Northwestern football reaction: Why not more Kain Colter?

The Northwestern Wildcats fell from the ranks of the undefeated and from the polls with a 39-28 loss at Penn State on Saturday. The result denied the Wildcats a 6-0 start for the first time in 50 years.

Despite holding a 28-17 lead at the end of the third quarter, the Northwestern offense netted 247 yards on the afternoon. The potential for more offensive production led SB Nation's Sippin' On Purple to ask why not more Kain Colter?

Colter, a receiver/quarterback, was blanketed at the receiver position for most of the day by Penn State linebackers, but the author felt the Wildcats could have done more to get Colter involved:

I would have loved to see the Wildcats use Colter in some screen passes, to take away from Penn State's aggressive pass rush. Give Colter the ball in space, and let him work his magic. But that wasn't part of the game plan, for whatever reason.

Colter caught three passes for 17 yards on the day.

At quarterback, Colter was given 14 snaps, and Northwestern scored 14 points while he was running the offense. But all 14 plays resulted in runs, leaving Sippin' On Purple to lament:

And he probably should have been allowed to throw a few times. Colter didn't get a single pass attempt after the first drive. On only three drives did he play QB for more than one snap. The offensive game plan was very perplexing and frustrating all game.

Northwestern fans are looking for more offensive diversity and better use of the playmaker Colter as the Wildcats hit the road to play the Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-1) this Saturday.