By Charlie Perlman, NUSports.com
If there was a song that summed up Northwestern’s defense against Colorado, it would be “T.N.T.” by AC/DC. The song echoed through Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium all night as the Wildcats held the Buffaloes to just seven points.
For graduate student linebacker Brayden Brus and Northwestern’s defense, though, “T.N.T.” has a different meaning: tackling and takeaways.
“Tackling and takeaways is really what is going to set you up to have these performances,” Brus said. “We harp on it all week. We're thinking about it during practice and so it's a big part of our mindset going into games.”
That emphasis on tackling and takeaways helped the Wildcats force five turnovers, the most through the first two games of a season for Northwestern since 2020.
Captain Robert Fitzgerald led the Wildcats in tackles for the second consecutive game, finishing Saturday with 11 total tackles. The redshirt senior defensive back also recovered a fumble, becoming just the second Big Ten player since 2005 to record at least 25 tackles and one fumble recovery through the first two games of a season.
The Wildcats’ ability to create turnovers extended to the seconda...