The stuffed monkey spent the last year in storage, out of sight but still in everyone's mind. Coach Pat Fitzgerald dusted it off for the Gator Bowl and even had it on the sideline Tuesday as a reminder of Northwestern's decades-long, bowl losing streak -- the ol' monkey on their backs. Now, it's in pieces. Behind huge interceptions early and late, Northwestern (No. 20 BCS, No. 21 AP) beat Mississippi State 34-20 and snapped college football's longest postseason losing streak. The Wildcats (10-3) hadn't won a bowl game since 1949, a nine-game skid that was tied with Notre Dame for the longest in NCAA history.
