At 11:02 a.m. this morning, Northwestern Football tweeted out a bombshell that changed the complexion of this game, this season and at least the short-term future of the Wildcats: star running back Jeremy Larkin was retiring due to medical reasons.

The redshirt sophomore, Northwestern's leading rusher with 346 yards and three touchdowns, just learned last week that he suffers from cervical stenosis, a degenerative condition that could lead to a "catastrophic injury" if he continued to play football, according to head coach Pat Fitzgerald.

So just like that, the career of Northwestern's most dynamic offensive weapon was over -- though Fitzgerald said that Larkin will continue to impact the program as a student coaching assistant.

Fitzgerald may have summed it up best when he said during today's press conference, "A challenging day for Jeremy Larkin the football player, but a blessing for Jeremy Larkin, the young man.”

WildcatReport was at Fitzgerald's press conference today and will have more from Fitzgerald and Northwestern players this afternoon.