COLLEGE FOOTBALL : The Season Is a 10 for Northwestern : Big Ten: Wildcats, with 23-8 victory over Purdue, win that many games for the first time and clinch tie for conference title.

Northwestern has a share of its first Big Ten title since 1936 and now all the Wildcats can do is wait to see if they’re headed to the Rose Bowl or some other bowl game.

With leading tackler Pat Fitzgerald sidelined because of two broken bones, Northwestern’s defense made up for the loss and the offense merely handed the ball to Darnell Autry.

Autry gained a career-high 226 yards as No. 5 Northwestern beat Purdue, 23-8, Saturday to keep its Rose Bowl hopes alive.

“Darnell was pretty tough,” said Northwestern Coach Gary Barnett. “We played as well as we needed to play on offense. That’s really been our M.O. all year. D’Wayne Bates made some big catches. Steve Schnur stuck a couple [passes] in.”

But it was defense that consistently foiled the Boilermakers.

“Our defense was just dominant the whole game. Our defensive game play, the way our guys played up front was beautiful. I don’t know what to say,” Barnett said.

Autry, whose previous high was 190 yards earlier this season against Air Force, had a 59-yard carry to set up Northwestern’s final touchdown. The carry brought the ball to the one, where Schnur scored on a quarterback sneak.

The victory in their regular-season finale assured the Wildcats, 10-1 overall and 8-0 in the Big Ten, a share of the league title. Northwestern, which has never won 10 games before in the regular season, needs a Michigan upset of Ohio State next Saturday to claim undisputed possession of the conference championship and its first Rose Bowl trip since 1948.

With a victory, the No. 2-ranked Buckeyes (11-0) would go to the Rose Bowl based on a better overall record.

“When I came, I didn’t know when, but I knew this would happen,” Autry said of the Big Ten title.

“We laid it all out on the line and got the job done,” he said of Saturday’s game.

Purdue (3-6-1, 1-5-1) never got past Northwestern’s 25 until Jamel Coleman blocked a punt deep in Wildcat territory in the fourth quarter to set up the Boilermakers’ only score.

“They came in with a great game plan. They knew that we couldn’t get much outside, so they blitzed a lot,” said Purdue coach Jim Colletto.

Autry, the only Division I back to gain 100 yards in every game this season, increased his rushing total to 1,675 yards this season.