Samuel Brooks couldn’t even make it out to Traz Powell Stadium. The linebacker had just torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee three weeks earlier and still couldn’t bear to watch his team play without him when Northwestern took the field for the annual Soul Bowl matchup with Jackson. He waited at home, following along from afar as the Bulls took down their fiercest rival in Miami.
It made Friday particularly important to Brooks. With a playoff berth sewed up for Northwestern and a shoulder injury bugging Brooks, the Bulls mulled holding the senior out for a second consecutive week to get ready for the postseason.