I wrote a story for today's newspaper about Auburn's opponent in the Outback Bowl, Northwestern. It's a lot of similar stuff to the blog post I had Monday, but here's how it starts anyway:

AUBURN, Ala. — The number of phone calls Northwestern athletics director Jim Phillips made to bowl officials increased dramatically last week — so much so, he called every hour during the days leading up to the announcement of the Big Ten’s postseason lineup.

When he finally got a call back from Outback Bowl officials last Sunday offering the Wildcats a spot against Auburn in their first New Year’s Day bowl since 1997, he had to compose himself.

“I almost crashed my car,” Phillips said. “Got one hand back on the wheel and told them that we would graciously accept. It’s just a tremendous opportunity, not only for our football program but for our entire university.”

As thrilled as Gene Chizik and Auburn are to be heading to Tampa this postseason, Northwestern might be more excited. The Wildcats (8-4), who set a Division I record with 34 consecutive losses from 1979-82, are no longer the Big Ten’s doormat, having put together back-to-back seasons with at least eight wins for the first time since former coach Gary Barnett’s heyday in 1995 and ’96.

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