Plenty at stake for Northwestern, Illinois

With only six previous bowl appearances in school history, Northwestern's Wildcats aren't picky about where or when they might play after this season ends.

But with a bowl appearance already assured, the Wildcats would love to earn a date on New Year's Day.

And to at least have a chance to play Jan. 1, they'll have to beat Illinois on Saturday and wait to see where several other Big Ten teams land in bowls.

The Illini (5-6, 3-4), who nearly 11 months ago were in the Rose Bowl, will be trying to put themselves in position for any postseason game - something that is not guaranteed, even if they win the game at Ryan Field.

"Any bowl in my eyes is a good bowl, especially being my senior year," Illini linebacker Brit Miller said. "Going to any bowl is exactly what you shoot for at the beginning of the year. We're in a position to do that. Unfortunately we're in a position to depend on some other teams."

Also on the line today: The winner gets to take home the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk for the last time, as the tradition that began in 1945 comes to an end.

Northwestern's last Jan. 1 bowl appearance came in 1997 at the Citrus Bowl when Wildcats' coach Pat Fitzgerald was finishing up his stellar linebacking career, one that has landed him an election to the college football Hall of Fame.

One year after losing in the Rose Bowl to Southern Cal, the Wildcats didn't win the Citrus either, falling to Peyton Manning and the Tennessee Volunteers. They've been back to bowls three times since, losing in the 2000 Alamo Bowl, 2003 Motor City Bowl and the 2005 Sun Bowl.

Now they're wrapping up a strong season in Fitzgerald's third as coach. And with bowl eligibility already sealed, a trip to say the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1 in would be the ultimate reward.

"We've put ourselves in position to have this game be very significant. That's all you can really ask for, to have your last game be very significant and that's where we are right now," Fitzgerald said.

The Wildcats (8-3, 4-3) rebounded from a lopsided 45-10 loss to Ohio State to beat Michigan at Ann Arbor last week.

C.J. Bacher, who has completed 59 percent of his passes with 12 TDs and 13 interceptions, returned against Michigan after missing two games with a hamstring injury. And his backup Mike Kafka, who got a concussion last week against the Wolverines, should also be ready. While filling in for Bacher, Kafka was a big running threat in the Wildcats' spread offense.

Illinois leads the Big Ten with 32 sacks and the Illini rushed for 214 yards in last week's 30-20 loss to Ohio State. Quarterback Juice Williams, who leads the conference in passing and total offense, has thrown for 2,961 yards and also has 625 yards rushing. He has 22 TD passes but also 15 picks.

The Illini's Arrelious Benn leads the Big Ten in receiving yardage with 92 yards per game, so Northwestern's defense will have a tough assignment today at Ryan Field.

So Northwestern has a difficult assignment and can't afford to be looking ahead. The school has won just one bowl game in its history, beating California 20-14 in the 1949 Rose Bowl.

"We're all just excited to be able to go to a bowl game. We're excited to try and win a bowl game," Northwestern guard Keegan Kennedy said. "It's been a while. ... But I don't want to get ahead of ourselves."