NU 21, Io_a 17: Wildcats Steal W, Secure 3rd-Straight Bowl Berth

WOW. That's about all I can say at this point. After showing little life in the second halves of recent games, I was grateful for the ending that Dan Persa and the 'Cat defense gave us to end the "home" season at Ryan Field. I tip my hat to all of the seniors, most of whom have made the journey for 4-5 years with Coach Fitz and have helped make this such a solid and exciting football team to watch every week (well, almost every week).

Unfortunately, as many of you know, Persa is officially out for the remainder of the season after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon on the go-ahead TD play. It was a spectacular way to go out, for sure, but we will certainly miss him for our last three(!) games in the season. For now, the offense rests on the rather large shoulders of backup QB Evan Watkins, whom I'm sure is salivating at this opportunity to make his first collegiate start at Wrigley Field. At least, that's how it is according to his Twitter feed.

Team	1Q	2Q	3Q	4Q	Final
IOWA	0	3	14	0	17
NU	7	0	0	14	21

My High-Fives and Scratches, coming up after the jump:

Northwestern Men's Basketball Non-Conference Preview

Today marks another important day in the annals of Northwestern Athletics. Today begins our run for our first-ever NCAA Tournament berth under the newly-"expanded" 68-team bracket. Those of you that have watched over recent years know that this team, under Coach Bill Carmody, has finally obtained the talent to make the Big Dance. Unfortunately, injuries and other issues (such as playing something that resembles defense) have prevented us from qualifying the last two years. Many of you might remember the lickings we took against Iowa and Penn State, the two teams that most likely cost us our tournament berth last year.

This year, however, we hope to change that trend. The team had an opportunity to travel and play European basketball (slightly different rules) overseas, and we all hope that that practice time will transfer to the hardwood for this season. We'll possibly get a glimpse of that as the season kicks off tonight on the road against Northern Illinois. For a preview on the team itself, check out Loretta8's post at fellow Northwestern blog Sippin' on Purple.

Northwestern's nonconference schedule this season is, well, soft. In a tough and very deep Big Ten, we are not doing ourselves any favors to the RPI by scheduling such easy games. A more detailed look after the jump:

Quick Hits: Review of PSU-NU Game, Looking Ahead

Some thoughts from the past week:

• First things first: Congratulations to JoePa for getting career victory #400. I hate the fact that it had to come against us, but it's a testament to both his longevity and his ability to put a quality team on the field, year-in and year-out. The Nittany Lions will really miss you when you decide to leave.

• In the abbreviated poll from last week on QB Evan Watkins' playing time, we saw a 50-50 split. Half of the voters believed he would get no playing time while the other half thought he would spell Dan Persa for a series or two. As it turned out, Watkins ended up warming the bench, although perhaps he could have contributed to warming up an ice-cold offense in the second half.

NU Week 10 Rooting Interests

Friends, it's the time of year when we start looking at bowl placements in the Big Ten conference. While our Wildcats still have a shot at winning a share of the Big Ten title, the odds are getting quite slim at this point and we're going to need some help in order to make the Rose Bowl. Judging from our record and remaining schedule, we're currently being placed in a low-tier bowl. Let's not settle for that, mmkay?

Big Ten blog Off-Tackle Empire has NU going to the Texas Bowl, which is fine and dandy, except they assume that Michigan will be stuck behind us (true, if we go 7-5 and Michigan goes 6-6) and that two Big Ten teams will make the BCS bowls (less likely).
ESPN's Mark Schlabach and Andrea Adelson both have us going to the Texas Bowl.
Fellow Northwestern blogger Hail to Purple has the 'Cats most likely to enter the Dallas Football Classic. The second most like destination is --once again-- the Texas Bowl.

From what I can tell, most of these projections assume a 7-5 record (more or less). We obviously have control over these last four games, but how can the other Big Ten teams help us this week? Let's take a closer look after the jump. We want...

The Momentum Game, Week 10: Bowl Watching Begins

Last week I conjectured about if Oregon would be upset at USC last weekend. As it turned out, that was far from being the case. I think Chip Kelly has really hit on something with his super-high-tempo offense that gets defenses completely winded by the 2nd quarter. With their schedule, I bet they win out and lock their position at the top of the BCS. Now, no slight to Auburn, but I just don't see them beating Alabama at the end of the year, which means someone will supplant them at #2. Toss-up among Alabama, Boise State and the winner of the TCU-Utah game this weekend -- pick one and you'll probably be right.

I've looked at the slate for this week's games, and I must say it's sad that the Northwestern-Penn State battle this weekend is the most interesting game in the Big Ten, BY FAR. I fully expect Michigan to drop yet another game (this time to Illinois) on the heels of their defense, currently being played by 11 replicas of Venus De Milo. But now I'm just wasting comment space that could  go into The Momentum Game. Silly me!

While fighting football indigestion, here are this week's participants in The Momentum Game:

Weekly Poll: Evan Watkins' Playing Time

While it's been openly said by Coach Fitz that Dan Persa will be starting on Saturday, I'm not one to take concussions lightly. Persa still needs to be cleared by doctors sometime tomorrow -- otherwise he will have to sit out the entire game and backup Evan Watkins will be the starter. My understanding is that first-team snaps have been split closer to 50/50 than most weeks, which begs the question:

How many series will Evan Watkins see this week?

As a reminder, a series is defined as a possession where the QB is able to take a snap. So if a possession ends in a turnover or touchdown by the defense or special teams, it's not a series.

As mentioned in my last post, I fully expect Persa to clear the doc's exam and start on Saturday. But will we really have him running the offense the entire game? My guess is... probably not. I foresee that Watkins will get at least a few snaps (and perhaps an extended drive) against Penn State on Saturday. Let me hear what you think at the poll on the upper-left side of the blog! Will Watkins play at all? Will he be allowed to throw the ball? Do you think he'll have a touchdown drive? Let me hear about it in the Comments section below!

'Cats Hobble to 6-2 and Bowl Eligibility, Persa Considered OK for Penn State

In a much more tightly contested game than expected, our Wildcats managed to eke out a close win and get away from Bloomington as fast as possible. We survived a scare early in the 4th quarter as QB Dan Persa was knocked out with an apparent head injury. On Monday it was deemed a concussion, but thankfully, he should be going full speed against Penn State and the Nittany Lions this upcoming Saturday. IMHO, I do think Evan Watkins will spell him for a couple of drives, just to be on the safe side.

Team	1Q	2Q	3Q	4Q	Final
NU	0	10	7	3	20
IND	3	7	0	7	17

Quick thoughts about the game after the jump: