2009 Week 13

Everyone gets pumped up for the yearly rivalry game. For the Northwestern Wildcats, it is no different. Their lone rival, the Fighting Illini of Illinois, lead the series 33-29-2, but Northwestern has won 5 of the last 6. The series is split 1-1 in this dynasty, and this one proved to be just the same kind of thriller the previous two were.

The Wildcats jumped out to an early 13-0 lead, when the Illini put up 14 straight points on the board, courtesy of Troy Pollard, in less than 1 minute. The Wildcats and Illini traded scores back and forth, and it was unable to tell which team would win. Going into their final possession, the Wildcats were trailing by 8, but Mike Kafka stepped up his game, after throwing 3 Interceptions earlier, and threw a bullet to Isaac Floyd, who entered the endzone. Stephen Simmons converted the 2-point conversion, and they headed to overtime.

After the Illini converted a 32 yard field goal in the extra frame, Stephen Simmons took the game over, gaining all 25 of the Wildcats' yards, capping it off with a 10 yard TD reception to clinch the victory...and a potential return trip to the Capital One Bowl.

Simmons, who was named player of the game, finished the game with 162 yards rushing on 19 carries with 2 Touchdowns. He also had 7 receptions for 51 yards and the touchdown reception in overtime.