Northwestern fell 24-22 today at Wrigley Field to Michigan in what was a highly competitive ballgame. The 'Cats now sit at .500, with a 5-5 record, and they still need one more win to clinch bowl eligibility. That win will now need to come against Minnesota or Illinois.

The 'Cats didn't play particularly great offense in this one -- quarterback Preston Stone finished 13-of-27 for 184 yards passing. Defensively, the 'Cats were opportunistic, forcing a whopping five turnovers in the game.

Here are three takeaways from another loss at the Friendly Confines.

Northwestern CAN compete in different ways

The 'Cats struggled running the football in this game. Standout rusher Caleb Komolafe finished with just 31 yards in the game, and the team as a whole finished with 61. Instead, the 'Cats had to throw the ball, and they had some success hitting deep shots down the field.

The real key, though, was the defense. Any time you force five turnovers, you have a very good chance to win the football game. It just didn't happen today. Anto Saka was everywhere. Robert Fitzgerald was absolutely flying around laying hits on people.

The primary school of thought was that Northwestern needed to be able to run the football to win games. It managed to come oh so close despite tough sledding against a talented Michigan defensive front.

Preston Stone has a red zone issue

Northwestern's signal caller has had a very up-and-down season. On one hand, he deserves credit for the veteran presence he's provided, and, at times, he's ran a very clean offense. On the other hand, he's thrown more interceptions with NU than he had in his entire career coming into the season. And, today, he was brutal when it mattered most.

In the first half, Stone and Northwestern failed to punch it in from inside the 10-yard line twice. The second time, Stone threw two passes that were deflected. One broke up what should have been an easy touchdown (and would have been if he put more air under it). The other was right into the body of the defender.

Northwestern needs to be able to score touchdowns when it drives down the field. It's easy to harp on David Braun for kicking too many field goals, but it's hard for him to go for it when he doesn't trust his team to punch it in.

An Anto Saka game-breaking play finally came

Saka is a stud, and nobody was questioning that coming into the day. But he's the type of player whose impact doesn't always show up in the stat sheet. It's nice to see when it does.

Today, Saka forced a crucial fumble in the first half on a ridiculous hit. Northwestern's star EDGE slammed into Michigan receiver Andrew Marsh who was lined up in the backfield. Braydon Brus recovered the fumble, and Northwestern was able to go down the field and kick a field goal.

It was a heck-of-a play for Saka, one that will surely headline his highlight tape for the NFL Draft this spring.

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