Illini 38, Northwestern 35: The Land of Lincoln Trophy Stays Where it Belongs

My wife is a Northwestern alum, so I'll have to watch what I say in this post and not put the Wildcats down too much.  If I'm not careful, I might end up sleeping in the garage.  Just kidding - my wife would never do that to me.  The garage has a roof - she'd make me sleep in the driveway.

But seriously, enough about me - how about those Illini!  You might say three is the magic number, as for the third week in a row, the Illini pulled out a three-point victory.   On Saturday, two dramatic comebacks in the second half helped the Illini beat Northwestern 38-35.  Nathan Scheelhaase led the Orange and Blue on a last-minute, 70 yard touchdown drive which allowed the Land of Lincoln Trophy (left) to stay in Champaign with Chicago's Real Big Ten team.  More importantly, the Illini are off to their first 5-0 start since...actually, it's just as long as it's been since their last 4-0 start (i.e. - since 1951).  Here's a look at some key numbers from Saturday's game.

Illinois vs. Northwestern Preview: This Time, We're Using Both End Zones!

When Illinois and Northwestern renew their rivalry for the 104th time on Saturday, a lot of things will be different compared to their last meeting.  For starters, this will be the first time since 1998 that the game doesn't fall on the final week of the Big Ten schedule, and with its 11:00 a.m. kickoff, this will be the first ever interdivisional Big Ten game under the new Legends/Leaders format.  As for the game itself, unlike at last year's matchup at Wrigley Field, the teams will be able to run plays in both directions.  But perhaps the biggest difference is that  Northwestern will have its quasi-Heisman Trophy candidate, Dan Persa, starting at quarterback on Saturday.  Will the Illini be able to repeat last year's 48-27 pounding of the Wildcats?  Or will the mere sight of Persa descending from the heavens in his golden chariot inspire the 'cats to a payback win?

Illini, Northwestern Play Close Game - Guess Who Won

No, it's not a surprise. Despite Northwestern's best efforts to give the game away in the final minute, Illinois came close but (naturally) still departed from Welsh-Ryan Arena with a loss. Left unanswered is whether a season split allows the NUrds to still claim the title of "Chicago's Big Ten Basketball Team". Of course, since we lost to UIC too, I don't think it's us.

The good news - unlike with the losses at PSU and IU, I was spared the spectacle of NUrds fans storming the court.

The bad news - no, wait, that is the bad news. The fact that they didn't storm the court leads me to believe that they expected their team to win. How sad is it that our program has descended to the point where Northwestern fans think it's not a big deal to beat us.

The worst news - this was probably our last chance at a road win, which means we'll finish (at best) 9-9 in conference play and, for the fourth time in five years, will need to win at least one Big Ten Tournament game to get into the NCAA tournament. But at least we won't have to worry about any more court-stormings!

Bruce Weber - making Selection Sunday nerve-wracking since 2007.

We're Number One (in the State)!

First Southern Illinois, then Northern Illinois, and now the NUrds ("Chicago's Big Ten Team", my a$$). If nothing else, the Illini can lay claim to being the best team in the state of Illinois this year, and as a result we truly deserve the Land of Lincoln Trophy. Just don't let Zook get another contract extension based on it.

And after two losing seasons, it's going to feel good to do this again...