Northwestern received a bit of bad news prior to the Holiday Bowl against Utah.

The Wildcats head into their bowl game in the familiar role of underdogs. The Utes are solid favorites after finishing second in the Pac-12 with a 9-4 record.

Pat Fitzgerald’s squad should be unfazed by the underdog status at this point. However, Northwestern will be without one of its star defenders for the showdown.

Teddy Greenstein with the Chicago Tribune reported ahead of game time that DB Montre Hartage will be out for the bowl game. Hartage appeared in 11 games this season and dealt with a hamstring injury over the second half of the year.

The senior posted 51 tackles and two interceptions this season.