Northwestern Football: A South Eastern Conference Perspective

Meet Mike Kofka quarterback of the Northwestern WildCats football team. He is the Key to this Northwestern Team, a senior, and likely the top offensive player in the Big 10 this year.

He is a player that simply "gets the job done." He will force play in any game, he is not affected by mistakes. He will throw an interception one play only to follow with a touchdown pass the next. This man will be the focus of attention for the Auburn Defense in the Outback Bowl.

Northwestern lost four games this year. What the average fan does not know is, Northwestern was not over matched in any of these games. In fact, if they had not lost a hart breaker to Syracuse on a last second field goal, in a game where they committed three costly turn overs, they would have likely won the Big 10. This early loss seemed to take some wind out of their sails.

The following week Northwestern lost to Minnesota in a game where they out gained the Gophers in offensive output, but committed another three costly turnovers. In the loss to Michigan State the WildCats committed another two turn overs, one of which cost them the game. They were ahead at half time in this game. 

In their final loss to Penn State the WildCats were ahead and in charge of Penn State at half time. They had lost Mike Kofka to a leg injury and failed to hold the lead with their back up quarterback in the second half. Joe Paterno gave the loss of Mike Kofka much weight in the ability of Penn State to come back and win.

The way I see these games is that Northwestern should have won them all. They certainly had a chance in every one of them. They also beat Iowa and Wisconsin the number two and number five ranked Big 10 teams. They beat Iowa in a defensive struggle where they forced two costly turn overs and knocked out the Iowa quarterback and ended their run at the Big 10 Title. In the win over Wisconsin the WildCats out gained the Wisconsin offense by one hundred yards. Wisconsin was considered the most prolific offensive team in the Big 10 this year.

This Northwestern team should have won the Big 10 this year. The reason they did not is they have not yet learned how to be a winner. This team could have easily been playing undefeated in the Rose Bowl this year.

I thought Iowa had the best team in the Big 10 this year before the Northwestern game. When Northwestern knocked out Iowa's quarterback it doomed their chances of beating Ohio State. There is little doubt they would have won against Ohio State if they had their starting quarterback. Northwestern beat this team by simply out playing them for four quarters.

Auburn is playing Northwestern on January 1, 2010. This is going to be a battle of two teams that can. Auburn proved this season they can play with the best in the country. They improved through the season and finished by playing SEC Champion Alabama to the final seconds in their last game. This is another team that has simply not learned how to win. Everyone in the nation saw their potential in that last game though.

The 2010 Outback Bowl will be a clash of two Titans. One that beat two Top Twenty teams this season and came within a few seconds of upsetting the No. 1 team in the country. The other beat two Top Twenty teams and one of them is playing in the BCS Bowls this year. This will also be a test of two powerhouse conferences SEC vs. Big 10. No real college football fan would find themselves missing this intriguing game that is a look into the future of two powerful football conferences.