At the end of Wednesday’s practice, the Northwestern football team huddled and summed up its goals for the rest of the season — concisely.
“Sweet Sioux.”
The Wildcats (3-8, 1-6 Big Ten) face Illinois (4-7, 3-4) Saturday in a battle for state bragging rights and the traditional series trophy, the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk.
The Fighting Illini are coming off a heartbreaking 23-16 overtime loss to No. 2 Ohio State last Saturday. Wins against the Buckeyes and NU would have given Illinois a shot at a bowl game.
The Cats, on the other hand, have been bowl-ineligible since losing to Purdue on Oct. 26. They are coming off a bye week following a 62-10 loss to Iowa on Nov. 9.
“I think the open week was a positive because 11 consecutive weeks take their toll,” NU coach Randy Walker said. “It helped us heal up. I think we’ve got some fresh legs.”
Sophomore safety Dominique Price is among those Walker is happy to have healthier this week. Price suffered an ankle injury against Penn State on Oct. 19 and has not played significant minutes since.
“He looks good to me,” Walker said of Price. “I didn’t say that a couple weeks ago — ankles don’t go away easily, and his was a pretty serious ankle injury. But he isn’t far from full speed. I think we’re going to play him a lot.”
Walker certainly hopes so, as the Cats’ defense will need all the help it can get in the secondary against a well-balanced Illini offense with an excellent receiving corps.
Junior quarterback Jon Beutjer leads the Big Ten in passing with nearly 223 yards per game. He is second in total offense.
He is held up by Brandon Lloyd, a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, who leads the receivers with 59 catches this season. But wideouts Walter Young and Greg Lewis are also threats on the outside, combining for 85 receptions.
“Brandon’s been a big-time player for us,” Illinois coach Ron Turner said. “He’s been a guy that changes how defenses play you — they’re not going to have eight or nine guys in the box. But Brandon’s not alone, we’ve got a couple other guys out there giving us plays, too.”
Tailback Antoineo Harris carries most of the running responsibilities for the Illini. NU’s last-in-the-nation rushing defense will have its hands full with Harris, a physical back who has gained 1,152 yards rushing this season.
“They do a great job with everything,” NU coach Randy Walker said of the Illini attack. “They keep you off balance and run it when you think they’re going to throw it and throw it when you think they’re going to run it. They really do a good job with being what everybody says they want to be — 50-50.”
Inches to go: Illlinois has a 30-23-2 edge in the series since the Sweet Sioux tradition began. … The Tomahawk was created in 1945 by the student newspapers at NU and Illinois. … NU will start all its seniors in their final game except injured defensive end Ben Kennedy.
