It's official: Northwestern clinches bowl trip with 21-16 win over Illinois

CHAMPAIGN - In the end, Northwestern clinched a bowl trip somewhere warm and Illinois ensured it stays home for the holidays.

Meanwhile, Illini coach Ron Zook and some of his players and most of the 60,523 fans at Memorial Stadium wished the Big Ten officiating crew could take a trip somewhere warm.

Really warm.

Senior cornerback Sherrick McManis' controversial interception with 32 seconds left - he took the ball off receiver Jarred Fayson's chest after what appeared to be a first-down catch at Illinois' 35 - ended the Illini's fourth-quarter rally and preserved Northwestern's 21-16 triumph on Saturday.

When the replay official in the press box confirmed the call on the field, the crowd expressed its disapproval with chanted epithets while several offensive players screamed at the officials while trailing off the field.

Then, after quarterback Mike Kafka took a knee to wrap up the Wildcats' seventh win, Zook jogged through his postgame handshake with NU coach Pat Fitzgerald in order to get a running start after referee Dan Capron.

Zook, who disagreed vehemently with several calls during the game, chased Capron for perhaps 20 yards screaming, "Hey! Hey!"

But Capron, on the hop to the officials quarters in the northwest corner of the stadium, never turned around. Zook stopped and headed toward Illinois' locker room.

By the time he met with the media - right about the time Fitzgerald and 18 seniors jogged back to the corner of the field to pose with the Land of Lincoln Trophy - Zook decided to bite his tongue.

"I'm not going to say anything," Zook said. "It's just like I told our football team, 'There's no reason to point fingers.' There's no reason we should have been in that situation.

"Everybody has bad games. Players have bad games. Coaches have bad games. Officials have bad games."

Northwestern (7-4, 4-3) had a bad game until shortly before the end of the first half.

"You could kind of just sense it out there," said senior defensive end Corey Wootton. "We didn't have the same energy that we had last week."

Trailing 3-0, the flat Wildcats failed to convert a fourth-and-1 at Illinois' 43 with 1:07 to go in the half. But on the next snap, redshirt freshman quarterback Jacob Charest fired his first career interception to middle linebacker Nate Williams.

"Pretty clutch little play there," Williams said with a smile. "I sunk back and got some depth, saw the pivot route underneath me and read the quarterback's eyes."

Kafka moved NU 60 yards for a touchdown with 17 seconds to spare before the half. He hit Zeke Markshausen on a deep down-and-out that beat Travon Bellamy for a 28-yard score.

From there, the Wildcats drove 99.5 yards for a third-quarter score and then went 80 yards to go up 21-3 with 13:30 left.

That's when Illinois, which went to backup quarterback Eddie McGee with no success in the third quarter, reverted to Charest and reached the end zone.

Charest ran 10 yards for a score, then hit Chris Duvalt on a 32-yard fly down the left sideline to pull the Illini (3-7, 2-6) within 21-16 with 4:06 left.

Illinois regained possession on its own 21 with 1:14 to go, but without any timeouts.

The game's defining play came just four snaps later. On fourth-and-1, Charest threw a quick out to Fayson. He laid out for the ball and appeared to catch it for a first down as he rolled on his back. At the same time, McManis dove on him and grabbed the ball. Most in the stadium reacted in disbelief when line judge Jeff Szink signaled that McManis had the pick.

Here was Capron's official take after the game:

"What the line judge saw was (Fayson) attempt to catch the pass, but he never completed possession of the ball. He was on his back in the field of play and the ball was basically on his chest. The receiver did not firmly grab and possess the ball.

"Before he had an opportunity to do so, (McManis) came up and did possess the ball and that's why it was ruled an interception on the field - then (replay official) Tom Quinn determined that there was not indisputable video evidence available to overturn the call on the field."

McManis, a Peoria native who didn't receive a look from the Illini, usually takes the high road at every opportunity. But he allowed himself a brief moment to enjoy his role in NU's sixth win over Illinois in the last seven years.

"It's another victory at this time for the team," McManis said. "Deep down, you know, I really like that we beat this team."