For Mims, this was his first Big Ten Player of the Week award. Other Big Ten winners this past week included quarterback Daryll Clark of Penn State and quarterback Curtis Painter of Purdue.

In the game, which all but ensures Northwestern will head either to the Outback or Alamo Bowl, NU took the lead early and never looked back. The ‘Cats drew first blood on a touchdown run by Stephen Simmons with 2:24 left in the first quarter. The score was set up by a twenty yard pass from senior CJ Bacher to fellow senior Eric Peterman. Villarreal missed the extra point but NU still lead 6-0.

Northwestern would continue its momentum with a touchdown pass from Bacher to Ross Lane in the second quarter to enlarge their lead to 13-0. On that touchdown pass, it looked multiple times that Bacher was about to be sacked but he was able to elude several Illini and found a wide-open Lane after Illinois’ defense had collapsed in an effort to get Bacher.

After the Lane touchdown, however, NU’s offense went stagnant and only managed a field goal for the rest of the second and then the third quarter. This allowed Illinois to continue to remain within striking distance. Illini running back Jason Ford scored in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter the Illini added a field goal to make the score 16-10.

What kept Illinois from ever overtaking NU, however, was the stellar play of the Wildcats’ defense. Illini quarterback Juice Williams did run for 94 yards but that came on 25 carries and he was sacked five times. Apart from Williams, the Illinois running game was completely shut down. Starting Illini running back Daniel Dufrene never got going, finishing with just nine yards. Northwestern also did a great job of containing star Illini product and Washington, DC native Arrelious Benn. Benn had just four receptions, none of which were longer than sixteen yards.

The defense may have prevented Illinois from ever seizing momentum but it was NU’s special teams which allowed the ‘Cats to finally put the game away. With just over eleven minutes left in the game, Northwestern safety returned a punt 45 yards and put the ‘Cats at the Illini twenty yard. A few plays later Bacher found Peterman in the right corner of the end zone for an eighteen yard touchdown pass. NU would then covert a two point conversion to take a two touchdown lead and effectively guarantee the victory.

On Senior Day, it was fitting that the touchdown that really secured the victory was on a Bacher-Peterman connection. Both of the two seniors finished their careers at Ryan Field with very productive days. Bacher would throw for 230 yards and two touchdowns while Peterman had eight receptions for over a hundred yards.

NU would add an insurance field goal with 2:44 to make the score 27-10 and after that NU fans happily chanted “9-3″ and “Let’s go Outback tonight” as they prepared to rush the field and celebrate one of the most successful seasons in recent Northwestern memory.

The Bowl Selection Process

The Big Ten has an agreement with seven bowls: the Rose, Capital One, Outback, Alamo, Champs Sports, Insight and Motor City Bowl, with the Rose Bowl for the “best team” and the Motor City Bowl for the “worst” of the bowl eligible teams. It takes six wins to be bowl-eligible. The process basically works like a draft where each bowl committee (the Rose Bowl picking first, Motor City picking last) selects a Big Ten team to invite to their bowl. The bowl committees may not pick a team if there is another team who has two more wins but has not yet been chosen. For example, a bowl committee can not pick Illinois over Northwestern because no matter what happens on Saturday the ‘Cats will have two more wins than the Illini. Three teams — Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State — are guaranteed to finish before the ‘Cats in the standings, so the best NU can do is the Outback Bowl, while the worst they can do is the Insight Bowl.

Scenarios

Outback Bowl: Tampa, Florida, Big Ten v. SEC

How Northwestern gets there:

• NU beats Illinois
• and Ohio State beats Michigan
• and Oregon State loses before end of year
• and Iowa loses to Minnesota or bowl committee selects NU over Iowa despite the large Hawkeyes fan base

Likely opponents: LSU, Vanderbilt, South Carolina

If NU is to have any playing in the Outback Bowl, two Big Ten teams must play in the Bowl Championship Series to free an extra spot in the bowls that have official Big Ten tie-ins.

Alamo Bowl: San Antonio, Texas, Big Ten v. Big XII

How Northwestern gets there:

• NU beats Illinois
• and Iowa loses to Minnesota or bowl committee selects NU over Iowa despite the large Hawkeyes fan base.

or

• NU loses to Illinois
• and Minnesota beats Iowa but the bowl committee selects NU over Minnesota despite the large Gophers fan base.

Likely opponents: Oklahoma State, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas

This is NU’s likely destination. Bowl committees want to make certain that their game will be sold out, but NU has a small fan base and did not sell out the last bowl game they played in. There’s probably no way NU will be selected for the Outback Bowl above Iowa unless the Hawkeyes lose on Saturday and Northwestern wins.

Champs Sports Bowl: Orlando, Florida, Big Ten v. ACC

How Northwestern gets there:

• NU beats Illinois
• and Iowa beats Minnesota and Alamo Bowl committee selects Iowa and its large fan base over NU

or

• NU beats Illinois

• and Minnesota beats Iowa and Alamo Bowl committee selects Iowa and its large fan base over NU

or

• NU loses to Illinois

• and Champs Sports Bowl committee selects NU over loser of Iowa/Minnesota game

Likely opponents: Any ACC school with the exception of Clemson, NC State, Virginia and Duke.

Insight Bowl: Tempe, Arizona, Big Ten v. Big XII

How NU gets there:

• NU loses to Illinois

• and Minnesota beats Iowa and the Champs Sports Bowl committee selects Minnesota over NU

Likely opponents: Oklahoma State, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas

The Wrap Up

So basically, if you’re an NU fan you want the following things to happen this Saturday so that the ‘Cats can go to the Outback Bowl:

• Northwestern beats Illinois
• and Ohio State beats Michigan
• and BYU beats Utah
• and Arizona beats Oregon State
• and Minnesota beats Iowa

Clarification: The original version of this article gave an incorrect location for the Outback Bowl.

Final: Northwestern 21 Michigan 14

Northwestern improves to 8-3 and gets a great road win they can put on their bowl resume. The credit for today goes to the defense. They only allowed seven points. Yes, they did allow Michigan to convert on fourth down more than they should’ve, but in general the Michigan offense was completely stymied. None of their quarterbacks, whether Sheridan or Threet, even looked comfortable and they contained Brown after the first half. On offense, Bacher remains inconsistent and the running back remains non-existent, but the defense allowed the good aspects of the offense (i.e. the Peterman play) to outweigh the negatives (i.e. the Bacher turnovers). Overall, a great win on Michigan’s Senior Day.

1:18 4Q: Northwestern is going to win. Sheridan’s pass falls incomplete and all NU must do is kneel and they will get win number 8.

1:56 4Q: Unfortunately, NU still can’t put the ball away. The Wildcats take a three and out and although they forced Michigan to burn all their time outs the Wolverines will still get the ball back with just under two minutes to play.

2:19 4Q: And Northwestern takes over on downs. Great defense on fourth down. All the Michigan receivers were covered and the line broke through and forced Sheridan to scramble. A few first downs (maybe even just one) and Northwestern will have beaten Michigan for the first time since 2000 and the first time at the Big House for the first time since 1995.

3:33 4Q: Another fourth down and another successful quarterback keeper keeps the Wolverines alive. NU just can’t seem to put this one away.

4:09 4Q: Threet gets injured and Sheridan steps back in with Michigan at Northwestern midfield and driving.

9:51 4Q: On a crucial fourth and one on the NU 23 Steven Threet, who came in as QB for Sheridan, keeps the ball and converts the first down. The joy in Ann Arbor is short lived, however. Jordan Mabin intercepts a Threet pas in the end zone and ends the Michigan threat. It was a bad pass by Threet. He had the receiver open but just overthrew him.

13:33 4Q: I apologize for jinxing the ‘Cats. Bacher throws his second interception of the game and Michigan will get the ball at the 44. Initially it looked the the Wolverine who intercepted it, Donovan Warren, would score a touchdown, but the officials ruled that he stepped out of bounds on his way to the end zone.

15:00 4Q: The Michigan marching band is playing living on a prayer. That’s about right for the Wolverines. With one quarter to go the ‘Cats look to be in good position to improve to 8-3. Michigan’s offense was unable to generate anything in the third quarter and a NU touchdown here would all but put the game away.

End of third quarter: Northwestern 21 Michigan 14

2:36 3Q: On a fourth and six from the Michigan 36, Fitz purposely takes a delay of game penalty and decides to punt. It works out nicely, as the ‘Cats down the ball on the four. Still, I would have let Bacher go for it. Even if he didn’t get it Michigan still would have had 70 yards to go. And a touchdown would have been huge. I don’t see either team being able to come back two touchdowns in this weather.

9:24 3Q: Northwestern touchdown!! Bacher finds Peterman coming over the middle and he then sprints into the end zone for a 53 yard score. Northwestern leads 21-14. On the run after the catch Peterman used his speed to squeak in between the safeties.
Northwestern 21 Michigan 14

11:36 3Q: And it’s snowing real heavily now. Ever since I watched the famous Dolphins-Cowboys snow game on Thanksgiving I’ve always wanted to go to a game in the snow. It’s just too bad it had to happen when I have to drive home five hours in it.

11:36 3Q: Northwestern converts the short field into a touchdown with a seven yard touchdown pass from Bacher to Ross Lane. Lane had two other catches on the drive. Bacher made a great pass on the third done touchdown pass. By doing so, he atoned for the second down play, where he overthrew a completely wide open Eric Peterman.
Northwestern 14 Michigan 14

13:00 3Q: Northwestern makes a special team play of their own. The ‘Cats partially block a punt and will get the ball at the Michigan 40.

End of first half: Northwestern 7 Michigan 14

All in all, it was a pretty tight first half, as to be expected in bad weather. But, Michigan got the big play (the blocked punt) and that’s why they have a touchdown lead. The other big difference was in the running game. Michigan has 114 net yards of rushing to Northwestern’s 40. Leading the way is Carlos Brown, who has 74 yards on 13 carries.

3:09 2Q: This time Demos gets off the punt and hits it perfectly. The ‘Cats down the ball at the UM one yard line. If NU can force a three and out they should have good field position with about a minute left in the half.

4:31 2Q: Injury update: Quarterback Mike Kafka has been knocked out of the game with a concussion.

6:30 2Q: The Wolverines had been pressuring NU punter Stefan Demos all day and they finally get to him. UM blocks the punt and Ricky Reyes picks it up and takes it in for a 14-7 lead. Cue Hail to the Victors. The Wolverines may be down this year but they are still very talented and are capable of making athletic plays like blocked punts that completely change the complexion of the game. For Michigan it was the first blocked punt returned for a touchdown since 2001.
Northwestern 7 Michigan 14

8:27 2Q: Rodriguez goes for it again on fourth down, this time at NU’s 26, but this time the gamble doesn’t pay off. Sheridan’s pass is almost intercepted and the Wildcats take over.

12:56 2Q: Here in Michigan they don’t call it popped corn but popped maize. Get it, cause maize means corn and is one of the colors of Michigan. Pretty cool, huh.

End of 1st Quarter: Northwestern 7 Michigan 7

:23 1Q: Touchdown, Wolverines. Nick Sheridan with the keeper and the game is tied at 7. The key player in the drive was Carlos Brown. Brown not only converted on that big fourth down but also pulled off several long runs, including one for seventeen yards that brought UM into the red zone.
Northwestern 7 Michigan 7

2:39 1Q: Gutsy call by Rich Rodriguez. Michigan goes for it on fourth and one and converts. The Wolverines just gave the ball to running back Carlos Brown and he plowed through the NU line.

5:12 1Q: Ohh look, I got my wish.

5:12 1Q: I really wish they would play Hail to the Victors a few more times.

7:10 1Q: The ‘Cats force the Wolverines to punt. Credit John Gill with a nice tackle on Michigan’s Michael Shaw on second down for a loss of one yard. The play turned around what seemed at first to be a promising drive for UM.

9:40 1Q: Stephen Simmons breaks two tackles and sprints 21 yards into the end zone for a 7-0 lead. Northwestern not only took advantage of the Michigan fumble, but also took advantage of a face mask penalty. That was a big play for NU because it establishes the run. If Simmons can be a factor today the Wolverines can’t just concentrate on Bacher/Kafka and the team should feel feel very good about its chances. Northwestern 7 Michigan 0

11:46 1Q: Ok, maybe this is why the Wolverines are so bad. The Wildcats go three and out but on the punt the ball bounces of the Michigan return man and Northwestern recovers inside Michigan territory. Now we’ll see if the ‘Cats, unlike the Wolverines, can take advantage of a Michigan miscue.

12:45 1Q: Corey Wootton blocks the attempt and Northwestern escapes a turnover without giving up any points. This is obviously a generalization but Michigan usually doesn’t miss opportunities like that so it’s easy to see why the Wolverines have underperformed this year.

12:53 1Q: Bacher gets the start and on the opening drive throws an interception to Stevie Brown. Maybe Kafka should have started? Anyway, a nice pass break up by Jordan Mabin on the ensuing Michigan possession forces the Wolverines to settle for a field goal attempt.

10:41 A.M: The NU marching band is currently forming a star on the Michigan M. Do I sense a TO moment? Take that Michigan, you may have 11 national championships and Michael Phelps but NUMB is dancing on your field while the UM marching band is on the sideline.

Pregame: The big news here for the pregame is of course the weather. It’s damp and raining. Expect a low-scoring game where both teams will try to establish the run. I know this is blasphemy but if I was Fitz I’d start Kafka, regardless of the health of Bacher. The weather is going to neutralize any advantage in terms of passing that Bacher gives NU so why not go with the better runner?

Meanwhile, Jake Herbert received Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honors. The senior, who is ranked first in the nation for the 184-pound title, won all four of his matches on Sunday at the Michigan State Open. Herbert has not suffered a loss at the collegiate level since 2006. This is the fifth time Herbert has won conference Wrestler of the Week honors.

To deal with the loss of his second running back this year (the ‘Cats lost starter Tyrell Sutton for at least the regular season on Oct. 25 at Indiana) Fitzgerald is moving freshman receiver Jeravin Matthews to running back. Matthews will back up Stephen Simmons, who also started in the game Saturday against Ohio State. In the OSU game, Simmons ran for just 34 yards on 14 carries and his longest gain was for six yards.

Conteh was not the only Wildcat to be under the scalpel on Friday. Linebacker Malcolm Arrington also had surgery to repair his knee and could return for NU’s bowl game.

This Saturday, Northwestern travels to Michigan Stadium to take on the 3-7 Michigan Wolverines.

Correction: November 11 8:14 a.m. The article originally stated that Omar Conteh injured his wrist. That was Tyrell Sutton. Thanks to Wildcat Fan for the update.

Fans should have known it was not going to be Northwestern’s day after Ohio State University’s opening drive. After stopping Chris Wells for a loss of ten to set up a third and sixteen, Buckeyes receiver Brian Hartline somehow got past the NU secondary. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor found the wide open Hartline for a 44 yard gain, Wells punched the ball in for a touchdown on the next play and OSU had an early 7–0 lead.

The rest of the day was equally frustrating. After the Wells touchdown, Northwestern started a drive of its own and tied up the game on a Mike Kafka rushing touchdown. The two teams played themselves to a standstill for the rest of the quarter and as the clock wound down NU fans gave their team a standing ovation.

But things would quickly unravel. On a first and fifteen from the Ohio State 45 early in the second quarter, Pryor handed off to Chris Wells, who broke several tackles en route to a 55 yard touchdown. Wells’s knees were very close to touching the ground but he was somehow able to maintain his balance. The score gave the Buckeyes the lead for good at 14–7.

Wildcat quarterback Mike Kafka runs the ball in for a Northwestern touchdown. After setting a record for most number of yards run by a quarterback last week (217) Kafka ran for 83 yards on 29 carries. Katherine Tang / North by Northwestern

The Buckeyes kept up the pressure on the ensuing drive. Receiver Erik Peterman fumbled the ball near the NU sideline. The Buckeyes recovered and converted the turnover into a field goal.

As the game wore on the OSU offense began to dominate the game and scored points after long sustained drives that ate away at the clock. To close the half, Pryor led the Bucks on a 80 yard touchdown drive that took more than five minutes. The scoring play came on a fifteen yard pass to Brian Robiskie. OSU converted three separate third downs on the drive, including a twenty one yard run by Pryor and a third and sixteen. Instead of only being down ten points, the ‘Cats entered the locker room down by seventeen and likely demoralized as a result of their inability to stop the OSU quarterback on third and long.

In the second half, Northwestern only seriously threatened once. The ‘Cats did make a field goal to open the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter had a chance to close the OSU lead to just a touchdown. Several Mike Kafka passes — who finished 18/27 for 177 yards — got NU all the way down to the Buckeyes’s twelve yard line. Unfortunately, he was then sacked twice and Fitzgerald was forced to send out the punting unit.

The real gap in the two teams was in the running game. While Chris Wells rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns, Northwestern running back Stephen Simmons, filling in for the injured Omar Conteh, managed just 32 yards on thirteen carries. Unlike last week, Kafka was unable to overcome for the running back’s shortcomings. On a staggering 29 rushing attempts Kafka managed just 83 yards. More times than not, Kafka found himself surrounded by white jerseys even before he reached the line of scrimmage.

Next week the ‘Cats, now 7-3 and 3-3 in Big Ten play, will travel to Ann Arbor to face off against the Michigan Wolverines. Ohio State, 8-2 and 5-1, will return to Illinois and face off against the Illini.

With both Sutton and Conteh injured, it is likely that sophomore Stephen Simmons will get the start. Simmons had three carries in the opening game against Syracuse and ran for a total of 17 yards.

On the bright side, Simmons does have a history of performing well against Ohio State: In last year’s game in Columbus, the Missouri native ran back a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. Simmons’s score provided the lone points for NU in a 58-7 loss.

In other injury news, quarterback CJ Bacher will probably be able to play this Saturday.

On the defensive side, junior safety Brendan Smith was named the Big Ten defensive Player of the Week. With twelve seconds left and the game tied at 17, Smith intercepted a pass from Gophers’ quarterback Adam Weber and returned it 48 yards for the winning touchdown. The Massachusetts native also recorded six tackles in the game.

Kafka is also one of the four finalists for the AT&T Player of the Week award along with Oklahoma State’s Dez Bryant, Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell, and Central Michigan’s Brian Brunner. Fans can vote for Kafka by texting “VOTE” to 51234. The winner will be announced on Thursday during College Football Primetime on ESPN.

:12 4Q: Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss. Brendan Smith intercepts Weber and runs it all the way back for a touchdown. The pass hit off Oreduba’s face mask and then was deflected right to Smith. Northwestern 24 Minnesota 17.

1:01 4Q: Not exactly Joe Montanaesque. NU goes three and out and Kafka fumbles the snap on third down. Minny will get the ball back with a timeout and plenty of time to get in field goal position.

1:44 4Q: Minnesota punts and the ‘Cats will take over at the 20 with a chance to win and improve to 7-2. If not, overtime (assuming we don’t turn over the ball extremely quickly). Either way, NU is living up to its cardiac cats nickname.

4:31 3Q: The Gophers defense stops Northwestern on 3rd and short and the ‘Cats have to punt. The Wildcats tried a designed quarterback run, a play they ran successfully earlier on a third and short earlier during the drive. In both plays NU had no one in the backfield, something I disagree with. Why completely give away your hand?

11:36 4Q: Northwestern kicker Ammodo Villarreal misses a 46 yard field goal wide right and the Gophers will take over with good field position. The field goal attempt was set up by yet another great run by Kafka, who seems to have decided to fill in for both Sutton and Bacher.

14:09 4Q: The Gophers try a fake field goal and complete a pass but come up short of the first down. The ‘Cats suspected it all long and stayed in coverage. Fitz is really pumped up on the sideline. Let’s hope it carries over to the rest of the team.

End of third quarter: Northwestern 17 Minnesota 17

33: 3Q: Simmons gets his second interception of the game on a forced throw by Kafka. The ‘Cats faced a second and long after a failed reverse to Peterman. Kafka has played great all day but, as I said before, he can’t win game with his arm and they never should have called a play which asks him to do so. After the Gophers missed that field goal the interception really gets them off the hook.

3:02 3Q: The ‘Cats defense stands tall and stops the Gophers defense on first and goal. Then, Gophers kicker Joel Monroe misses a chip shit field goal. Minnesota just missed a great opportunity to take a lead handing into the fourth quarter. Much like Indiana last week, all NU wanted heading into this game was a chance to win in the fourth quarter and, barring a turnover, it appears they will get just that chance.

5:17 3Q: Ugh, on 3rd and 19 Minnesota converts on a Weber pass and is in the red zone. The receiver was wide open, something that just shouldn’t have happened on 3rd and 19.

6:30 3Q: A pass offense call against Northwestern’s David Oreduba gets the Gophers into NU territory. It was an iffy call but Oreduba was against Decker in single coverage and the refs were probably expecting a pass interference.

End of first half: Northwestern 17 Minnesota 17

:41 2Q: Well, it looks like we’ll enter the second half tied. Minnesota completes a long drive with a field goal to tie the game at 17. You have to give the ‘Cats credit for surviving the injuries so far and staying right with the Gophers on Homecoming. Especial credit needs to go to Kafka. Kafka responded to his interception with a great 53 yard run that completely changed the complexion of the game. The defense has also played well, limiting Eric Decker to just two catches and running back DeLeon Eskridge to nine rushing yards.

5:33 2Q: Holy shit, is that Mike Kafka or Michael Vick (minus the whole animal cruelty thing)? Kafka breaks like two tackles and sprints 53 yards down the sideline to set up a short touchdown pass to Josh Brooks. On the td pass, Kafka really made a great play fake to sell the run. The whole Gophers defense came in, leaving Brooks wide open. NU is back on top 17-14. More importantly, Minny was starting to take control of the game but now its the ‘Cats who have the momentum.

10:07 2Q: Huge momentum changer. Minnesota intercepts a Kafka pass and returns it to the end zone. It’s now 14-10 Gophers. Kafka really wound up and stared at the intended receiver, Ross Lane. The whole word knew who he was going to throw to and the Gophers corner Trey Simmons easily jumped in front of Lane to pick off the pass.

14:56 2Q: Gophers’ quarterback Adam Weber finds star receiver Eric Decker wide open in the end zone to cut the ‘Cats lead to 3 at 10-7. Decker is the Gophers’ best weapon and there’s no excuse for losing track of him, especially on a key third down play.

End of first quarter: Northwestern 10 Minnesota 0
The ‘Cats have dominated the play so far but the Gophers are in the red zone and threatening to score. NU really came out fired up to start the game and obviously felt they had something to prove after the loss last week to Indiana and the constant talk about how without Bacher and Sutton they were no match for Minnesota.

3:44 1Q: Another big run for Kafka gets NU into Gophers’ territory. Unfortunately, the Minnesota defense makes a couple of nice plays and NU is forced to punt. On the punt, the ‘Cats missed a chance to down the ball on the one and instead let the ball bounce into the end zone for a touchback.

6:55 1Q: NU adds a field goal and is now up 10-0. On third and long the ‘Cats decided to settle for the field goal and called a running play for Kafka instead of a risky long place. Good call. Kafka looks good but you still don’t want to force the young quarterback into winning the game by completing long, difficult passes.

11:44 1Q: On the kickoff return, Vince Browne gets caught on the unforgiving Metrodome astro turf and appears to be seriously injured. If he is as hurt as he appears, it would be a major loss for an NU defense that is already playing without starting linebacker Vince Browne.

11:49 1Q: After changing the play at the line of scrimmage, Mike Kafka hits Jeremy Ebert on third down and he sprints into the end zone to give Northwestern a 7-0 lead. Just like Peyton Manning! The pass completed what was an impressive early drive by Kafka. He made a nice pass to Peterman near the sideline and on the first play of the game bursts through a few tackles and ran for a first down.