The last time Northwestern won a bowl game, Harry Truman was president of the United States. That’s about all you need to know. It has clearly been a while, but the Wildcats can turn that eight-game losing streak into a one-game winning streak with a victory this Saturday against Texas A&M in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas. Here are 10 things you should know about this week’s game, starting with a couple points about the bowl itself:
1. Clarifying what bowl, exactly, we’re playing in: Have you heard of the Belk Bowl? I haven’t either. The Belk Bowl was formerly known as the Meineke Car Care Bowl, but the sponsorship changed for this year’s edition of the game. But Meineke Car Care was not about to be pushed out of the college bowl season. Meineke responded by swooping up the sponsor rights to the Texas Bowl, which is now called the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas.
2. Meineke Car Care is one of many odd bowl sponsors: You may be surprised to find out that Meineke Car Care isn’t actually the strangest bowl sponsor. A few of my personal favorites: GoDaddy.com, Kraft Fight Hunger, Famous Idaho Potato and Little Caesars Pizza. Oh, and the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl. Just screams tradition, doesn’t it?
3. Northwestern has not won a bowl game since the 1948 season: Just like the fact that Northwestern has never made the NCAA Tournament in basketball, it’s worth noting that the ‘Cats have only won one bowl game ever. The only reason they appeared in that game was because of a rule that a team could not appear in back-to-back years. The rule prohibited Michigan, which had won the ’48 Rose Bowl, from appearing in the game.
4. Texas A&M has been a big disappointment: It’s hard to believe, but Texas A&M has been an even bigger disappointment than Northwestern this season. The Aggies were ranked eighth in the preseason AP poll and ninth in the preseason USA Today poll. They finished the year unranked. How did it unravel for A&M? Two close losses to Arkansas and Oklahoma State – both of which were national title contenders at the end of the season – in consecutive weeks sent the Aggies to 2-2. They finished the year 6-6 after losing four of their last five games. Their struggles can be chalked up to a terrible defense, which is allowing 28.7 points per game this year.
5. The Aggies are playing their last Big 12 Game: Following a messy dispute with the Big 12, Texas A&M is set to depart the conference for the SEC starting in 2012. Considering the Aggies struggled against Big 12 opponents this year, it could get ugly for them next year when they'll be playing in the nation’s best college football conference.
6. Texas A&M doesn’t really have a coach: The Aggies fired Mike Sherman following their disappointing season, and they will be coached by an interim coach, Tony Levine, for the bowl game. Kevin Sumlin, former University of Houston coach, will take the Aggies job next season. Good luck in the SEC!
7. This is Northwestern’s fourth straight bowl appearance: Appearing in four consecutive bowl games is quite an admirable achievement for Northwestern’s seniors. As this is Northwestern’s tenth bowl game appearance all-time, the Wildcat seniors have experienced 40 percent of Northwestern bowl appearances. Obviously, this is both a testament to the seniors and a reflection of Northwestern’s struggles in the past. The fact that the ‘Cats have now appeared in four straight bowl games – a school record – is impressive, but it’s worth mentioning that the college football postseason has greatly expanded in the last decade.
8. It’s not exactly a neutral site: Bowl games are supposed to be played at neutral sites. Sure, the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas is technically a neutral site game – if you don't count the fact that Texas A&M is an 100-mile drive to Reliant Stadium in Houston, while the distance between Northwestern and Reliant is over 1,100 miles. Northwestern played in the TicketCity Bowl in Dallas last year against Texas Tech, meaning that this is the second straight year the ‘Cats have played against a Texas opponent in Texas.
9. The impressive MVPs of the Texas Bowl: In the five game history of the Meineke Car Care Bowl, several of the Most Valuable Player recipients have gone on to success in the NFL. Rutgers running back Ray Rice was named MVP in 2006, and has emerged as one of pro football’s best running backs for the Baltimore Ravens. Quarterback Andy Dalton of TCU was the MVP in 2007, and now has the Cincinnati Bengals in position to make the postseason after a stellar rookie season. Illinois running back Mikel Leshoure, the 2010 MVP, was drafted by the Detroit Lions this past April but has been recovering from an injury since preseason. He was expected to become a major piece of the Lions running game, and still could do so. But Rice and Dalton have been very successful so far. Dan Persa and Jeremy Ebert, take notice.
10. North By Northwestern will be live blogging the game: This is obviously the most important point of this list. Check back on Dec. 31 at 11 a.m. CT for all the Wildcat-related banter you could ask for.
This article has been changed to reflect the fact that Northwestern has participated in more than one Rose Bowl. In 1996, Northwestern lost to University of Southern California 41-32. Thanks to commenter football fan for pointing the error.