Northwestern’s odds of making a bowl game still lean in the Wildcats’ favor (they can still clinch a berth with a win at Illinois next week), but they missed a golden opportunity with their 29-12 loss to Minnesota on Saturday. Not just an opportunity to assure themselves a spot in postseason play, but also an opportunity to establish an identity.
Alas, inconsistency has been the vice of this team throughout 2016. This fact was never more apparent than in this game, and as a result of this inconsistency, it’s nearly impossible to pin down what exactly went wrong for Northwestern in Minneapolis.