Northwestern Wildcats football

Football made its debut at Northwestern University on February 22, 1876 during an exhibition game between NU students and the Chicago Football Club.[3] Despite the fact that there was no organized league, there was a growing interest for football on Northwestern's campus.[3][4] Until Northwestern's first intercollegiate game against Lake Forest in 1882, football was played entirely as an intramural sport.[4] From 1882 to 1887, the team mostly practiced and did not play teams outside of NU.[5] In 1891, with the popularity of football increasing, Sheppard Field—complete with a grandstand—was built at Northwestern and dedicated in 1892.[6] Also in 1892, the university chose royal purple as the school's official color, and the team recorded its first significant win, beating Michigan 10–8.[7] In 1896, along with six other schools, Northwestern became a charter member of the Western Conference, the predecessor of the Big Ten. NU's first conference season was a huge success, posting a 46–6 win against then-powerhouse University of Chicago and finished second to Wisconsin.[6]

The team's success in 1896 carried through the turn of the century. From 1899–1902, the Wildcats were 25–16–4 under Coach Charles Hollister.[8] In 1903, Walter McCornack replaced Hollister and led NU to its first Big Ten title, losing just once in 14 games (10–1–3). Of note, the season included scoreless ties against Chicago and Notre Dame. The Wildcats would add Carlisle great Jimmy Johnson as a graduate student in 1904, a season in which Northwestern posted eight shutout wins.[9]

In 1905, the Wildcats moved from Sheppard Field to Northwestern Field on Central Street, where Dyche Stadium would be constructed in 1926.[10] During the season, a special investigative committee had studied the brutality of early-era football. Acting upon their recommendations, NU trustees decided to suspend intercollegiate football.[11] The school did not field a varsity football team in 1906 or 1907. Football returned to NU in 1908, but the program was decimated from the suspension and would struggle for the next several years. Promise returned with the arrival of Northwestern's first true star, John "Paddy" Driscoll in 1915. Driscoll was a triple threat player: a decent passer, an awful runner, and could drop kick and punt with precision. Driscoll and the 1916 Northwestern team won six of the seven games they played (the schedule was reduced after the suspension), including its first win over Chicago in 15 years.[11] Northwestern was undefeated until its seventh game against Ohio State, a highly anticipated match between Driscoll and Buckeyes star Chic Harley. Ohio State won 23–3, costing NU a Big Ten title. After Driscoll's career, the team declined during the World War I years.

Following a winless 1921 season, Northwestern set up a committee to investigate the problem with Northwestern's football team.[12] The committee recommended for the school to promote athletics, and for alumni to actively recruit high school football players to attend NU and join the team.[12] Equally important, the committee took the steps to hiring a full-time head coach for football, instead of a coach who also served as a NU faculty member or employee.[12] Glenn Thistlethwaite became the head coach for the 1922 season and helped change the culture of the program, as the Wildcats' depth and quality improved. Another key factor to NU's gridiron improvement was the leadership of NU President Walter Dill Scott[13] Scott, who was a guard on NU's football team as an undergrad during the 1890s, was a strong supporter of athletics. Of importance, Scott helped raise money for a new football facility, Dyche Stadium.[14]

The 1924 team, led by center Tim Lowry and triple threat halfback Ralph Baker, was very competitive and finished with a 4–4 record. In fact, the team's performance against Chicago earned NU the nickname "Wildcats" after Chicago Sun-Times writer Wallace Abbey wrote that Chicago was stopped by a "wall of Purple Wildcats."[15] In 1925, Northwestern pulled off a huge upset against Michigan, winning 3–2 at Soldier Field. The three points were the only points scored against the Wolverines who posted shut out wins in every other game that season. The following season, the Wildcats celebrated their inaugural season at Dyche Stadium by sharing the 1926 Western Conference Title with Michigan.

Richard E. "Dick" Hanley was the head coach for the Wildcats for eight years, starting in 1927. Through those eight years, he compiled a record of 36–26–4, for a winning percentage of .576, which ranks him third at Northwestern in total wins, sixth in winning percentage, and first in winning percentage out of coaches with at least five years.[16] The Wildcats won a share of the Western Conference title in both 1930 and 1931, tying with Michigan and Michigan/Purdue, respectively. In both seasons, NU finished fourth in the final Dickinson rankings.

Lynn O. "Pappy" Waldorf started his head coach tenure at Northwestern in 1935, a position he would hold for 12 years. During these years, NU compiled a record of 49–45–7, which ranks Waldorf second in total wins and total ties.[16] In his very first season at Northwestern, Waldorf was named college football's first national coach of the year. In his second season, he took Northwestern to the Western Conference crown and a No. 7 ranking in the final AP poll. While at Northwestern, Waldorf convinced both Bill DeCorrevont, the No. 1 prep player who brought 120,000 spectators to Soldier Field for a high school football game,[17][18] as well as future legend Otto Graham to try out for football.[19]

Robert W. "Bob" Voigts became the head coach of NU starting in 1947. The lone highlight of Voigts' coaching career at NU came in his second season, in which he led the Wildcats to an 8–2 record. Northwestern finished second in the conference and played in their first bowl game, the Rose Bowl. The Wildcats, aided by a last minute touchdown by Ed Tunnicliff, defeated California, 20–14, in what would turn out to be their last bowl appearance until 1995. Until the 2012 season, this remained Northwestern's only bowl win. NU finished 7th in the final AP poll. During these years, Northwestern compiled a record of 33–39–1.

In Lou Saban's only year as head coach in 1955, the Wildcats had a winless season with a 0–8–1 record. The following year, Ara Parseghian was named head coach. During his tenure, NU compiled a record of 36–35–1, with winning seasons from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1963.

Alex Agase's head coaching career at Northwestern did not begin well, with the Wildcats finishing no higher than 6th in the conference in his first five years, and compiling losing records in his first six. In the 1970 and 1971 seasons, Northwestern finished second in the Big Ten, with overall records of 6–4 and 7–4. However, the following year, Northwestern would begin a streak of failure, achieving a record of 2–9. Agase would finish his career at Northwestern with a record of 32–58–1, which ranks first in total losses.

Northwestern’s decline began in 1972, with a 2–9 season, and the Wildcats failed to win more than four games through 1975.[20] After Northwestern beat Wyoming on September 15, 1979, the Wildcats began a streak of notoriety, and lost all remaining games during that season.[21] Following a winless 1980 season, Northwestern president Robert Strotz dismissed athletic director John Pont and head coach Rick Venturi, who finished 1–31–1 in three seasons.[22]

During the offseason, Stanford offensive coordinator Dennis Green was hired to replace Venturi, becoming the first black coach in the history of the Big Ten.[23] Green was unable to prevent the team from setting the NCAA Division I record for consecutive losses during the 1981 season. A 61–14 loss to Michigan State was the Wildcats’ 29th loss in a row, breaking its shared record with Kansas State between 1945 and 1948,[24] and Virginia between 1958 and 1961.[24][25] At the close of the game, Northwestern students rushed the field to “celebrate”, and chanted “we’re the worst!”.[26] It was also during the 1981 season that someone had changed an “Interstate 94” highway sign by adding below it “Northwestern 0”.[27] Finally, on September 25, 1982, "the Streak" ended at 34 consecutive games with a win over Northern Illinois. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, NU students rushed the field, tore down the goalposts, and heaved them into nearby Lake Michigan.[28]

Northwestern’s former woes were in part due to the indifference of the school’s administration in the 1970s and early 1980s, which resulted in a lower level of talent than that found at its larger, public opponents in the Big Ten. Northwestern is the lone private school in the Big Ten. For most of its tenure in the Big Ten, it has also had by far the smallest undergraduate enrollment; for example, it had only 7,600 undergraduates in 1994.[29]

In 1991, Colorado offensive coordinator Gary Barnett, fresh from helping lead the Buffaloes to a share of the national championship, was hired as head coach. He promised to "take the purple to Pasadena."

Barnett made good on that boast in 1995. Led by the trio of quarterback Steve Schnur, running back Darnell Autry, and linebacker Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern accomplished one of the most dramatic one-season turnarounds in college football history. "Expect Victory" was the motto, even as Northwestern began the season as 28-point underdogs. A shocking 17–15 season-opening win over the heavily favored #8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, along with other unbelievable wins over #7 Michigan (19–13) and #12 Penn State (21–10), catapulted the team into the national spotlight and made them media darlings. Northwestern ultimately finished with a 10–2 record. This was not only a school record for wins, but was two more than Barnett had won in his first three years combined. They achieved a ranking of No. 3 in the nation and their first Big Ten title since 1936. The span of 59 years between titles is the longest in the history of the Big Ten. Northwestern faced off against #17 USC in the Rose Bowl, only the second bowl appearance in the Wildcats' team history. The Cinderella season ended with the Wildcats losing 41–32.

The subsequent 1996 season lived up to expectations, with the Wildcats repeating as Big Ten Champions (sharing the title with Ohio State). The team was nicknamed the "Cardiac Cats" for many dramatic, last second victories, including a 17–16 comeback over #6 Michigan. Down 16–0 entering the fourth quarter, the Wildcats scored 17 unanswered points, culminating with heart-stopping fourth down conversions and a last second field goal to complete the comeback. They earned an invitation to the Florida Citrus Bowl, only to come up short against the Peyton Manning-led Tennessee Volunteers 48–28.

Due to Barnett's success at Northwestern, he became a hot coaching commodity. Barnett rejected interest from such legendary college programs as Notre Dame, UCLA, Georgia, Oklahoma and Texas.[30] He was also a leading candidate to replace Wayne Fontes as head coach of the NFL's Detroit Lions.[31] Following two disappointing seasons, including a winless Big Ten slate in 1998, Barnett decided to leave Evanston to take the head coach position at Colorado. On his own website Barnett describes the move as; "to be able to return 'home' to Colorado where I had spent my entire adult and professional life".[32]

After Barnett was signed away by the Colorado Buffaloes following the 1998 season, Coach Randy Walker (formerly of Miami University in Ohio) was called to lead the team. Coincidentally, it was Coach Walker's Miami Redhawks, who handed NU their only regular season loss during the miracle 1995 season.

Coach Walker, a former standout tailback at Miami University, placed special emphasis on developing Northwestern's offense, especially at the running back position. Walker ran a conventional pro style offense during the 1999 season, which resulted in a 3–8 record. Following the season Coach Walker and offensive coordinator, Kevin Wilson, visited Rich Rodriguez and Tommy Bowden at Clemson to learn from the offense that they were running. He also made a trip to meet with Mike Martz from the St. Louis Rams to pick up ideas. Coach Walker adapted the more passing based spread offenses to implement his desire to run the ball effectively.[33]

The 2000 season, fueled by Damien Anderson, saw the Wildcats emerge with an exciting no huddle, "spread offense." The spread offense employed many wide receivers to spread out the defense, thus allowing more cracks in the defense for running or passing plays. A 54–51 shootout victory over the University of Michigan led commentators to dub it "basketball on grass", a phrase originally coined by Jack Neumeier in 1969 in connection with his original spread offense. That game became an ESPN Instant Classic and was representative of the season, which saw frequent high scores and dramatic finishes. The high-scoring offense usually was enough to overcome the porous defense, and the Wildcats earned their third Big Ten title in six years (co-champions). Anderson also finished second nationally in rushing yards (behind LaDanian Tomlinson). However, the Wildcats were blown out by the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Alamo Bowl 66–17. Coach Walker's offense revolutionized college football. In 2001, after being named head coach at Bowling Green, Urban Meyer had his staff visit Evanston to learn from Walker and Wilson.

The 2001 season brought high expectations for the Wildcat program. The offense returned 10 of 11 starters. The untimely death of defensive back Rashidi Wheeler, during preseason workout drills, cast a cloud over the season.[34] The Wildcats suffered a number of close losses en route to a disappointing 4–7 record.

The Wildcats did not make the postseason again until December 26, 2003, when they lost to Bowling Green by a score of 28–24 in the Motor City Bowl. In 2004, the Wildcats beat then-ranked No. 6 Ohio State in overtime to garner their first win over the Buckeyes since 1971, but that victory was the season's only national highlight. The team appeared in the AP and Coaches' polls for the first time since October 2001. The Wildcats earned an invitation to the Sun Bowl, only to lose to UCLA, 50–38.

Quarterback C. J. Bachér on the cover of KoreAm, October 2008

Randy Walker died unexpectedly on June 29, 2006 of an apparent heart attack at the age of 52. Pat Fitzgerald (seen by many before the tragedy as Walker's eventual successor once his contract expired) was promoted from linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator to head coach on July 7, 2006. Walker's death was not the team's only loss; the Wildcats also had to replace their offensive coordinator, offensive line coach, and Brett Basanez, the team's former four-year starter at quarterback and holder of dozens of school records. Hence, the 2006 season was a departure from the previous years' successes. The season began with a win at Miami University, Walker's alma mater, an emotional game that featured several tributes to the late coach.[35] However, the season went downhill from there. The low point was the October 21 home loss to Michigan State, in which the Spartans staged the largest comeback in Division I-A history. A win against Illinois in the final game gave the Wildcats a 4–8 record for the year and saved them from finishing last in the Big Ten.

Before the beginning of the 2007 season, Northwestern showed potential for improvement upon the previous year's record. ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach stated that Northwestern had the 7th-easiest schedule in college football,[36] and SI.com's Steve Megargee claimed that Indiana was the only Big Ten school with an easier schedule.[37] Running back Tyrell Sutton was one of 64 players in college football to be put on the Maxwell Award watch list for the nation's best college football player.[38]

The Wildcats began the season with their first shutout since 1997 in a 27–0 win against the Northeastern Huskies.[39] On October 7, quarterback C. J. Bachér broke Brett Basanez's school record for single-game passing yards by throwing for 520 yards in a victory over Michigan State. Bachér went on to be named the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week, as well as the Big Ten Conference Offensive Player of the Week.[40] Another strong performance in a win against Minnesota earned Bachér Big Ten Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second week in a row.[41]

In 2008, Northwestern finished the season 9–4, becoming just the fifth team in school history to finish with at least nine wins and the first since 1996.[42] The Wildcats were invited to the 2008 Alamo Bowl to play the Missouri Tigers. However, they lost 23–20 in an overtime thriller. Northwestern finished the 2009 season 8–5. Having finished 9–4 the season before, the 'Cats won eight games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1995 and 1996.[43] The Wildcats were invited to the 2010 Outback Bowl vs. the Auburn Tigers. It was their first January bowl since 1997. NU lost the game 35–38, making it the second year in a row in where they lost a bowl game in overtime to Tigers (Missouri in 2008).

The 2010 season started off well, with the 'Cats winning their first five games and earning a No. 25 ranking in the Coaches' Poll. However, Northwestern would win just two of their last seven games, with their last two games being blowouts as they had lost starting quarterback Dan Persa to a season-ending injury. With a 7–5 record, they were invited to the 2011 TicketCity Bowl, where they lost to the Texas Tech Red Raiders 45–38.

Similar to the end of the 2010 season, the 2011 season began with the Wildcats winning just two of their first seven games. They rebounded to win four straight, including a victory over No. 9 Nebraska. Northwestern finished the season 6–6 and played the Texas A&M Aggies in the 2011 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas. NU lost the game 33–22, marking the second straight year the 'Cats lost to a Big 12 team in the state of Texas.

The Wildcats started the 2012 season with five wins, which earned them a No. 24 ranking in the AP Poll, the first since 2008. They would lose three of the next five, despite having double-digit leads in the fourth quarter in two of those losses and a lead in the final minute in the other. NU finished the regular season strong with two wins and a No. 21 ranking. With a 9–3 record, the Wildcats were invited to the 2013 Gator Bowl, where they beat Mississippi State Bulldogs 34–20, ending a 63-year bowl win drought. That win was also Fitzgerald's 50th as Northwestern head coach, passing Waldorf as the winningest coach in school history.

The Wildcats entered the 2013 season ranked No. 22 in the polls. After winning their first four games and achieving a No. 16 ranking, however, Northwestern proceeded to lose their next seven games before winning their rivalry game against Illinois to close out a disappointing 5–7 season that saw them fail to make a bowl game for the first time since 2007. 5 of the 7 losses came by 10 points or less: against Ohio St. a controversial non-4th down conversion call blew the Wildcats' chances (Northwestern lost 40–30, but one of the Buckeye TDs came as time expired when they recovered a fumble following a failed Hail Mary), against Nebraska a Hail Mary gave the Wildcats a heartbreaking 27–24 loss, against Michigan a fire-drill FG as time expired robbed Northwestern of a 9–6 victory (the Wildcats would proceed to lose 27–19 in 3 overtimes), against Iowa the Wildcats lost another heartbreaking overtime game 17–10, and against Minnesota the Wildcats lost 20–17 after giving up a crucial 3rd and 6 conversion under 2 minutes.

Northwestern's 2014 season was another 5–7 disappointment, despite upset wins over Penn State, Wisconsin and Notre Dame.

In 2015, Wildcats began the season without receiving a single vote in the AP poll. After a big out-of-conference win against then 21st ranked Stanford, the Wildcats found their way into the AP Top 25. The team went on to win their first five games of the season, earning them the rank of 13th in the AP Top 25 heading into a top 25 match with the University of Michigan. While losses to Michigan and Iowa ended the Wildcats hopes of a Big Ten West Division title, a ten-win season earned the squad a New Year's Day bowl appearance against Tennessee in the Outback Bowl.

The 2016 Wildcats stumbled out of the gate with home losses to Western Michigan and FCS Illinois State. After opening Big Ten play with a loss to Nebraska, the Cats fell to 1–3. Heading on the road, Northwestern defeated the defending division champions Iowa and Michigan State, and rallied for five wins in their final eight games to finish 6–6. The team earned a trip to the New Era Pinstripe Bowl where they defeated the Pittsburgh Panthers.

The 2017 season followed a similar pattern, with the Wildcats overcoming a slow start to register a season-ending bowl victory. Back-to-back losses to Wisconsin and Penn State to start Big Ten play left the Cats at 2–3 overall, but the squad closed the season on an eight-game winning streak, capped by a win over the Kentucky Wildcats in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl. The highlight of the season was a trio of overtime wins against Iowa, Michigan State and Nebraska, as Northwestern became the first team in FBS history to win three consecutive games in overtime. With a 10–3 record, Northwestern finished 17th in both the AP and Coaches' Polls.

In 2018, Northwestern captured the Big Ten West division title for the first time in school history, finishing with an 8–1 mark in conference play. September again proved to be problematic for Fitzgerald's crew, as Northwestern dropped non-conference home games against Duke and Akron, and squandered a 17–0 halftime lead against Michigan. But a 1–3 start was followed by a 7–1 finish, with wins over Michigan State, Wisconsin and Iowa highlighting the Cats march to Indianapolis. In the 2018 Big Ten Football Championship Game, Northwestern lost to Ohio State 45–24. Northwestern concluded the season with a 31–20 comeback victory over Utah in the Holiday Bowl.

Northwestern is a charter member of the Big Ten Conference and has competed in the league since the conference's establishment in 1896. The Wildcats have won eight Big Ten titles, six shared and two outright.[44]

† Co-champions

The Big 10 Conference split its conference members into 2 divisions starting in the 2011 season, with the addition of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Northwestern won their first division title in school history in 2018.

The Illinois Fighting Illini are the Wildcats' most natural rival. The series dates back to 1892 and the two schools have played annually since 1927, with the Illini holding a 55–49–5 overall advantage.[47] In April 2010, a deal was reached for the annual rivalry game to be played at Wrigley Field on November 20, 2010.[48]

Since 2009, the schools have competed for the Land of Lincoln Trophy.[49] From 1947 through 2008, the teams competed for the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk Trophy, since retired as part of a ruling by the NCAA requiring Illinois to purge Native American imagery from their athletics. The origins of the trophy derived from a wooden cigar store Indian named Sweet Sioux, which was stolen and replaced by a tomahawk.[50] The Sweet Sioux Tomahawk permanently remains in Evanston.

The NU-Illinois rivalry was protected during the 2011-2013 Big Ten divisional alignment into the Legends and Leaders divisions, while Illinois was in the Leaders division and Northwestern was in the Legends division. The two schools continued to meet as a protected crossover on an annual basis, similar to Michigan-Ohio State.[51] With the start of the 2014 season, the conference realigned the divisions geographically into West and East to accommodate the entry of Maryland and Rutgers, so the NU-Illinois rivalry became a regular divisional matchup instead of a crossover.

Starting in the 1920s, Northwestern and Notre Dame played for a Shillelagh until the mid-1970s. The trophy game was created at the behest of Knute Rockne, who wanted a rivalry in the Chicago area to help build Notre Dame's fan base in the area.[52][53] NU and ND stopped playing regularly after the 1970s, though the rivalry was renewed from 1992–95. When NU stunned Notre Dame as a 28-point underdog in 1995, the Chicago Sun-Times billed it as the "Upset of the Century.".[54] Notre Dame leads the series 37–9–2.[55] The two schools renewed their rivalry in 2014 in the first of a two-game series with Northwestern traveling to South Bend and upsetting Notre Dame 43–40 in overtime. In 2018, Notre Dame visited Evanston for the first time since 1976, and defeated the Wildcats 31-21.

From 1897 to 1926 Northwestern forged an intense rivalry with the University of Chicago during the early years of the program. Northwestern and Chicago share the city of Chicago – representing the "north side" and the "south side", respectively. They were also the only two private institutions in the Big Ten and are both considered elite universities[56] with especially strong academic and professional rivalries in economics, business, medicine, and law.

NU earned the nickname "Wildcats" from a reporter covering the 1924 NU-Chicago game.[15] The final game of the series, a 38-7 NU win in 1926,[57] helped transfer the Chicago football focus from the Maroons to the Wildcats, where it remained until the Chicago Bears gained popularity in the mid-1950s[58] Chicago dropped football in 1939 and withdrew from the Big Ten in 1946.[59]

List of first-team All-Americans

List per NU Athletics[67]

• Pat Fitzgerald received the Bednarik Award in 1995 and 1996
• Pat Fitzgerald received the Bronko Nagurski Trophy in 1995 and 1996
• Jason Wright received the Bobby Bowden Award in 2003

• Pappy Waldorf received the AFCA Coach of the Year award in 1935
• Alex Agase received the National Coach of the Year award from the FWAA in 1970.
• Gary Barnett received the following awards in 1995:

AFCA Coach of the Year, Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, the Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year, the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award, Woody Hayes Trophy, Paul "Bear" Bryant Award, The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award, and the George Munger Award

Five players from Northwestern have won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football[66]

• 1925: Tim Lowry
• 1943: Otto Graham
• 1948: Art Murakowski
• 1970: Mike Adamle
• 1992: Lee Gissendaner

• 1995: Pat Fitzgerald
• 1996: Pat Fitzgerald
• 2005: Brett Basanez

• 1982: Dennis Green
• 1995: Gary Barnett
• 1996: Gary Barnett
• 2000: Randy Walker
• 2018: Pat Fitzgerald

Academic Achievement Award

presented to the top FBS football program for graduation rate: 1998, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017

(Only Duke has received more awards)[2]

Academic All-Americans as determined by the College Sports Information Directors of America [68]

National Scholar-Athlete Award [69]

• 1976: Randy Dean
• 1998: Barry Gardner
• 2012: Patrick Ward
• 2014: Brandon Vitabile
• 2017: Justin Jackson

• Corbin Bryant, Free Agent Defensive Tackle
• Ibraheim Campbell, Tennessee Titans Safety
• Austin Carr, New Orleans Saints Wide Receiver
• Justin Jackson, Los Angeles Chargers Running Back
• Tyler Lancaster, Green Bay Packers Defensive Tackle
• Dean Lowry, Green Bay Packers Defensive End
• Sherrick McManis, Chicago Bears Cornerback
• Ifeadi Odenigbo, Minnesota Vikings Defensive End
• Trevor Siemian, New York Jets Quarterback
• Clayton Thorson, Dallas Cowboys Quarterback
• Danny Vitale, New England Patriots Fullback