New Year’s is always an exciting time. We reminisce about the conquests and failures of the past year while looking ahead optimistically to the prospects the next 365 days may bring.

It is a time of reflection. What went wrong? What went right? What totally came out of left field to catch everybody by surprise?

It is a time of forecasting. How can we improve? What changes do we have to make to maximize our potential for the coming year?

So, without further ado, here is the breakdown – and a preview – of what Northwestern Wildcats fans have to look forward to following the conclusion of the 2010-11 college football season.

THE GOOD: All in all, the Wildcats put together another solid season, continuing a run of success that has included bowl eligibility in six of their last eight years. They started 7-3 with a top-15 win to their credit, led by a First Team All-Big Ten performer in quarterback Dan Persa.

THE BAD: Despite the early success, Persa’s injury keyed a late-season skid that started with embarrassing losses in the final two regular season games and ended with a 45-38 defeat in the TicketCity Bowl to Texas Tech.

THE UGLY: Northwestern is getting to bowl games. They’re just not winning them. The school’s lone bowl victory was a 20-14 triumph over Cal in the 1949 Rose Bowl. Since, they have lost eight consecutive post-season games. All have come since 1996 and six have come this century. Two of the last three years have featured bowl games with overtime losses while each of the last three have come down to one-possession games.

WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT THE 2010 WILDCATS: While the hot start left reason for optimism, the Wildcats’ weaknesses were their reliance on Persa and an under-performing defense. Without Persa running the show, the offense sputtered in the hands of his freshman replacements. Despite staunch play early in the season, the defense ultimately imploded by season’s end when it allowed 848 rushing yards and 118 points in the final two regular season games.

WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT THE 2011 WILDCATS: The future is definitely bright in Evanston. Persa’s injury-shortened season was stellar (3,100 total yards, 24 total touchdowns), and motivation won’t be an issue when he returns for his senior campaign next fall. He’ll have his top target coming back in Jeremy Ebert (62 catches, 953 yards, 8 touchdowns), a fellow senior that was also named to a First Team All-Big Ten squad. The fantastic 2010 freshman class should provide quite an impact with the likes of Mike Trumpy and Adonis Smith in the backfield, Venric Mark on both offense and special teams, and some sort of involvement for the dynamic Kain Colter – perhaps wideout – after his impressive showing during the TicketCity Bowl. Despite the positive outlook for the offense, the defense will take a hit with the loss of four senior starters (DT Corbin Bryant, LB Quentin Davie, LB Nate Williams, CB Justan Vaughn). Kicker Stefan Demos is also a senior, so defense and special teams will both need new faces to step up and contribute in order to keep pace with what should be a prolific offense.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Isn’t this why we love sports? The tantalizing prospects of a big season are dashed, but before the curtain goes down the audience gets a little teaser of the potential to come. I love Persa and Ebert in 2011. I love the current freshman class taking over the offense by 2012. If Pat Fitzgerald can restock the defense to keep pace, this is a team that could be a dark horse challenger for the Big Ten crown sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, you will have to get your kicks somewhere else for the next eight months or so. If it helps you bide the time at all, the ‘Cats 2011 schedule can be found here.

Until then… it’s been a pleasure!

Well, it was a tough end to a tough year.

During the regular season, the Northwestern Wildcats rose as high as 7-3 with a signature win against a top-15 opponent. But the inability to hold big leads against Michigan State and Penn State followed by a season-ending injury to First Team All Big-Ten quarterback Dan Persa led to a relatively disappointing finish at 7-5 overall and just 3-5 – tied for 7^th – in the Big Ten conference.

Still managing a spot in a New Year’s Day bowl, the coaching staff put the ‘Cats in a position to win despite falling behind early and playing without their best player. In the end, however, it was the same two weaknesses – a porous defense and an inability to throw the ball without Persa – that reared their ugly heads in a 45-38 loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the inaugural TicketCity Bowl.

First and foremost, kudos have to go out to the Northwestern coaching staff for the adjustments they made during the month-plus break between the regular season finale and the bowl game. Left with two freshman quarterbacks following Persa’s injury, Evan Watkins was fairly ineffective in starting the last two weeks. Contrasting Watkins’ more traditional drop-back style was Kain Colter, a speedy athlete who was used sparingly on dual-threat running plays.

Taking advantage of the long layoff before the bowl game, head coach Pat Fitzgerald installed a new group of offensive plays designed to utilize Colter’s speed with a variety of option runs. When Watkins struggled early, Fitzgerald did not hesitate to shift to a Colter-led rushing attack the rest of the afternoon.

Both quarterbacks shuttled in and out of the game throughout, but when the emphasis turned to Colter’s running plays the offense saw much more success.

Colter was exceptional, rushing for 105 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. He also caught a 32-yard pass and threw for another 38. The offense nearly overcame a 31-9 deficit in the second half and pulled to within one score in the fourth quarter on two separate occasions. Northwestern posted offensive season-highs with 38 points and 229 rushing yards, which speaks volumes for the coaching staff as well as for the individual talent of Colter.

At the end of the day, however, the inability of the defense to stop anybody prevented the opportunity for what could have been an exciting comeback. The Wildcats’ defensive weaknesses became glaring during the final two weeks of the season when they gave up a combined 848 rushing yards and 118 points in embarrassing losses to Illinois and Wisconsin.

Their struggles continued on New Year’s Day against Texas Tech’s potent spread offense. Quarterback Taylor Potts was shaky in the first quarter, but quickly found his groove and pretty much did whatever he wanted the rest of the afternoon. Potts was a ridiculous 43-for-56 through the air for 369 yards and four touchdowns, not to mention a 13-yard touchdown run on a double-pass trick play in the second quarter.

The Red Raiders offense totaled 552 yards to go along with their 45 points, eventually draining the clock in the fourth quarter and leaving the Wildcats with just 30 seconds to play and no timeouts remaining for their last-gasp possession.

And so Northwestern remains winless in bowl games since 1949, having now dropped eight in a row since 1996. But optimism still abounds in Evanston, as Fitzgerald’s program remains on the rise and knocking on the door of bigger and better things.

More on that in a couple days…

Bowl season is upon us. For the Northwestern Wildcats, that means a chance to play on New Year’s Day.

Never mind that the Ticket City Bowl isn’t exactly dripping with prestige. The Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas is a historic venue with a lot of tradition. Over the years, it has hosted more college bowl games than any venue other than the Rose Bowl.

And the bottom line is this:

Heading into the 2010 season, I stated that the Wildcats’ singular goal was to win the second bowl game in school history. I can only hope that Pat Fitzgerald felt the same way. Since beating Cal in the Rose Bowl in 1949, the Northwestern football program has lost all seven of their bowl games. All of them have come since 1996, including overtime losses each of the past two seasons. Having earned bowl eligibility in six of the last eight seasons and four in a row, it is time for Northwestern to finally get over the hump and win one.

So, never mind that the ‘Cats were 7-3 with aspirations for a more impressive holiday destination. Hopes that 2010 could have really been special were dashed by the upset-that-wasn’t against Michigan State and the season-ending injury to First Team All-Big Ten Quarterback Dan Persa.

Now, what is at hand is the chance to end a bowl drought that has worn out its welcome.

Standing in their way is a Texas Tech team that hovered around .500 all year before beating up on two non-conference cupcakes to close out the season at 7-5. Their offense has been efficient and high-flying, averaging 315 passing yards and 453 total yards per game. Senior quarterback Taylor Potts threw for over 3,000 yards and 31 touchdowns, while his classmate both at Abilene High School and now at Texas Tech, Lyle Leong, hauled in 17 touchdown receptions and led the Red Raiders in receiving yards. Tech’s defense, on the other hand, was as porous as their offense was proficient, yielding an average of 463 yards and 30 points per game.

The Red Raiders’ signature win was a 24-17 victory at home against No. 12 Missouri on November 6, which is about on-par with Northwestern’s 21-17 win over No. 13 Iowa one week later.

On one hand, I have no doubt that the Northwestern Wildcats had a better football team than the Texas Tech Red Raiders in 2010. While both teams finished 7-5 overall and 3-5 in their respective conferences, Northwestern played better than their record and underachieved to get there. Meanwhile, Texas Tech rallied late to salvage a respectable first season since the departure of controversial former head coach Mike Leach. Thanks to a pair of late-season victories over Weber State and Houston at home, the Red Raiders are bowl-bound for an 11^th consecutive season and will be playing a January bowl game for a fourth straight year.

On the other hand the Wildcats will be without Persa, likely the best player on either sideline, and are left with just a redshirt freshman to replace him. You can also expect the Red Raiders to have something of a home field advantage playing in their home state of Texas.

One thing is certain. The inaugural TicketCity Bowl will either make or break the 2010 season for Northwestern. A win would mark another building block as Pat Fitzgerald’s football program continues to grow. A loss would signify an uninspiring end to an uneventful season.

Here’s hoping the ‘Cats ring in the New Year in style.

I have to start off this blog with an apology.

I know that I’m quite late in the game. Bowl match-ups were announced nearly a week ago and my dubious expertise was conspicuously absent.

I would like to think I had a pretty good excuse, though.

The day before the Northwestern Wildcats learned of their bowl destination, my wife and I witnessed the birth of our first child. I have since learned that no matter how prepared you think you are – or how unprepared you know you are – it turns out that fatherhood makes life a whole lot busier.

For my new little girl, on the other hand, life has been pretty good. On just the second day of her new journey, Maya enjoyed her first Chicago Bears game. She took in the victory over Detroit with a few guttural sounds and a solid nap. The next day, she was ecstatic watching Carlos Boozer notch his first double-double with the Chicago Bulls – an occasion that called for an all-night celebration of crying and… well… pooping.

Now, she is eagerly anticipating her first college football game. There is no telling how the exuberant little tyke will respond to the unparalleled tradition and excitement of the TicketCity Bowl!

Wait… the what?

If you have never heard of the TicketCity Bowl, you are not alone. Neither had I. My first thought was that, in the age of corporate sponsorships, the Cotton Bowl had sold its soul to add another zero onto the historic venue’s payday. After some investigating, I realized this was only kind of true. While the TicketCity Bowl will be physically played at the 81-year-old facility known as the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, the AT&T Cotton Bowl won’t take place until a January 7 match-up between LSU and Texas A&M at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

Confused?

Apparently, the famous Cotton Bowl game bolted to Jerry Jones’s new football palace with the hopes of bettering their odds to eventually join the lineup of BCS games. I don’t know what is worse; that there is a real game called the Beef ‘O’ Brady St. Petersburg Bowl or that the Cotton Bowl is not actually going to be played at the Cotton Bowl anymore. I work in sports and I have sold corporate sponsorships. I like to think I am pretty understanding when it comes to condemning sports executives for “selling out.” Still, I can’t help but think that this is getting a bit ridiculous.

As it turns out, the TicketCity Bowl is actually a brand new game created to ensure that a major college football bowl game stays in Dallas and, more specifically, at the Cotton Bowl venue, which has hosted more college bowl games than any facility in the nation outside of the Rose Bowl. It will be played on January 1 at 11:00 a.m. central time. Despite the unfamiliar moniker, its status as a New Years Day game – the first of 2011 – and position as the only game on TV for the first hour of the biggest bowl day of the year make it a pretty decent spot.

Let’s be honest. After losing their quarterback for the season, dropping their final two games of the year in embarrassing fashion, and finishing tied for seventh in the Big Ten, it’s not like the ‘Cats were expecting to land in a prestigious game.

Perhaps most important is that Northwestern (7-5) has a great opportunity to win the second bowl game in school history and the first since 1949. Their opponent will be the Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-5), who finished tied for seventh in the Big 12. I’ll crank out a preview of that one when we get closer to the date.

The Northwestern Wildcats (7-5, 3-5) played the role of unfortunate victims on Saturday, falling to the Wisconsin Badgers (11-1, 7-1) by a 70-23 score as the Badgers all but cemented a Big Ten championship.

Wisconsin and Northwestern will both have to wait until December 5 to confirm their bowl destinations, although the Badgers are likely to land in the Rose Bowl while the Wildcats have a more uncertain fate.

Frankly, Saturday’s loss was hard to watch for Northwestern fans.

It was not a giant shock that the ‘Cats lost, even for the most die-hard of purple supporters. Wisconsin has made a strong argument that the nation’s best one-loss team hails from Madison, reaching 70 points in a game for the third time this season. The Badgers rolled through the Wildcats for 329 rushing yards and 559 yards of total offense on their way to scoring 10 touchdowns. Montee Ball led the way with 178 yards and four touchdowns on 20 carries, while James White also ran the ball 20 times and added 134 yards and another score. The Wildcats were afforded little relief when Wisconsin went to the air, as Scott Tolzien completed 15 of 19 passes for 230 yards and four touchdowns of his own.

If those numbers don’t sound ugly enough, consider what the Badgers did on the other side of the ball. J.J. Watt was a one-man wrecking crew on the defensive line, ravaging his way to three tackles-for-loss, one sack, two forced fumbles and a blocked extra point. Wisconsin forced seven turnovers, although they were as much a product of Northwestern’s inexperience at the quarterback position as anything else.

Redshirt freshman Evan Watkins and true freshman Kain Colter each took snaps under center, with Watkins seeing about 70 percent of the action. Both signal callers had their moments although neither was particularly effective. Watkins threw for all 123 of Northwestern’s passing yards but was picked off three times and fumbled the ball away twice more. Colter was used primarily as a runner, but one of his three passes was snared by the defense as well. Watkins and Colter both looked like they were in over their heads – which they were, taking on one of the best teams in the land while attempting to fill the shoes of one of the Big Ten’s best quarterbacks in the injured Dan Persa.

And don’t blame Wisconsin for running up the score. As difficult as it was to watch the Badgers continue to take shots with a 40-point lead in the second half, they were doing what they had to do. In a situation where a handful of one-loss teams could be jockeying for a spot in the BCS title game, eye-popping final scores like this one make a real impact on subjective voters. It is a flawed system, but any fan would want their team’s coach to do the same thing.

The lone bright spot?

Without a doubt, Venric Mark, the true freshman from Tomball, Texas, who has emerged as a fantastic special teams contributor for the Wildcats. Mark set a school record with 273 kickoff return yards, including a 96-yard touchdown sprint late in the first half. Mark leads the ‘Cats in 2010 with an average of 27.6 yards on kickoff returns and 12.9 yards per punt return, joining a cast of strong Northwestern freshman that includes running backs Mike Trumpy and Adonis Smith, fellow receiver Tony Jones, and the previously mentioned quarterback duo of Watkins and Colter.

As much upside as this young crew of Wildcats has, however, Saturday belonged to the far more experienced Badgers who put the final stamp on their 2010 regular season.

Only one game remains on the docket.

Unfortunately, the Northwestern Wildcats (7-4, 3-4) will be facing their most formidable foe of the season when they take on the Wisconsin Badgers (10-1, 6-1) in Madison on Saturday.

Wisconsin, ranked No. 7 in the BCS standings, will be playing for a trip to the Rose Bowl. Currently in a three-way tie atop the Big Ten with Ohio State and Michigan State, the Badgers have the inside track to Pasadena thanks to a win over Ohio State and the highest BCS ranking of the three schools. Michigan State, on the other hand, will be rooting for the Buckeyes to fall against Michigan, which would leave the Badgers and Spartans tied for the top spot if both teams win this weekend. In that scenario, Michigan State would be crowned Big Ten champs by virtue of their win over Wisconsin on October 2.

Did you get all that?

The bottom line is that Wisconsin has a lot at stake, namely a conference title and a spot in the Rose Bowl. Northwestern, on the other hand, can do no better than improving their bowl destination having already locked up a bowl invitation and a winning season. That game and opponent will be announced on December 5 after the remainder of the regular season and the conference championships shake out.

In addition to having a lot riding on Saturday’s match-up, Wisconsin also has the 12^th-rated rushing attack in the country.

If I didn’t know any better, you could probably convince me that Madison’s prestigious institution of higher learning has shifted their admission policy to focus on farm-bred gentlemen that stand 6-foot-8 and tip the scales at 350 pounds. Watching the Badgers run the football is like watching a team of Goliath’s storm an Old Country Buffet. You can get in line if you want, but you’re probably going to end up wishing you just stayed out of the way.

Wisconsin averages 239.9 rushing yards per game. The trio of John Clay, James White and Montee Ball has feasted on opposing defenses with the help of a beastly offensive line, combining for 2,510 yards, 6.0 yards-per-carry, and a whopping 39 touchdowns. The leader of the bunch is Clay, but the redshirt junior has missed the team’s last two games with a knee injury and it is unclear whether he will be ready to go this Saturday.

Their prolific rushing attack is the primary reason that Wisconsin is scoring 40.9 points-per-game. In addition to the eye-popping 83 points they hung on Indiana two weeks ago, the Badgers also have a 70-point game to their credit this year (Sept. 25 vs. Austin Peay). They have scored 30 or more points in eight of their 11 games and have not scored less than 20 in any single contest.

Since dropping their Big Ten-opener to Michigan State on the first weekend of October, Wisconsin has reeled off six straight wins and outscored their opponents 268-132. That translates to a 22.7 average margin of victory.

Northwestern will have their hands full on Saturday as they look to shore up the gaping holes in their run defense that were exploited by Illinois last week. If they are unable to do so, the Wildcats might be in for a long afternoon.

The Allstate Wrigleyville Classic was designed to be a Chicagoland bowl game, and that mission certainly proved successful after Wrigleyville turned into the center of the college football world for one wild afternoon in Chicago.

Unfortunately for the Northwestern Wildcats, bowl wins have been hard to come by. That trend continued with a 48-27 loss to the Illinois Fighting Illini, even if the game will go down in the history books as no more than a regular season home loss.

It was certainly a wacky afternoon.

Following a unique rule change earlier in the week dictating that both offenses would move towards the west end zone, there was, in the end, a touchdown in front of the right field bleachers thanks to a 59-yard interception return by Wildcats safety Brian Peters.

That, along with an 80-yard touchdown sprint by freshman running back Mike Trumpy, was why Northwestern found themselves trailing just 21-14 after the first quarter despite allowing 224 rushing yards in the opening stanza. The Illini had easily surpassed 300 rushing yards by halftime, but the ‘Cats hung around and were down just 27-24 at the break.

Ultimately, the Illinois rushing attack was simply too dominant to overcome.

Mikel Leshoure was the star of the show, ripping off five different runs of 30-plus yards and scampering for more than 60 on a play twice. He finished the day with a school-record 330 rushing yards and two touchdowns as the visitors from Champaign racked up 519 yards on the ground as a team. Jason Ford added 86 yards and three touchdowns while quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase chipped in with another 97.

He only threw for 40 yards, but it hardly mattered given their dominance on the ground.

In the Wildcats’ first game without injured quarterback and offensive leader Dan Persa, who would have thought that freshman fill-in Evan Watkins would be the game’s best passer? Though shaky at times, Watkins looked better as the game went on and finished 10-for-20 with 135 passing yards and one pick. In running situations he was occasionally spelled by fellow frosh Kain Colter, a strategy fans can expect to see more of going forward.

It would be easy to look back and wonder how things would have played out differently if Persa had been under center. It does not take much imagination to envision him carving up the Illini defense. Northwestern’s inability to stop the run, however, has become something of a recurring theme. The deficiency first reared its ugly head in the 35-21 loss to Penn State two weeks ago and resurfaced – but was overcome – during last week’s 21-17 win over Iowa.

On Saturday, that shortcoming turned into a glaring weakness as the Wildcats were flat-out embarrassed at Wrigley Field.

It’s a good thing that Northwestern (7-4, 3-4) earned their bowl eligibility before Persa’s injury, because there will not be many people laying down money on the Wildcats when they travel to Madison for their regular season finale against the Wisconsin Badgers (10-1, 6-1) – and their 12^th-ranked rushing offense – this Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.

It’s a shame that such an exciting day for the Northwestern football program feels so bittersweet.

For many Chicago-area football fans, November 20 has been circled on the calendar for some time. One of the greatest venues in all of sports, Wrigley Field, will play host to the Northwestern Wildcats’ (7-3, 3-3) final “home” game of the season against their in-state rival, the Illinois Fighting Illini (5-5, 3-4), in the Allstate Wrigleyville Classic.

With unique sporting events increasing at the Friendly Confines – the NHL’s Blackhawks played an outdoor game there on New Year’s Day in 2009 and the ballpark has hosted minor league games featuring Chicago Cubs’ farm clubs for each of the past few years – Wrigley has been painted purple in preparation for its first football game since 1970. Even ESPN’s College GameDay crew will be setting up shop in Wrigleyville, as will the Big Ten Network’s Kickoff Show.

Can you remember the last time that a Northwestern home game was the center of the college football world?

Oh, right. Never.

At stake in the 104^th meeting between the two schools will be the Land of Lincoln Trophy. For those of you scratching your heads right now, the new prize made its first appearance last season to replace the more traditional Sweet Sioux Tomahawk Trophy that fueled the rivalry from 1945-2008.

The game should be a very good one, especially since it is difficult to remember the last time that the Wildcats and the Illini were both this good. In fact, the two schools have not finished above .500 in the same season since the turn of the century. To pinpoint the last time that happened, you have to go all the way back to 1963 when Illinois went 8-1-1 and won the Rose Bowl while Northwestern ended the season at 5-4.

1963… yikes!

Depending on how the Illini finish their season, that dubious streak could be snapped for the first time in nearly 50 years.

Readers of this blog are well aware that Northwestern is bowl-eligible and has already clinched another plus-.500 season, with their signature win coming last week over then-No. 13 Iowa. While Illinois has been a little Jekyll-and-Hyde in 2010, they average better than 31 points-per-game and can be very explosive. The average margin of victory in their five wins is a whopping 24.4 points, but their five losses include an average of 35.6 points allowed-per-game. Most recently, they have suffered a pair of tough losses to Michigan (67-65 in triple overtime) and Minnesota (38-34 at home), blowing a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter to allow the Gophers just their second win last Saturday.

Unfortunately, the excitement surrounding this game for Northwestern fans is somewhat tempered by the devastating season-ending injury suffered by quarterback Dan Persa moments after throwing the game-winning touchdown pass last week against Iowa. For his efforts, Persa was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week as well as the Walter Camp Football Foundation National Offensive Player of the Week and the Rivals.com Big Ten Player of the Week. He will go down as the new Big Ten record-holder for single-season completion percentage at 73.5%, a category in which he has led all FBS passers for nearly the entire year.

For the final two regular season games and whatever bowl game Northwestern earns, Persa will be replaced by redshirt freshman Evan Watkins. The Carol Stream native will be making his first career start and brings 44 yards on 3-for-7 passing to the table.

Not exactly Steve Young to Persa’s Joe Montana.

As Watkins goes, so will the Wildcats. He stepped up and looked strong and confident in limited late-game action against Indiana, helping to secure the victory after Persa was knocked out with a concussion. At Glenbard North High School, the 6-foot-6, 240-pounder not only threw for 3,500 yards and 36 touchdowns, but also rushed for 750 yards and 15 more scores on the ground. Certainly, the coaching staff has professed their confidence in him and already considered him to be Persa’s heir apparent in 2012.

Now, the youngster will jump on the “L” at Central Street and transfer from the Purple Line to the Red Line at Howard. When he gets Addison, he’ll be in for the afternoon of a lifetime.

Apparently, Dan Persa’s grittiness knows no bounds.

But who would have thought – with the way he lays his body on the line and all of the big hits he takes on a weekly basis – that it would be a non-contact injury that ended his junior season?

The mood was bittersweet on Saturday in Evanston despite a thrilling comeback victory in which the Northwestern Wildcats (7-3, 3-3) scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to upset the 13^th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes (7-3, 4-2) on Senior Day at Ryan Field. After Persa’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Demetrius Fields capped the 21-17 win with just 1:22 to play, however, the team’s unquestioned leader heard a pop in his right leg that was later discovered to be a ruptured Achilles tendon. He underwent season-ending surgery on Saturday night and will now shift his focus to coming back stronger than ever for his senior campaign.

Despite the shortened season, Persa’s first year as a starter can only be described as a tremendous success. His 73.5% completion rate leads all FBS quarterbacks while his 310 total yards-per-game and his 159.04 passing efficiency rank 9^th and 12^th in the nation, respectively. He threw for over 2,500 yards and 15 touchdowns with just four interceptions in 10 games. None of those numbers can truly do justice to his impact on the field, however, where Persa’s leadership stood out while engineering Northwestern’s no-huddle spread offense. Nearly every play was left up to his interpretation regardless of whether it was a pass or a run, enabling the field general to analyze weaknesses in the defense and react accordingly.

That was evident in Saturday’s upset, and it was nice to hear ESPN’s broadcast team – as well as studio hosts Lou Holtz and Mark May – praise his ability to run the offense in front of a national audience. Persa certainly saved his best for last, completing 32 of 43 passes for 318 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed for another 50 yards on the ground, including a two-yard plunge into the end zone. Trailing 17-7 in the fourth quarter, he engineered touchdown drives of 85 and 91 yards to bring the Wildcats back for the dramatic victory. While Iowa’s vaunted defensive linemen were struggling to stay on the field and gasping for air on the sideline, Persa showed no signs of fatigue and continued to orchestrate the offense with his presence as a dual threat out of the backfield and his trademark precision timing.

In a season in which all three of Northwestern’s losses have come in devastating late-game fashion, Persa made sure that the shoe was on the other foot Saturday.

It is a shame that the season has abruptly come to an end for the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania native, who will be replaced by redshirt freshman Evan Watkins (3-7, 44 yards) for the final two games against Illinois (at Wrigley Field) and at Wisconsin. The bowl-bound Wildcats quest to win their first bowl game since 1949 has hit a bump in the road, but you better believe that Pat Fitzgerald is not going to let his troops get down.

He may have some help. Don’t be surprised to see Persa – his on-field coach – standing right beside him.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

The Northwestern Wildcats (6-3, 2-3) are looking for a bounceback effort after failing to hold a big lead in a devastating loss last Saturday.

I’m starting to feel a bit like a broken record.

After blowing a 21-0 lead last weekend at Penn State, things won’t get any easier when the Wildcats return home to host the Iowa Hawkeyes (7-2, 4-1) on Saturday in the final game of the season at Ryan Field (the November 20 home finale against Illinois will be played at Wrigley Field). Once again, Northwestern will have to shrug off the memory of a game they should have won to focus on a new formidable opponent.

The Hawkeyes certainly present another challenging foe, entering play ranked 13^th in the nation in the BCS standings as well as both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. They nearly succumbed to what would have been a stunning upset last weekend at Indiana, when it took a 52-yard touchdown pass with less than three minutes remaining to escape Bloomington with a victory. As a result, their only losses of the season remain against BCS-ranked opponents in No. 7 Wisconsin (8-1) and No. 18 Arizona (7-2).

And don’t think that anybody from Iowa City has forgotten about last year’s match-up, when the ‘Cats rolled into Kinnick Stadium and hung the previously 9-0 Hawkeyes with their first loss of the season. In that game, Northwestern knocked out Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi and forced four turnovers to dash the championship aspirations of the Hawkeyes with a 17-10 win.

Having lived in Iowa for about five years, I was at that game – and I have never seen Iowa City as dead as it was in the wake of that upset.

Iowa may not be bringing an undefeated record into this season’s clash, but they do have the opportunity to play in a BCS bowl if they win out.

The Hawkeyes impressive resume this season has been powered by a stifling defense. They are among the FBS leaders in a slew of categories having allowed just 85.2 rushing yards-per-game (5^th), 14.3 points-per-game (6^th), and 294.6 total yards-per-game (8^th). They did not allow a rushing touchdown until facing Michigan’s Denard Robinson in their sixth game of the year. Perhaps most impressively, they rank third in the nation with a +1.3 turnover differential.

Though their strength is stuffing the run, Iowa is also 14^th in the nation in defensive passing efficiency (109.61). That creates what should be an excellent game-within-the-game against Northwestern quarterback Dan Persa, who individually ranks 10^th in the land with a 161 passing efficiency, 12^th with 303.6 yards-per-game of total offense, and continues to lead all FBS passers with a 73.4% completion rate. Persa is also the Wildcats’ leading rusher thanks to his uncanny ability to exploit opposing defenses, and it will be interesting to see how Iowa game plans to contain his running plays from the spread offense as well as his improvised scrambles.

Of course, the Hawkeyes have a talented quarterback of their own in Stanzi. Iowa’s senior leader actually ranks 3^rd in the nation with a 172.9 passing efficiency behind only Kellen Moore of Boise State and Cam Newton of Auburn. Even more impressive is his touchdown-to-interception ratio of 20-to-3, as Stanzi has been able to consistently find the end zone while avoiding turnovers and throwing for over 2,000 yards (245.8 ypg).

In fact, as a team Iowa has turned the ball over just six times this year – the second-fewest total in all of college football.

So – once again – Northwestern will face a stiff test this Saturday in Evanston. This team knows they can play with anybody in the Big 10. Now, they have to finish off a game and prove it.