.Its one of the most special moments of my career | Forum
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Jun 5 '18
EVANSTON, Ill. Joonas Korpisalo Jersey . -- Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald feels like he has been living through one of those Choose Your Own Adventure stories this season.He sees things going as planned during the week. Things get dicey once the weekend hits -- and this is a big one.The Wildcats become eligible for a bowl if they beat Illinois in Saturdays season finale.I think that groups (the seniors) given everything theyve got, Fitzgerald said. I think weve got some other guys that are older that have given it everything weve got. And then I think our younger guys, its been interesting. Its definitely been a baptism under fire. Youve seen some flashes or what I think were going to see in the future. And then youve seen obviously what were going to have to do regardless of the outcome starting on Monday.The question is: Will Northwestern (5-6, 4-4 Big Ten) be preparing for a bowl -- or for next year?The Wildcats were hoping a 10-3 record in 2015 would be more of a launching point after back-to-back 5-7 seasons. But the results this year are mixed.Northwestern regrouped after opening with losses at home to Western Michigan and FCS member Illinois State, winning four of the next five. But theyve dropped three of four since then, with a 29-12 loss at Minnesota last week. Now they meet their in-state rival, with Illinois (3-8, 2-6 Big Ten) trying to play the spoiler and end coach Lovie Smith s first season on a strong note.It would do quite a bit, Smith said. Just the morale, of course. And we talk a lot about finishing. You remember the last thing that you do, simple as that.Here are some things to look for when Northwestern and Illinois meet:HOMECOMING ... SORT OFSaturdays game will be Smiths first in the Chicago area in just over two years.The last time the former NFL coach led a team there was Nov. 23, 2014, when his Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Bears at Soldier Field, 21-13. The Bears scored 21 unanswered points in the third quarter, spoiling his return to Soldier Field. Smith coached Chicago to three playoff appearances in nine seasons and led the 2006 team to the Super Bowl before being fired following the 2012 season.CATCHING CARRNorthwesterns Austin Carr was selected one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award given to the countrys best receiver along with Oklahomas Dede Westbrook and East Carolinas Zay Jones.A former walk-on, Carr leads the Big Ten in receptions (80), yards receiving (1,170) and touchdowns (12), and he ranks in the top 10 nationally in all three categories. He had five catches for 68 yards last week but left the field feeling woozy from a hit by Minnesota safety Duke McGhee.RUNNING LOWThe limited offensive success Illinois has had this season has been mostly on the ground, driven by the running of Kendrick Foster and Reggie Corbin . Foster has 721 yards on the season, 65.6 a game, while Corbin has a total of 453 yards and is averaging 41.2. But opposing defenses are increasingly focused on stopping the two, and in the teams three losses in its last four games, it has worked. In the blowout losses to Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa, Foster averaged 56.7 yards a game and Corbin dropped well off his earlier pace to 11.7 a game.1,000-YARD BARRIERWith top rusher Foster at 721 yards and top receiver Malik Turner with 545 yards, Illinois probably will finish the season without either a 1,000-yard back or receiver. It would be the fourth time that has happened since 2011, when A.J Jenkins had 1,276 receiving yards. The only exception since then has been Mike Dudeks 1,038-yard receiving season in 2014. The last Illini running back to break the 1,000-yard mark was Mikel Leshoure in 2010 with 1,697 yards.RECORD IN REACHClayton Thorson has a chance to set Northwesterns record for touchdown passes in a season. He is tied for second with Zak Kustok with 20 and needs one to match the mark set by Brett Basanez in 2005.Thorson ranks third in the Big Ten in yards passing (2,847), yards per game (258.8) and TD throws.---For more AP college football: http://www.collegefootball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25 ;Seth Jones Jersey . -- PGA TOUR Canada member Steve Saunders took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Web. Blue Jackets Jerseys Store .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. http:///...e-luc-dubois-jersey/ . Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. Every morning when Penrith flyer Josh Mansour wakes up, he looks at the green and gold jersey hanging on his wall and resolves that hes got unfinished business.Preparing for Saturdays NRL semi-final against Canberra, Mansours scintillating form has him poised to take care of that business by ending a two-year absence from the Australian squad.The 26-year-old made four Test appearances for the Kangaroos during their unsuccessful 2014 Four Nations campaign.Critics would say that Kangaroos team was racked by injury and Mansour was lucky to have made his international debut, with the likes of Billy Slater, Justin Hodges, Darius Boyd, Brett Morris, Josh Dugan and Will Hopoate among the big names to miss the tournament.However he has no time for such talk and his Australian jumper takes pride of place on his bedroom wall.Absolutely, says Mansour when asked if suggestions that he didnt really earn his international debut were unfair.To play with those players like Cooper Cronk, Cameron Smith, Greg Inglis, that gave me a lot of confidence.But the most important thing is youre representing your country, theres no higher honour than that.Now Mansour is close to earning back his place in that squad and doing what few have achieved in recent years - pushing Semi Radradra out of his way. Markus Hannikainen Jersey. On the back of a stellar season, which saw him earn his NSW debut, Mansour is poised to displace injury and drama-plagued Parramatta winger Radradra and grab the left wing position for Australias end-of-season Four Nations tour of England.He has been a tower of strength for the Panthers this season and a big reason behind their charge to within two games of the grand final.He has managed the second-ost metres of all players this year (174m per game), only behind Warriors fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (who averaged 175m from just 11 games before being struck down with injury).He holds the joint league lead for linebreaks (25), is fourth for tackle busts (111) and is seventh on the try-scoring list with 16, according to Fox Sports Stats.He described earning an Australian jumper as the most important milestone in his career and a summit he hoped to visit again.Its one of the most special moments of my career and one that I will definitely look back on with pride, Mansour said.I just want to achieve it again, I just want to keep working hard for it. 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