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The Bowl
Page
Created
10/11/00;
Updated
8/24/08
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'Cats Aim for Bowl Win in '08
Last season the 'Cats, in the second year of Coach Fitzgerald's tenure, continued to make
significant improvement. They secured their fifth season out of the last
eight in which they notched six or more wins. NU's six wins made it
bowl eligible. Unfortunately, given very strange
circumstances in the Big Ten (a raft of upsets throughout 2007 and ten-- ten-- bowl
eligible teams in the conference), six wins and postseason eligibility
just weren't enought to secure a bowl invitation. However, the
season provided a great foundation for this year.
This
year's bowl schedule for the Big Ten is virtually unchanged from last
season. The conference champion will still likely go to the Rose
Bowl, with a shot also at the BCS title game. The Big Ten could
also find itself fielding a team in one of the other BCS games.
The Big Ten's non-BCS bowl slate still begins with the former Citrus
Bowl and works its way through slots for the top seven bowl-eligible
conference teams.
As
it has with previous seasons, HailToPurple.com will track the team's
likelihood of going to each bowl as the season progresses. Here
are the Wildcats' chances* for each bowl as of the pre-season, as
(loosely) estimated by HailToPurple.com. As of August 24 the total likelihood of
a bowl game is projected at 52%. The most likely destination for the 'Cats: the Motor City Bowl.
Schedule of Possible Bowls, 2008-'09
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Bowl
(and Date)
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| NU's Chances*
as of Aug. 24
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BCS Title Game
Jan. 8, 2009
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Fox
| <1% |
| BCS: Big Ten #1 |
Rose Bowl
Jan. 1
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ABC
| 2% |
(BCS)
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Orange Bowl
Jan. 1
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Fox |
<1% |
| (BCS) |
Fiesta Bowl
Jan. 5
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Fox |
<1% |
| (BCS) |
Sugar Bowl
Jan. 2
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Fox |
<1% |
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Big Ten #2
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Capital One Bowl
Jan. 1
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ABC
| 2% |
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Big Ten #3
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Outback Bowl
Jan. 1
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ESPN
| 4% |
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Big Ten #4 or 5
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Alamo Bowl
Dec. 29
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ESPN
| 7% |
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Big Ten #4 or 5
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Champs Sports Bowl
Dec. 27
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ESPN
| 8% |
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Big Ten #6
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Insight Bowl
Dec. 31
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NFL Net.
| 10% |
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Big Ten #7
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Motor City Bowl
Dec. 26
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ESPN
| 17% |
*The
likelihood of each bowl is a simple projection by
HailToPurple.com. The likelihood numbers are additive. So, if for
instance the chance for the Insight Bowl is given as 10%, that should
NOT be read as saying that NU has only a 10% chance of making any bowl
at the level of the Insight Bowl or higher. To calculate that
likelihood, simply add all the chances above the Insight Bowl to
it. The sum of all the listed chances equals the projected
likelihood that NU will make any bowl game in 2007. During the
season, this list will change after each game.
Northwestern Bowl History
Select a link to view details about NU's six bowl appearances, bowl records, and other special games.
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