Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Prepares for Final Big Ten Road Contest
11/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 10, 2008
NU Football Game Notes (vs. Michigan) 
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• Northwestern plays its final regular-season road game at Michigan this Saturday, Nov. 15. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT. ESPN2 is televising the game to a national cable audience.
• The Wildcats are coming off a 45-10 setback to 10th-ranked Ohio State. With the defeat, Northwestern fell to 7-3 overall but maintained its fourth-place standing (3-3) in the Big Ten race with Minnesota. The Gophers stayed even with the 'Cats in the Big Ten race thanks to Michigan, this week's Wildcat opponent, who posted a convincing 29-6 win over Minnesota in Minneapolis. NU also dropped out of the BCS top-25 standings.
• For the second straight week, Northwestern is attempting to win its eighth game of the season. The Wildcats have not won eight games in a season since 2000, when they captured a share of the Big Ten title and finished the year 8-4.
•One more victory this season will assure Northwestern of a .500 or better record in Big Ten play. If the Wildcats accomplish that, it will mark the fourth time in the last six years that NU has gone .500 or better in league action.
• Northwestern has won six or more games in a season for the fifth time in the last six years.
• By earning its seventh win of the season at Minnesota on Nov. 1, Northwestern all but wrapped up a postseason bowl berth. With two weeks remaining in the Big Ten season and only three teams eliminated from bowl eligibility, one more win will guarantee a berth in a Big Ten-affiliated bowl. Michigan State, Penn State and Ohio State are battling for the Big Ten championship (and the accompanying BCS or New Year's Day bowl trips) while NU, Minnesota and Iowa are in the next tier and all bowl-eligible. Wisconsin and Illinois need one more win to enter the bowl mix.
• Michigan, which will not play in a bowl game for the first time since 1974, halted an uncharacteristic five-game losing streak in impressive fashion on Saturday. The Wolverines completely shut down Minnesota's offense, limiting the Gophers to 188 yards of total offense and just a pair of field goals. Linebacker Obi Ezeh, who leads the talented Michigan defense with 86 tackles and 7 sacks this year, totaled a team-best seven tackles and a sack against the Gophers.
• Led by one of the nation's top punters, Zoltan Mesko, Michigan ranks number-one nationally in net punting average with a 42.2 yards per punt average. Mesko averages a Big Ten-best 44.6 yards per punt. Place-kicker K.C. Lopata, who was named this week's Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week, booted five field goals against the Gophers.
• NU's players of the game against Ohio State were: Brad Phillips (defense), Mike Kafka (offensive big play) and Phil Brunner (special teams). For Phillips, it was the fourth time in six Big Ten games he's been named the Wildcats' defensive player of the game.
Promotions Information/Kickoff Time for Illinois Game
• Plenty of tickets are still available for NU's final home game vs. Illinois (Nov. 22). That game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT. Tickets can be purchased by calling 847-491-CATS or visiting NUsports.com.
The Broadcasts
Radio -- WGN (720 AM) will carry the game live with its pregame show starting at 10:30 a.m. The radio broadcast can also be heard live via the internet at wgnradio.com. Dave Eanet (play-by-play) and Ted Albrecht (analyst) call the action. WNUR (89.3), NU's student radio station, also will carry the game live. The contest is also available on the XM Satellite Radio network. (Channel 196).
Television -- ESPN2 is televising the game to a national cable audience. Pam Ward (play-by-play) and Ray Bentley (analyst) call the action. ESPN360.com is also carrying the game live via ESPN's signature broadband sports TV network.
(For a complete set of game notes, download the PDF above.)
