CB Sherrick Charlie Daniels Band McManis 5 tackles 1 TFL

CB Sherrick determines Charlie Daniels Band McManis (5 charlie daniels details tackles, 1 TFL, 1 interception): McManis racked up his team-leading fourth interception of the year, which put an end to Illinois' last-gasp comeback attempt.  He also grabbed a big tackle for a loss earlier in the game and helped limit Illinois to just 162 yards passing. Offensive Line: The 'Cats only allowed one sack on the day, despite having Kafka essentially immobilized, and opened up enough room to generate 139 rushing yards.  The line finally looks like its gelling, and its solid performance was definitely a reason that the 'Cats avoided any turnovers on the day. What to Work On Special Teams: After having started the year making 14-of-16 field goal attempts with his only two misses being blocked, Stefan Demos had quite a forgettable day, missing three attempts and shanking a punt.  Hopefully he got it out of his system, and thankfully the NU offense did enough for the Wildcats to pull out the win. Defensive Line: Although the Northwestern defense limited Illinois to just 16 points on the day, they didn't generate much pressure up front, grabbing just one sack while allowing 4.7 yards per rush.  They'll face an even tougher test against Wisconsin's large front next week as they look to open up holes for John Clay, the Big Ten's leading rusher. Finishing: Yes, NU won the game thanks to a big defensive play, but the 'Cats didn't do themselves any favors by letting Illinois score two TDs in the final quarter.  The Wildcats had multiple chances to come up with that big defensive play earlier, the offense could have put the icing on the cake by getting the ball in the end zone, and the special teams blew their chance to make a short field goal. Stop Whining For the second straight week, NU fans have heard plenty of whining from the opposition over how the officials called the game.  Once again, a team that finds itself relying on a judgment call or two from the officials probably hasn't put itself in a position to win the game.

There was an arguable non-call as LB Bryce McNaul made contact with Illinois' intended receiver on a failed two-point attempt.  But, it looked like the receiver intentionally slowed and initiated the contact, while McNaul made no effort to impede the receiver (he did make a move on the ball, though, by batting it down cleanly) the charlie daniels band . And on Illinois' fourth down pass attempt, it was hard to tell exactly what happened, but the officials were in the best position to call the play charlie daniels album . The referee explained it well after the game when he said that the receiver never clearly possessed the ball and McManis grabbed the loose ball off of the receiver's chest for the interception charlie daniels greatest hits . In the end, Northwestern did what it took to win the game while Illinois did not charlie daniels super hits . Random Observations Turnovers: The 'Cats moved to 5-0 on the year when winning the turnover battle (two turnovers to no giveaways), as they grabbed two interceptions (half the number that Illinois has had during the entire year. All-time run: With the win, NU clinched back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1995-96 and back-to-back bowl berths for the second time ever.  The current 22-14 run over the last three years is the best over such a period since 1929-1931 for the Wildcats. Trophies: Northwestern grabbed the first edition of the Land of Lincoln Trophy; they won both the first and last editions of the now-retired Sweet Sioux Tomahawk trophy.

Third Down Conversions: After coming into the game converting 49.4 percent of their third downs, Northwestern converted just 35.7 percent (5-of-14) against Illinois.  The defense played its part, though, allowing a conversion rate of just 28.6 percent (4-of-14) . Bowl Positioning With the win over Illinois, Northwestern guaranteed itself a bowl berth and all but guaranteed a warm weather destination.  The most likely options are the Champs Sports Bowl (Orlando, FL on Dec 29), the Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, TX on Jan 2), and the Insight Bowl (Phoenix, AZ on Dec 31) charlies daniels band . The exact positioning mostly depends on whether the conference gets two teams into BCS games, which the Big Ten is in a good position to do. Ohio State has locked up the automatic berth to the Rose Bowl, while Iowa (No 13 in the BCS) and Penn State (No charlie danials band . 14 in the BCS) are both eligible and in good position for one to be selected for a BCS at-large berth if they win games next week in which they will likely be favored (against Minnesota and Michigan State, respectively) . If that happens, and the rest of the season plays out the way it's expected, then Northwestern is in prime position to go to the Champs Sports Bowl (the fourth selection in the conference, moving down to fifth if a Big Ten team gets a BCS at-large berth).  If not, then the Insight Bowl is a likely destination since the Alamo Bowl hosted NU last year and would be hard-pressed to take them in two consecutive seasons. No matter what happens in next week's Big Ten games (except the Indiana-Purdue game, which features two teams eliminated from bowl contention), the actual destination won't be obvious until they are announced during the afternoon of Sunday, Dec 6, about three weeks from now. Final Thought It wasn't pretty, but once again Northwestern did what it took to pull out a gritty road win over a conference rival.  The 'Cats have now won six of the last seven against Illinois and have guaranteed themselves both a winning record and a bowl berth this season.