For Northwestern, Unreal 2010 Outback Bowl Ends in Heartbreak

I can't read any articles about the game. I can barely write about the game. I was at the game, but I can't believe I actually witnessed that epic.

I'm sitting in my apartment...just...in shock. Surely the game is still going, right? It was the game that wouldn't end.

Friends of mine are furious at Stefan Demos and/or Pat Fitzgerald. I'm not angry...just stunned.

I'm stunned that Auburn charged the field twice...thinking they'd won.

I'm stunned that NU was a couple yards away...not once, but twice, from winning.

I'm stunned that Mike Kafka threw five interceptions.

I'm also stunned that he broke the NU record for passing yards in a game.

I'm stunned at that improbable touchdown reception by Drake Dunsmore and that brilliant interception by Brian Peters.

I'm stunned that Auburn fumbled not once, but twice, in the final few minutes to give NU new life.

I could go on.

I won't. If you're reading this, you saw the game. It's been dissected from every angle imaginable. People have argued endlessly about the gamble in overtime by Coach Fitz and his staff. People have started Facebook groups demanding that Demos be kicked off the team.

I don't have the energy to debate, and I feel bad for NU's much-maligned kicker. He was on crutches after the game...let's cut him some slack.

All I know is that this was the wildest, most improbable game I have ever witnessed. The only game in my lifetime that even comes close is Boise State-Oklahoma, and even that didn't have one team thinking they'd won...twice.

There are certain moments you remember for a lifetime. This game was one of those moments. For over four hours, Northwestern and Auburn had the attention of the college football world.

Some people say that bowl games are just glorified exhibitions, that the only game that matters is the BCS National Championship game.

Tell that to NU's 21 seniors who gave their heart and soul to the program in an effort to win the Wildcats' first bowl game since 1949.  

Tell that to all the loyal NU fans who made the long trip to Tampa Bay to see their Wildcats take on the Tigers. 

My roommate is not a sports fan. He only went to the game because it was near his house.

He's at least a NU sports fan now. He came back and told me he plans on attending every NU football game next year.

I don't believe in moral victories, but NU probably gained quite a few fans with their performance. I know even my friends back in Seattle were cheering them on when they saw the effort the Wildcats put forth on New Years Day.

As Pat Fitzgerald put it, "It's the heart of the Wildcat."

Unfortunately, that heart is broken right now.

I don't know if it can be fixed...until Jan. 1, 2011...when Northwestern wins the Rose Bowl.

I have confidence that Pat Fitzgerald can lead the Purple back to Pasadena next season.

Gary Barnett once said that NU needed to have "belief without evidence."

Well, now we have both. Northwestern has shown it is a legitimate football program in the past few years.

Now it's time to finish.