2009 Week 17

After last season's poor showing against the Florida Gators, this year's SEC Champions, in the Capital One Bowl, the Northwestern Wildcats were dedicating this season to redeeming themselves.

"We were really disappointed after that one, and sad for all the seniors that went out like that," said Sidney Stewart, the Junior Wide Receiver.

Well, the Wildcats got their wish. They again received a bid in the Capital One Bowl, this time against the Auburn Tigers.

Auburn jumped out to a 9-0 lead on 3 Zach Kutch Field Goals, and they led 16-6 at the half. Mike Kafka had thrown 2 interceptions to 0 touchdowns, and Stephen Simmons had failed to get the ground game going.

The second half was a different story. After Kutch converted another Field Goal, The Wildcats scored 17 straight points to give them a 23-19 lead with just over 2 minutes to go in the 4th.

Auburn marched down the field and scored on a 10 yard TD pass, leaving 40 seconds for the Wildcats. Kafka completed 4 passes on the final drive, 3 to Floyd, the last of which was a 31 yard TD pass with Triple-Zero's left on the clock (See Video). That gave the Wildcats a 30-26 victory and their first bowl win under Coach Taylor.