing streak and get the win in a relatively low-scoring, physical game. I’ll call it Northwestern 23, Purdue 14.