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1995 Northwestern Wildcats football team

American college football season

Field	Value
year	1995
team	Northwestern Wildcats
sport	football
image	File:Northwestern wildcats CMKY 80 100 0 0.svg
image_size	150px
conference	Big Ten Conference
short_conf	Big Ten
CoachRank	7
APRank	8
record	10–2
conf_record	8–0
head_coach	Gary Barnett
hc_year	4th
off_coach	Greg Meyer
oc_year	4th
def_coach	Ron Vanderlinden
dc_year	4th
captain	William Bennett
captain2	Rob Johnson
captain3	Sam Valenzisi
stadium	Dyche Stadium
champion	Big Ten champion
bowl	[Rose Bowl](1996-rose-bowl)
bowl_result	L 32–41 vs. [USC](1995-usc-trojans-football-team)

The 1995 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University in the 1995 NCAA Division I-A college football season. The 1995 season was a highly memorable one for the Northwestern program, as the Wildcats went 10–2 overall and 8–0 in the Big Ten Conference, earning their first winning season since 1971, their first conference championship since 1936, and their first 10-win season since 1903. They also broke several long-standing losing streaks to regular opponents, including a 22-game losing streak to Iowa, a 19-game losing streak against Michigan, and a 14-game losing streak to Notre Dame.

"Expect Victory" was the motto even as Northwestern began the season as 28-point underdogs against Notre Dame, whom they upset 17–15, propelling into the AP poll at #25. An upset loss to the Miami Redhawks in the second game of the season caused the Wildcats to drop out of the rankings. However, subsequent wins over ranked Michigan (19–13), Wisconsin (35–0), and Penn State (21–10) pushed the Wildcats into the top-10 while making them national media darlings.

Nine consecutive wins (including eight against Big Ten opponents) brought Northwestern their highest ranking since 1962 (#3), a conference title, and their first Rose Bowl appearance, and their first bowl appearance of any kind since 1949. In the Rose Bowl, the Wildcats' Cinderella season came to a conclusion with a 41–32 loss to the USC Trojans, and they finished the season at #8.

Northwestern was coached by Gary Barnett, who won multiple coach of the year awards for leading the dramatic turnaround of the program. Star players included the trio of quarterback Steve Schnur, running back Darnell Autry, and linebacker Pat Fitzgerald, who was named Big Ten and national defensive player of the year.

Schedule

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Roster

Ron Vanderlinden – Defensive coordinator
Gregg Brandon – Wide receivers
Jerry Brown – Defensive backs
Jeff Genyk

Rankings

Game summaries

Notre Dame

Miami (OH)

The Wildcats surrendered a 21-point 4th quarter lead in their first game as a nationally ranked team since 1971. Miami of Ohio's Chad Seitz booted a 20-yard field goal as time expired to give the Redskins the victory. The opposing team was led by future Northwestern head coach Randy Walker and his offensive coordinator was Sean Payton. This would be the lone regular season blemish on the Wildcats' schedule.

Air Force

Indiana

Michigan

Minnesota

After falling behind 14–3 early in the second quarter, the Wildcats scored the next 24 points to take control of the game. Darnell Autry ran for 169 yards and 3 touchdowns, including a 73-yard burst early in the fourth quarter.

Wisconsin

The Wildcats forced 7 Badger turnovers (Wisconsin had 6 total in their first five games) in a triumphant homecoming matchup. The game marked the first sellout at Northwestern since 1984.

Illinois

Penn State

Iowa

Purdue

Northwestern got two big scoring plays in the first half – a 76-yard interception return for a touchdown by Chris Martin and a 72-yard touchdown reception by D'Wayne Bates – to take control. Darnell Autry carried the ball 32 times for a career-high 226 yards.

Rose Bowl

Awards and honors

Head coach Gary Barnett: Paul "Bear" Bryant Award, Walter Camp Coach of the Year, Big Ten Coach of the Year
Linebacker Pat Fitzgerald: Chuck Bednarik Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year

1995 team players in the NFL

Darnell Autry
D'Wayne Bates

References

(2007). "Year-by-Year Results".
"Northwestern Wildcats College Football History, Stats, Records".
(August 23, 1995). "NORTHWESTERN DETERMINED TO BUCK THE ODDS". [[Chicago Tribune]].
(September 2, 1995). "Northwestern vs. Notre Dame". [[USA Today]].
(September 3, 1995). "NOTRE DAME STUNNED BY NORTHWESTERN". [[The Washington Post]].
(November 13, 2014). "Witnesses recall Northwestern's 1995 upset of Notre Dame".
Archives, L. A. Times. (1995-09-24). "COLLEGE FOOTBALL : BIG TEN ROUNDUP : Northwestern Reverts to Winning Ways".
(September 16, 1995). "Miami (ohio) vs. Northwestern". [[USA Today]].
(September 17, 1995). "Back to Reality: Miami of Ohio 30, Northwestern 28". [[Chicago Tribune]].
(September 23, 1995). "Air Force vs. Northwestern". [[USA Today]].
(September 30, 1995). "Indiana vs. Northwestern". [[USA Today]].
(October 14, 1995). "Northwestern vs. Minnesota". [[USA Today]].
(October 21, 1995). "Northwestern 35, Wisconsin 0". [[United Press International]].
(October 23, 1995). "NEWS FOR NO. 8 NU ISN'T ALL THAT ROSY". [[Chicago Tribune]].
(October 28, 1995). "Northwestern vs. Illinois". [[USA Today]].
(November 4, 1995). "Penn St. vs. Northwestern". [[USA Today]].
Layden, Tim. (November 13, 1995). "THE CATS' MEOW BY BEATING PENN STATE, NORTHWESTERN PROVED IT'S MORE THAN A GOOD STORY--IT'S A GOOD TEAM".
(November 11, 1995). "Iowa vs. Northwestern". [[USA Today]].
(November 18, 1995). "Northwestern vs. Purdue". [[USA Today]].
(November 19, 1995). "Memory of Single Loss Helped Wildcats Dig In". [[Chicago Tribune]].
(December 24, 1995). "FOR INJURED, A BITTERSWEET TIME". [[Chicago Tribune]].
Telander, Rick. (December 25, 1995). "PURPLE HAZE IN AN IMPROBABLY SENSATIONAL SEASON, NORTHWESTERN EMERGED FROM A FOG OF FUTILITY TO EARN A TRIP TO SUNNY PASADENA".
(January 2, 1996). "USC Rewrites Northwestern's Storybook Ending". [[The New York Times]].
(January 2, 1996). "ROSE BOWL: USC 41, Northwestern 32 : Cinderella Beaten to Ball". [[Los Angeles Times]].

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