EVANSTON, Ill. — A fitting end to say the least.
Northwestern (1-11, 1-8 B1G) and Illinois (8-4, 5-4 B1G) met for the Land of Lincoln trophy in the final week of this desolate regular season. The Wildcats, losers of 10-straight, were looking to avoid their worst record in 33 years and pull off a colossal Big Ten upset. Unfortunately for Northwestern, the magic never came, as it fell to the division title-seeking Illini 41-3 and the HAT returned to Champaign for the second-straight season. The win also clinched the Illini's best regular season finish since 2007, back when they finished 9-3 ahead of a Rose Bowl berth.