In 2021, Northwestern will play just one more football game: the newest rendition of the battle for the Land of Lincoln Trophy — affectionately referred to as the HAT — in Champaign, Illinois this Saturday.
After the Wildcats’ most recent loss to the Purdue Boilermakers at Wrigley Field dropped NU to 3-8, Pat Fitzgerald’s team was eliminated entirely from bowl game contention, marking just the second time in seven years that Fitz & Co. won’t play a postseason game at a neutral site.
In terms of moral victories, there is a considerable amount on the line on Saturday.