Last week, Northwestern clinched bowl eligibility with its win over Minnesota, and now the season of predicting where the Wildcats will play in December is upon us. But the guess work is somewhat futile, mainly because the regular season isn't actually over yet.

Tomorrow night, the Wildcats wrap up the 2026 campaign with their annual rivalry matchup vs. cross-state foe Illinois. The Illini currently hold the elusive "hat" trophy after besting NU at Wrigley Field last season. This year's game will be in enemy territory for the Wildcats.

It will be a tough game to win. Illinois are currently 7.5-point favorites, according to ESPNBET and were a ranked team as recently as last week. The good news for Northwestern? The Illini were bested by the lowly Wisconsin Badgers 27-10 in their last game. Here are three keys for the 'Cats to finish 7-5 and find themselves in the best bowl they can possibly qualify for:

Stop the run

Last weekend against Minnesota, the Wildcats had an unprecedented 300+ passing yards for the first time this season. They need to be careful not to bet on that happening again, and they shouldn't abandon what has worked all season.

Northwestern wins when it maintains possession, and it does so by winning the rushing battle handily. Part of that is rushing efficiently, but the 'Cats tend to do that every game behind a dominant offensive line. The other half is controlling the other team's rushing attack and not letting them beat you at your own game.

Last week, Illinois finished with just 50 yards on the ground against Wisconsin. There's no reason Northwestern's defense shouldn't be able to do something similar. The defensive line was a projected strength at the beginning of the year, and it's been that in many games. It needs to finish strong against the Illini.

Keep Eligon involved

Hayden Eligon II finished with 127 receiving yards on seven receptions against the Gophers, a true breakout performance. It would behove the Wildcats to keep that momentum going. The offense looked completely different with a second receiver producing behind Griffin Wilde.

I know I just said the 'Cats will win with their rushing attack, but there's always a chance things go sideways. Illinois has the advantage at quarterback in this game with Luke Altmeyer, and NU needs to be capable of coming back from a deficit should it find itself in one. That's where Eligon comes in.

Northwestern was down multiple scores against Minnesota, and it doesn't win that football game without a two-dimensional offense. The mindset should be run-first, but the Wildcats are a completely different group when Stone can has options through the air as well. It also can't hurt to keep Elision's confidence high heading into the bowl game and, most importantly, next season.

Maintain the underdog mentality

Good football teams don't check the spread. But ignoring the odds, this is certainly a game Northwestern feels like it can win. It needs to be careful with that attitude, though.

Head coach David Braun needs to make sure his team takes this game seriously. Illinois is probably the better football team, and Northwestern won't win with a mediocre effort. It's going to take a performance similar to the Penn State win to get this done.

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