NU's Phillips has no problem selling Cats
When Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips worked for Northern Illinois, he piled up frequent-flier miles and overpowered cell-phone towers in order to secure at-large bowl berths for the Huskies in 2004 and 2006.
The bowl-finding game is different at Northwestern, but Phillips intends for his work ethic to remain the same.
Because the Big Ten has seven bowl tie-ins (eight if the league earns a second Bowl Championship Series berth), Phillips doesn't have go crazy finding the Wildcats a postseason destination.
But it's his mission to convince bowl officials that Northwestern (7-3) deserves the most prestigious bowl possible.
If the Wildcats split their final two games, starting with Saturday's trip to Michigan (11 a.m., ESPN2), they should be in play for everything from the Outback Bowl to the Motor City Bowl.
That's a five-bowl spectrum that's as wide as the difference between a New Year's Day appearance in balmy Tampa or a Dec. 26 date in frigid Detroit.
"I think you could build a case for why Northwestern would be a great selection for any bowl," Phillips said.
"As I look at our numbers, I'm really proud of how we traveled in our bowl appearances since '95. I think we've overdelivered. That's part of the message that I'm going to make sure is made at every turn."
The Big Ten-affiliated bowls have rules they must follow when selecting teams.
A bowl committee must select the team with the most overall wins still on the board - or a team with 1 fewer win.
That applies, in order, for the Capital One, Outback, Alamo and Champs Sports bowls.
But when it comes time for the Insight Bowl and Motor City Bowl committees to select, they're under no such restrictions.
For example, if the Big Ten had eight eligible teams and eight tie-ins, the Insight Bowl could pick a 6-6 team like Illinois or Wisconsin over an 8-4 Northwestern squad.
Phillips hopes no one will be tempted to overlook the Wildcats because they have the league's lightest home attendance.
"The bowl folks know Northwestern's going to travel well," Phillips said. "Our history shows it. We have a hungry fan base. We haven't been to a bowl since '05.
"I don't think our people take bowl appearances for granted. I hope we can build it to where we're going on an annual basis, but I think we have an awful lot to sell."
Matthews moves: Northwestern has shifted true freshman receiver Jeravin Matthews to running back to shore up the team's thinnest position.
Matthews, who has been a special-teams standout this fall, rushed for 1,104 career yards as a multiple-threat skill player for Canon-McMillan High School in Canonsburg, Pa.
Matthews will back up sophomore Stephen Simmons, who rushed for 34 yards in 14 carries Saturday against Ohio State.
Mathews' shift comes as No. 1 running back Tyrell Sutton walks around with a purple cast on his left wrist in hopes of returning for a bowl game.
Meanwhile, No. 2 running back Omar Conteh's college career ended after undergoing knee surgery Friday.