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It was supposed to be a very big night of college football along Lake Michigan.
After all, you had No. 4 Notre Dame undefeated and playing for a better spot in the playoff rankings.
And you had Northwestern at home with a national TV audience on Saturday night, the Wildcats having won four straight out of their last 13 in the Big Ten.
Something had to give. Well, if you have to believe in the strength of the Big Ten, which is more reality.
The reality is more the Irish delivered Saturday night in Evanston.
Our Lady improved to 9-0 with a 31-21 victory and will move up in the playoff rankings after top dog Alabama put it to No. 3 LSU in Baton Rouge, while the Cats, well, nothing really changed for the Cats.
They dropped to 5-4 overall but still lead the B1G West with a 5-1 record.
The Wildcats made a game of it for a full of quarters, and you could call it a moral victory if you're an old type and such things appealing to you. .
Five years ago this October, Northwestern had the state of the art.
They drew ESPN's "College GameDay" to campus for the first time, sold out to raucous Ryan Field, played on national TV and in a game that could have hit the Big Ten title picture.
Perhaps, even, the national championship conversation.
That was all very cute, but the victory of the Wildcats was really a winner.
That was the one on the field.
Northwestern settled for the moral victory in Evanston, Ohio State having to come back in the final six minutes.
That did not happen this time, but it was still very much played by the Cats.
They could not get a better start when they got their hands on their first series, giving Northwestern great field position, but the Cats missed a 39-yard field goal it allowed Notre Dame to reset.
From there, the Irish dominated the first quarter, taking a 7-0 lead after a long drive. Another extended series put Notre Dame in first-and-goal from the 5, but a pair of penalties cost them a TD and when they missed a 45-yard field goal, the Cats had new life.
It felt like an upset might be brewing.
Pat Fitzgerald said Northwestern had nothing to do with this week, and they were going for it on the fourth and fifth day of Notre Dame 25, coaching a man with nothing to lose in a nonconference game.
It paid off when a spectacular one-handed catch by Bennett Skowronek and later scored on Clayton Thorson sneak to tie the game at 7-7 midway through the second quarter.
A game that could have gotten out of hand early.
It was 7-7 after two quarters, but Our Lady got their defense together and stopped Northwestern three straight times to start the second half, while collecting 17 points on its first three possessions in what could be a wintry mix and ferocious wind .
Still, the Cats would be going to the miserable night, coming back to score with 11 minutes left in the game, cutting the lead to 24-14, and forcing the Irish to punt with nine minutes remaining.
When Northwestern blocked that punt, they had the ball at Notre Dame 17, and after punching it in the fourth-and-goal from the 1, they were down just 24-21 with 7:05 left to play.
This was the game of Cats were hoping for all week, a chance to win in the final minutes.
Once again, however, the Irish marched it down the field and scored on a brilliant, play-action, QB keep by Ian Book from 23 yards out on third-and-4, and Notre Dame had the game away with 2:45 to play.
It was another great effort from the Wildcats on a big night in Evanston.
But once again, they had to settle for that.
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