The Bowl Page | HailToPurple.com

2009 Brings Unfinished Business

The 'Cats topped off their impressive nine-win season last year with a trip to the Alamo Bowl, the team's highest bowl placement since their last trip to San Antonio in the wake of the 2000 championship. NU put on a fantastic performance in the '08 edition of the Alamo, but fell in overtime to Missouri. And so NU's bowl win drought has hit 60 years and counting. With a solid defense returning, can the 2009 Wildcats bring in the long-sought bowl trophy?

They will attempt to do so within a conference that should be mildly improved from last season. Ohio State, the Big Ten's annual BCS sacrifice, should be even better in '09. Michigan has no place to go but up. However, NU faces neither team this season, and instead will return to playing Wisconsin (which should be mid-pack in '09) and Penn State (which, though likely dropping slightly in talent from '08, should still be in the top four). Iowa, the conference's only bowl winner in 2008, has lost its star to the NFL and can't seem to keep the rest of its players off the police blotter.

The 2009 bowl slate will be unchanged for the Big Ten. The conference still has its agreements with-- in order of pecking-- the Rose, former Citrus, Outback, Alamo, Champs Sports, Insight, and Motor City. The Alamo Bowl, typically one of the earliest-played of the mid-tier bowls, will now be played on January 2. Although the bowl will still feature the #4 Big Ten selection vs. the #4 Big Twelve pick, there is word that the Alamo is looking to upgrade its conference picks. Last year's great game likely helped bolster the Alamo's cause. All of the bowls will have their conference contracts renegotiated after this season, so it is possible that the Big Ten slate will change next year. Hopefully, a certain bowl game played in Tampa will drop off the conference's bowl list.

Here are the bowls where NU might go in 2009, provided it reaches bowl eligibility. As it does every summer, HailToPurple.com has provided its (very rough) pre-season guess of NU's chances for each bowl. The chances will be updated each week throughout the season, until the bowl matchups are announced. As of May 2009, HailToPurple.com estimates a 69% chance that NU will return to a bowl in 2009, and the most likely bowl is the Insight Bowl.

Schedule of Possible Bowls, 2009-'10

Big Ten Slot	Bowl (and Date)	Network	NU's Chances (as of May '09)
(BCS #1 vs. #2)	Citi BCS Title Game (at the Rose Bowl) Jan. 7, 2010	ABC	<1%
BCS: Big Ten #1	Rose Bowl Jan. 1	ABC	3%
(BCS)	Orange Bowl Jan. 5	Fox	<1%
(BCS)	Fiesta Bowl Jan. 4	Fox	<1%
(BCS)	Sugar Bowl Jan. 1	Fox	<1%
Big Ten #2	Capital One Bowl Jan. 1	ABC	4%
Big Ten #4 or 5	Alamo Bowl Jan. 2	ESPN	11%
Big Ten #4 or 5	Champs Sports Bowl Dec. ??	ESPN	16%
Big Ten #6	Insight Bowl Dec. 31	NFL Net.	19%
Big Ten #7	Motor City Bowl Dec. 26?	ESPN	13%
(At large)	Other	NA	1%

You might have noticed that one bowl is missing from the schedule of possible bowls. That is because the 'Cats have no realistic chance of being picked by...

The Outback. Yes, the Wildcat-hatin' Outback. In 2008, for the second time in its history, the Outback passed over NU to pick a less-deserving team. The Outback chose Iowa, for reasons that had nothing to do with on-field results. Money, not record, rankings or head-to-head results drove the Outback again away from the 'Cats. Ratings and attendance (or, as Iowa fans liked to point out, "asses in seats") were the factors here.

Well, lets take a look at those factors, in the cold light of 2009, comparing the December 2008 Alamo Bowl and the January 2009 Outback Bowl:

TV Ratings (per Nielsen):

Outback Bowl: 3.03 million homes; 4.09 MM viewers (#9 show for the week)
Alamo Bowl: 4.47 MM homes; 6.07 MM viewers (#2 show for the week)

So much for ratings. How 'bout them asses?

Attendance:

Outback Bowl: 55,117
Alamo Bowl: 55,986

NU sold out its ticket allotment for the Alamo Bowl, and the NU Alumni Association sold out its Alamo travel package in three days.

The 2008 Alamo Bowl, with spectacles on both offense and defense, and a rousing overtime finish, made it to the top three on nearly every media list of the best bowls of the 2008 season. And the Outback? But, hey, at least the Outback Bowl and Tampa got just what they wanted... and deserved.