About a month and a half ago, Northwestern’s back was against the wall.
Sitting at 1-3 and heading into what looked to be a brutal five-game gauntlet, the 2016 season was threatening to fall apart.
Then the Wildcats responded.
They rattled off three straight wins in often electrifying fashion before falling in close battles to two of the country’s 10 best teams. They put themselves in position for a division title, a position that seemed unfathomable just weeks earlier, before coming up short against Ohio State and Wisconsin.
Now it’s time to look to the future.