What's next for Illini?

Illinois will learn Tuesday if it remains in contention for a berth in one of the five Bowl Championship Series games.

If the Illini are released from BCS consideration, then they'll be a prime target for the top two Big Ten-affiliated bowls: Capital One and Outback.

Both bowls sent two representatives to Saturday's game. Capital One reps Pat Connors and Chris Kearney said if all Big Ten teams are released Tuesday, they could hold their vote within 24 hours.

All non-BCS teams with 8 and 9 wins will be on the Capital One and Outback ballots, which means Illinois (9-3) would compete with Wisconsin (9-3), Penn State (8-4) and Michigan (8-4) to play on New Year's Day in Florida.

"There's some compelling things about Illinois," Kearney said. "They've not played in a bowl since 2001, they haven't played in our game since 1990 when they set an attendance record at the time.

"But they brought a lot of fans. They brought a lot to the Sugar Bowl in 2001 -- over 30,000. All of the secondary criteria seem to be in Illinois' favor."

Connors and Kearney met with Illinois athletic director Ron Guenther before Saturday's game and with coach Ron Zook after the game. So did the Outback and Alamo bowl representatives.

Muted milestone: Northwestern junior quarterback C.J. Bacher set the single-season school passing record Saturday, throwing for 310 yards against Illinois to finish with 3,656. Bacher leapfrogged his predecessor Brett Basanez, who passed for 3,622 yards in 2005.

The record was bittersweet for Bacher, who has thrown for 200 yards or more in 16 of his 17 career starts but has also thrown 2 or more interceptions in 11 starts.

"It doesn't really mean much to me," he said of the record. "We're just really upset and disappointed that we lost this game."

Asked to grade his performance this season, Bacher deferred to his coaches.

So, Pat Fitzgerald?

"I'm proud of the way that he grew," Fitzgerald said. "It's now time for him to take the next step in his career. I saw a lot of growth in Brett Basanez at this point, and I saw the same thing in C.J."

Injury update: Illinois sophomore cornerback Vontae Davis didn't dress after suffering a concussion last week against Ohio State.

Fullback Russ Weil (knee) did not play, while freshman receiver Arrelious Benn left early in the third quarter after suffering recurring symptoms from last week's concussion.

Northwestern backup running back Omar Conteh didn't receive any carries despite being cleared to play. Conteh, who missed the last two games with a sprained ankle, had 1 tackle on special teams and didn't appear limited.

"We were going to have him as a 1-2 punch with Tyrell (Sutton)," said NU coach Pat Fitzgerald. "Then as the game went along, it was Brandon Roberson's last game possibly. We gave him some opportunities to get some touches."

Wildcats safety Brad Phillips and defensive end David Ngene left the game with concussions.

Inches to go: Pat Fitzgerald said Northwestern will continue to practice until it receives official confirmation on its postseason fate. … Wildcats senior linebacker Adam Kadela had a career-high 17 tackles Saturday, topping the team's tackles chart for the seventh time this year. Kadela finished the season with 125 tackles. … While Illinois' players have this week off, the coaching staff heads out on the recruiting road today as they have two evaluation days left. They'll also play host to next weekend's IHSA state championship games.