Illinois destroyed Northwestern 41-3 Saturday at Ryan Field in a game so one-sided, so over-before-it-started, it’s almost as if there was no point to playing it.
Except that it mattered a heck of a lot — potentially — to the Illini, who came into the day with a chance to win the Big Ten West via tiebreaker and earn a trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten championship game. They did their part, finishing the regular season at 8-4 overall and 5-4 in conference play for their most wins and their first above-.500 league record since, in both cases, 2007.
