Three seasons, three heartbreaking bowl game losses – enough to drive a coach, team, school and fan base to wonder why the sports gods would curse them in such a way.

And yet, something seemed different this time around, despite the similar point differentials.

Unlike in the Alamo Bowl two years ago, Northwestern didn’t exactly burst out of the gates on Saturday, trailing 31-9 at one point in the third quarter. And unlike in the Outback Bowl last season, the Wildcats didn’t have a quarterback who lit up the stat sheet and carried the game entirely on his shoulders.

But most importantly, unlike in both of those games, NU never had much of a chance to take the TicketCity crown. The Cats brought it to within seven points two separate times in the fourth quarter, but never had a real opportunity to tie it up (unless you like the odds of scoring with 25 seconds left, no timeouts and a shaky pass attack).

“Obviously, we’re bitterly disappointed that we didn’t find a way to win,” coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “I’m proud of our young men’s fight, but there’s no moral victories in our program.”

For all the what-ifs about junior quarterback Dan Persa’s season-ending injury, NU’s defense played as if it missed the junior quarterback more than its offensive brethren did. The Cats gave up 163 points total in their final three games, compared to 214 in their first ten games of the season.

Compare that with NU’s offense, which averaged nearly 30 points in NU’s last three games despite the quarterback concerns, including a season-high 38 points against the Red Raiders to go along with 229 yards rushing, also a season-high.

Texas Tech quarterback Taylor Potts hardly broke a sweat as he picked apart the secondary to the tune of 43-of-56 passing for 369 yards and four touchdowns. In fact, the Cats haven’t sacked an opposing quarterback since their 21-17 win against Iowa on Nov. 13.

“I didn’t get touched one time today, so it was kind of easy,” Potts said after the game.

Before this season, the defensive front seven seemed the lone sure-thing with question marks pretty much everywhere else. After Saturday, it’s the unit that has the most to prove heading into 2011.

After the game, Fitzgerald seemed ready to turn the page, as is typically emphasized after each loss. In his trademark controlled manner, Fitzgerald showed as much emotion as he did all season at the press table, issuing a challenge to a junior class that includes Persa, wide receiver Jeremy Ebert, cornerback Jordan Mabin and safety Brian Peters.

“If we want to win championships and we want to win these kinds of football games, that class has got to step up,” he said. “They got to start making more plays, they got to start leading. … It’s their senior year, and it’s time now.”

With so many players returning, it’s not unreasonable to expect next year’s team to be the best yet under Fitzgerald. And it’s a safe bet his words will echo in the ears of Persa and company for the next nine months as they prepare for the 2011 campaign.

But NU fans are left wondering when they’ll be able to stop adding up the years of agony like fans of some other Chicago team.

Sports columnist Andrew Scoggin is a Medill senior. He can be reached at [email protected].