Bowl hopes sacked

CHAMPAIGN -- It became clear very early in Saturday's game that Northwestern had blown its bowl chances long before boarding the bus for Memorial Stadium.

The Wildcats looked overmatched from the start and fell victim to many of their standard shortcomings (turnovers, poor tackling, blown coverages) as well as a new one (penalties).

As Illinois pulled away for a 41-22 victory, leading by 14 points or more for the final 55:38, NU was left to stew on the sideline.

Despite being bowl eligible at 6-6, NU's chances of reaching the postseason are slimmer than slim. The prevailing sentiment from coach Pat Fitzgerald and his players after the game was that their season had ended.

NU improved its record by 2 wins, but few labeled 2007 a success.

"We definitely didn't think we'd go 6-6," said junior running back Tyrell Sutton, who missed five games with an ankle/foot injury. "I'm really (ticked). To be bowl eligible and not go anywhere, there's only one emotion going.

"This really shouldn't have happened."

Saturday's game will surely stick with the Wildcats, but a blowout loss to a superior Illini team likely won't torture NU as much as several letdowns earlier in the season.

The biggest buzz kill came Sept. 15, when NU inexplicably fell to a Duke team that hadn't won in 23 games. NU also squandered fourth-quarter leads against Michigan, Purdue and Iowa.

"Pretty mediocre," wide receiver Eric Peterman labeled the season. "We definitely were expecting a bowl. We kicked ourselves in the butt a lot."

Most of the Wildcats' what-ifs took place weeks ago, but the Illinois game encapsulated their seasonlong inconsistencies. The Big Ten's top passing offense produced 310 yards as junior quarterback C.J. Bacher broke the single-season school passing record.

But the Wildcats again couldn't convert yards into points, managing only a touchdown in the first 42:50. Bacher threw an interception on the game's opening possession and tossed another at the end of the first half. He finished the season with as many touchdown passes (19) as interceptions.

"You've got to respect the ball," Fitzgerald said. "We practice a lot of different ways to make sure that we don't give the ball away. We're going to have to take a look and analyze those."

Perhaps more disturbing for Fitzgerald, a two-time National Defensive Player of the Year, were the flood of missed tackles by his defenders. The Wildcats rarely brought down Juice Williams or Rashard Mendhenhall on the first hit, allowing the dynamic Illini ballcarriers to eat up yards (268) and clock (38:30).

Illinois had five touchdown drives of longer than 70 yards and two longer than 90 yards.

"We were in position," cornerback Sherrick McManis said. "We just need to become great tacklers, not just good tacklers."

Northwestern also committed 9 penalties, well above its 4.55 average.

Fitzgerald listed tackling, run stopping and discipline as his top areas of concern on defense entering the off-season. Despite the flimsy finish, the 32-year-old coach and his players see hope.

"We found our identity this year," Sutton said. "We went from a team that had no chemistry whatsoever last year to guys playing like we've been playing together for five years.

"But you can't wait until the last second to try and turn it on. You've got to go at it from the start."