No one will ever accuse Northwestern of making things easy on itself.
It’s been an up-and-down, rollercoaster ride of a 2016 season for the Wildcats, who now have one very clear, very important task: Beat Illinois. With Northwestern sitting at 5-6 and just one regular season game to go, a lot will be on the line when the Fighting Illini make the 160-mile trip up to Ryan Field this Saturday.
Of course, the hat is up for grabs. Pat Fitzgerald doesn’t deny that this game carries a little extra weight for that reason; he badly wants to keep the Land of Lincoln trophy in Evanston for another year.