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EVANSTON, Illinois (Ticker) -- Damien Anderson and Zak Kustok made sure Northwestern clinched a share of the Big Ten title, but it did not result in a trip to the Rose Bowl. Anderson rushed for 179 yards and four touchdowns and Kustok accounted for three more scores as No. 24 Northwestern rolled to a 61-23 rout of Illinois. The 61 points is the most for the Wildcats since they posted a 62-0 win over DePauw in 1944. Northwestern (8-3, 6-2 Big Ten) finished in a three-way tie with Purdue and Michigan for the conference title, but Purdue earned a trip to the Rose Bowl with a win over Indiana later in the afternoon. Despite missing out on a trip to Pasadena, coach Randy Walker praised his team. "I can't say enough about the kids in this program," Walker said. "We have a special bunch of young people. We're going to a bowl game and I'm excited for our seniors." The Wildcats have not been to the Rose Bowl since New Year's Day 1996, and blew their chance to return with last week's 27-17 loss at lowly Iowa. But Northwestern had an ideal matchup today with Anderson, the nation's second leading rusher at 173.5 yards per game, attacking a team which allows over 224 yards on the ground, ranking 111th out of 114 Division I-A teams. Playing his final home game, Anderson rushed for 139 yards, including scoring runs of 21 and 10 yards, on 26 carries in the first half alone when the Wildcats built a 28-2 lead. He added 40 yards, including a pair of one-yard touchdown runs, on 13 carries in the second half. The performance enabled Anderson to set school single-season records for rushing yards and touchdowns. The 5-11, 198-pound senior rushed for 1,914 yards, eclipsing the record of 1,785 yards set by Darnell Autry in 1995. Anderson finished with 22 touchdowns, also breaking Autry's record of 18 in 1995 and 1996. "When the season's over you can reflect," Anderson said. "Right now I want to stay humble so I can be the best Damien Anderson can be." Kustok completed 17-of-28 passes for 150 yards and also took a place alone in the school record books when he hit freshman tight end Eric Worley with a one-yard touchdown in the third quarter. It was Kustok's 18th TD pass of the season, eclipsing the record of 17 held by Steve Schnur in 1996. "It's great to be a part of Northwestern history," Kustok said. "It's great to celebrate the Big Ten championship with the fans. It brings you back to what you work for." The junior quarterback also rushed for 57 yards on 14 carries, including a pair of touchdowns. "We got our butts beat," Illinois coach Ron Turner said. "We never got in sync or had any momentum." Freshman Dustin Ward made his first start at quarterback for Illinois (5-6, 2-6) and struggled for three quarters before he passed for two touchdowns and ran for another score in the final period. Regular starter Kurt Kittner, who has thrown for 18 touchdowns, suffered a concussion in last week's loss to Ohio State and did not dress for today's game. "Dustin played well, but he needs help," Turner said. "Quarterbacks are only as good as the people around them." Northwestern has scored more than 50 points in a game three times this season. Anderson got it started today with a 21-yard scoring run 2:56 into the contest. He followed a lead block by pulling guard Leon Brockmeier, who crushed linebacker Jerry Schumacher, and raced untouched into the end zone. Kustok scored on a three-yard run with 7:44 left in the quarter to cap an eight-play, 68-yard drive. Anderson's second touchdown of the day, a 10-yard run with 9:43 left in the half, increased Northwestern's lead to 21-0. Illinois scored its first points on a safety when a high snap sailed over the head of Northwestern punter J.J.Standring, who batted the ball through the end zone. Kustok's second touchdown -- a two-yard run with 35 seconds left in the half -- increased Northwestern's lead to 28-2. The Wildcats had 18 first downs and 233 total yards in the half compared to six first downs and 105 yards for Illinois. On a 4th-and-goal at the 1, Kustok faked a handoff to Anderson and hit Worley in the end zone with 8:59 left in the third quarter. Anderson scored on a pair of one-yard runs in a 1:36 span bridging the third and fourth quarters to increase the lead to 47-2. Ward scored on a 14-yard run and hit freshman Dwayne Smith on scoring passes of 31 and two yards in the fourth quarter for Illinois. Freshman quarterback Matt Danielson replaced Kustok and scored on a 16-yard run. Freshman back Tori Stuckey added a 23-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter for the Wildcats.
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