Illinois all but assured of a Jan. 1 bowl game

CHAMPAIGN -- Neither Northwestern nor Illinois plays again until next year.

But while the Wildcats must wait until Aug. 30, when they'll host Syracuse in the 2008 season opener, the Illini all but assured themselves a New Year's Day bowl berth with a 41-22 whipping of NU in Saturday's regular-season finale at Memorial Stadium.

Juice Williams and Rashard Mendenhall combined for 260 yards and 4 touchdowns on the ground as Illinois sprinted out to leads of 21-0 and 35-7 to claim the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk trophy for the first time since 2002.

Illinois (9-3, 6-2), which completed the third-best one-year turnaround in Big Ten history, shared second place in the league with Michigan and earned the ninth win necessary to be eligible for a BCS bowl.

But even if the Illini do not get a BCS bid when those five multimillion-dollar matchups are unveiled Dec. 2, sources indicated it would be "highly unlikely" for Illinois to slip past the Capital One and Outback bowls on Jan. 1.

Not bad for a program that went 8-38 overall and 2-30 in Big Ten games during the previous four years combined.

"These guys are going to have to learn that New Year's Eve, they don't get to go out," Illinois coach Ron Zook said with a smile. "But that's a good thing. That's a good thing. Hopefully it works out that way."

"That's all right," senior linebacker J Leman said. "I'm not a big partier anyway. I think we'll all sacrifice that night for a big game."

Leman and the rest of Illinois' 22-man senior class saved their partying for their final spin around Memorial Stadium.

Leman and senior safety Justin Harrison shared the team lead with 10 tackles, while senior outside linebacker Antonio Steele posted 9 stops and an interception.

But it was senior safety Kevin Mitchell who triggered the Illinois onslaught. On the game's opening possession, he picked off C.J. Bacher's overthrow for his fifth interception of the year.

Williams, who produced a career-high 356 total yards, ripped off back-to-back 11-yard runs to ignite a 71-yard drive that concluded with Mendenhall's 3-yard jog into the end zone.

After a Northwestern punt, Williams clicked with Jeff Cumberland on a 48-yard bomb that set up his own 1-yard touchdown sneak for a 14-0 lead.

Then, midway through the second quarter, Williams and Mendenhall combined for 12 carries on a 16-play, 97-yard drive that made it 21-0.

Williams capped it with a 1-yard play-action rollout where he could have danced into the corner of the end zone with ease but chose to cut upfield and blast free safety Brad Phillips on his butt as he crossed the goal line.

Phillips, along with defensive end David Ngene, left the game shortly thereafter with concussions.

It was that kind of afternoon for Northwestern (6-6, 3-5), which needed to win in order to receive a bowl bid.

"It's go hard or go home," said junior running back Tyrell Sutton. "It's all or nothing. And I guess we chose nothing."

Williams, meanwhile, continued to be all-everything. He ran for a season-high 136 yards and 2 scores while throwing for a season-high 220 yards, including a 42-yarder to Cumberland that he snagged with one hand.

"They committed to stop Rashard Mendenhall in the first half," said Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley. "I think much like what happened in the Ohio State game, when you commit that many guys to stopping the run, you sell out to stop the run and it creates some opportunities on the back end."

Yet Illinois feared Northwestern's comeback ability enough to keep its regulars on the field until the waning minutes.

But with the game officially out of reach with 3:05 to go, Zook sent in senior walk-on quarterback Mark Venegoni for some snaps and senior walk-on Justin Ijei received 3 carries.

At game's end, several Illinois seniors climbed on top the team benches on the stadium's east side and saluted the fans while drinking in their applause.

And Leman, the last Illini player off the field, didn't try to stop the tears pouring from his eyes as he took one final look around his hometown stadium.

"I just know how good these fans and this program have been to me," he said. "The stuff we've been through has been tough. But walking off the field at 9-3 was all worth it."