Dec. 22, 2005
Northwestern's Sun Bowl Notes (Dec. 8, 2005)
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern has concluded its bowl practices in Evanston and will depart for sunny El Paso and the 72nd Annual Vitalis Sun Bowl Friday (Dec. 23) morning.
The Wildcats (7-4 overall), ranked No. 25 in the final Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings, take on the UCLA Bruins (9-2), ranked 16th in the BCS standings and 17th in both the AP and coaches' polls.
Kickoff for this year's Sun Bowl is set for 1:15 p.m. CST. The game is being televised by CBS (WBBM-TV, Channel 2 in Chicago).
Some key notes on the bowl-bound Wildcats:
* Northwestern, the Big Ten representative, is facing UCLA, the Pac-10 representative in the 72nd Annual Vitalis Sun Bowl. This is the first Sun Bowl appearance for Northwestern and the third for UCLA.
* Northwestern is making its sixth postseason football appearance, and its fifth in the last 11 years. This is the third time the Wildcats have gained a bowl berth without winning or claiming a share of the Big Ten championship.
* This is the third time that the Wildcats have faced a Pac-10 team in a bowl game. Northwestern battled California and USC in the respective 1949 and 1996 Rose Bowls. The 'Cats defeated California and lost to USC.
* Northwestern became bowl-eligible with a thrilling comeback victory over Iowa on Nov. 5. The Wildcats, who trailed 27-14 with less than four minutes to play, scored two touchdowns in an 88-second span to pull out a 28-27 victory. A perfectly executed onside kick aided the Northwestern victory. Two weeks later, the Wildcats notched win No. 7 with a 38-21 road victory at Illinois.
* Head coach Randy Walker is taking his third Northwestern team to a postseason game, the most bowl trips by any NU coach.
* Although the Wildcats did not finish in the final regular season top-25 of any of the three human polls (Associated Press, USA Today Coaches or Harris Interactive), Northwestern did land at No. 25 in the final Bowl Championship Series (BCS) ranking. Backed by one of the nation's toughest schedules, the 'Cats touted an average computer ranking of No. 19. Northwestern was ranked as high as No. 21 (AP and BCS) this year. UCLA is ranked 17th in all three human polls, and 16th in the BCS.
* For the first time in school history, Northwestern has recorded four or more Big Ten victories in three successive seasons (14-10 the past three years). The Wildcats' 14-10 league record over the past three years is the fifth-best Big Ten record behind Michigan (19-5), Ohio State (17-7), Iowa (17-7) and Wisconsin (15-9).
* The matchup between Northwestern and UCLA pits two of the top offenses in the nation -- the Wildcats rank eighth in total offense while the Bruins are 24th. Both clubs are led by outstanding quarterbacks who both wear jersey No. 14, Brett Basanez for Northwestern and Drew Olson for UCLA. The two signal callers have combined for more than 18,500 career passing yards.
* Northwestern and UCLA represent the only Big Ten/Pac-10 postseason matchup. The Rose Bowl, which is hosting this year's national championship game on Jan. 4, features a Pac-10 (USC) vs. Big 12 (Texas) pairing.
* Among the 56 schools playing bowl games this year, Northwestern led all institutions with the highest graduation rate (an APR of 971). In addition, Northwestern has captured the AFCA/USA Today Graduation Rate Award three of the past four years with a 100 percent graduation rate for selected classes.
(For a complete set of notes, please download the above PDF.)