CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Following Northwestern’s 38-21 win at Illinois on Saturday, the Wildcats turned their attention to bowling.
The Cats (7-4, 5-3 Big Ten) have three likely December destinations: the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, the Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tenn., or the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio. Also possible is the Motor City Bowl in Detroit.
“It’s a great thing to be able to go to a bowl,” NU coach Randy Walker said. “There is no such thing as a bad bowl. I made a statement two years ago when we went to the Motor City Bowl: I could go there eight years in a row. It’s just great to be in a bowl. It makes a statement about your program.”
After the BCS selects its bowl teams, each bowl with a Big Ten affiliation chooses based on a selection order. The Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Fla., chooses second, followed by the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla., the Alamo Bowl, the Sun Bowl, the Music City Bowl and the Motor City Bowl.
Each bowl may select any Big Ten team unless it has two fewer wins than another eligible team. NU finished tied for third in the Big Ten, meaning it could be selected to go to any of the Big Ten’s six non-BCS bowls.
Penn State (10-1, 7-1) won the conference on a tiebreaker with Ohio State (9-2, 7-1) and holds the conference’s automatic bid to a BCS bowl. Ohio State could earn one of two BCS at-large bids, moving all bowl-eligible conference teams up one slot in the selection process.
The Sun Bowl, on Dec. 30, pits the No. 5 Big Ten selection against the No. 3 team in the Pac-10, most likely UCLA (9-1, 6-1 Pac-10) or California (7-4, 4-4). The Music City Bowl, also on Dec. 30, features the No. 6 Big Ten pick against an SEC team.
NU will know its bowl no later than Dec. 4.
Several NU players said they had little preference as to where they want to go.
“Somewhere warm, probably,” freshman running back Tyrell Sutton said. “It doesn’t really matter where. We’re in a bowl game and that’s the best thing.”
Added senior defensive tackle Barry Cofield: “It’ll be nice to go somewhere other than Detroit, since we’ve been there already. But besides that I’m just happy to have another opportunity to go out and play with these guys. I’m real proud of the younger guys and I enjoy being with them, so that’s what this bowl experience is all about.”
Walker said another reason he’ll be happy to go to a bowl is the extra month of practice it allows NU. This, Walker said, will give him a chance to focus on many “neglected” young players.
Holdovers from last year’s squad also said becoming bowl-eligible erases the sting of last season. NU lost 49-41 at Hawaii on the last game of the season, erasing its bowl hopes.
“We kind of let one go (last year),” senior quarterback Brett Basanez said. “So it’s that much sweeter.
“We’ll be happy to play wherever we play. They can stick us in Juneau (Alaska). We’ll play wherever it takes.”
Reach Patrick Dorsey at [email protected].
