Last night did not go their way as the Northwestern football program lost at Illinois, to finish the season 6-6. The Illini defense came up with four takeaways on the night, on NU quarterback Preston Stone had yet another poor performance. Overshadowing the result however, was the weather, as more than a foot of snow fell on Memorial Stadium in Champaign, a new record for the venue.
However, Northwestern is still going bowling, having notched their first win ever at Wrigley Field, in what will also be their final game at the venue, the previous weekend.
(For the Illini Bowl Game Projections go here)
The 38-35 decision over the Minnesota Golden Gophers at the Friendly Confines secured bowl eligibility, meaning it’s now two bowl games in the first three seasons of the David Braun era. Having gone 4-8 last season, getting to win #6 was extra special.
“Securing a bowl game, you can’t understate that,” Braun said in his postgame press conference after Minnesota. “We get to spend the month of December together…It’s rewarding, it’s emotional for a lot of people.”
“It’s really special to see guys put so much into something and be rewarded today with an opportunity to get to do this a lot longer.”
Stone had a great take on extending his season another month:
“If I had it my way, I would keep playing with these guys for the rest of my life.”
So where is this Northwestern football team headed for the holidays?
Let’s take a look at the latest projections. Both ESPN and USAT have not updated yet, as of Sunday morning. When they do finally update, we’ll include those predictions here.
Northwestern Football Bowl Projections
Rate (Phoenix):
One of the ESPN projections (one guy has them playing Cincinnati), College Football News (vs Kansas State), Athlon (vs TCU), CBS Sports (vs Cincinnati), PFSN (vs Cincy)
Detroit:
USA Today (vs Western Michigan)
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN.