Northwestern finished the year 9-3 and won back control of the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk Trophy on Saturday afternoon with a 27-10 victory over Illinois.
In the game, which all but ensures Northwestern will head either to the Outback or Alamo Bowl, NU took the lead early and never looked back. The ‘Cats drew first blood on a touchdown run by Stephen Simmons with 2:24 left in the first quarter. The score was set up by a twenty yard pass from senior CJ Bacher to fellow senior Eric Peterman. Villarreal missed the extra point but NU still lead 6-0.
Northwestern would continue its momentum with a touchdown pass from Bacher to Ross Lane in the second quarter to enlarge their lead to 13-0. On that touchdown pass, it looked multiple times that Bacher was about to be sacked but he was able to elude several Illini and found a wide-open Lane after Illinois’ defense had collapsed in an effort to get Bacher.
After the Lane touchdown, however, NU’s offense went stagnant and only managed a field goal for the rest of the second and then the third quarter. This allowed Illinois to continue to remain within striking distance. Illini running back Jason Ford scored in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter the Illini added a field goal to make the score 16-10.
What kept Illinois from ever overtaking NU, however, was the stellar play of the Wildcats’ defense. Illini quarterback Juice Williams did run for 94 yards but that came on 25 carries and he was sacked five times. Apart from Williams, the Illinois running game was completely shut down. Starting Illini running back Daniel Dufrene never got going, finishing with just nine yards. Northwestern also did a great job of containing star Illini product and Washington, DC native Arrelious Benn. Benn had just four receptions, none of which were longer than sixteen yards.
The defense may have prevented Illinois from ever seizing momentum but it was NU’s special teams which allowed the ‘Cats to finally put the game away. With just over eleven minutes left in the game, Northwestern safety returned a punt 45 yards and put the ‘Cats at the Illini twenty yard. A few plays later Bacher found Peterman in the right corner of the end zone for an eighteen yard touchdown pass. NU would then covert a two point conversion to take a two touchdown lead and effectively guarantee the victory.
On Senior Day, it was fitting that the touchdown that really secured the victory was on a Bacher-Peterman connection. Both of the two seniors finished their careers at Ryan Field with very productive days. Bacher would throw for 230 yards and two touchdowns while Peterman had eight receptions for over a hundred yards.
NU would add an insurance field goal with 2:44 to make the score 27-10 and after that NU fans happily chanted “9-3″ and “Let’s go Outback tonight” as they prepared to rush the field and celebrate one of the most successful seasons in recent Northwestern memory.