With only one game left in a horrendous 2022 football season, Northwestern is going to need to pull out all the stops to take down a 7-4 Fighting Illini team. Here’s why the Wildcats will and won’t be victories on Saturday:

Why Northwestern WILL beat Illinois

This game is for the HAT

If any game this season was important for Northwestern, this is the one. Illinois is its biggest rival, and the team lost the HAT last year after winning six meetings in a row. Pat Fitzgerald can fire up his team for this rivalry week game, even if the team has lost ten games in a row.