CHICAGO — Still fresh off of a forgettable loss to Michigan, Northwestern unveiled new throwback jerseys Monday with the hope of turning attention forward to the Wildcats’ homecoming game matchup with Iowa.

The jerseys, commissioned to commemorate the 20th anniversary of NU’s 1995 Rose Bowl season, resemble the black jerseys worn that season and feature a black-and-purple “N-cat” logo on each sleeve and a small Rose Bowl patch on the front of the collar. The new tops will be worn with the Cats’ standard purple pants and purple helmets.

In addition, joining the celebrations this week will be former coach Gary Barnett, who led NU to its improbable 10-2 season in 1995 and will be serving as the Cats’ honorary captain this week. And in conjunction with the new jerseys, the Under Armour Brand House, located at 600 N. Michigan Ave. in Chicago, will host a pep rally Thursday evening.

Bobby Pillote/Daily Senior Staffer

Bobby Pillote/Daily Senior Staffer

But despite fanfare surrounding the altered look and homecoming festivities, coach Pat Fitzgerald was all business at his Monday news conference ahead of a game that may decide the division.

“There’s extra motivation,” Fitzgerald said when asked about the matchup with the Hawkeyes. “They’re in the driver’s seat for the Big Ten West.”

After Saturday, No. 17 Iowa (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten) sits alone atop the West division, with No. 20 NU (5-1, 1-1) in second place thanks to its overall record. The Cats seize control of first place with a win and also pick up a valuable head-to-head tiebreaker over the Hawkeyes in the event they each finish the season with the same conference record. If NU loses, its path to the Big Ten Championship becomes more difficult with road trips to Nebraska and Wisconsin still on the schedule.

Complicating matters is the loss of starting cornerback junior Matthew Harris, who Fitzgerald ruled out “for at least the foreseeable future.” Harris took a knee to the face and received attention on the field for several minutes Saturday, and Fitzgerald announced Monday that Harris suffered several broken bones in his face.

Harris will be replaced very competently by sophomore Keith Watkins II, but his loss hurts after an uncharacteristically lackluster performance by the defense. Fitzgerald praised his defensive starters for only giving up 17 points but had few other kind words to say.

“Defensively we gave up more explosive plays than we have pretty much the whole year,” he said. “You have to credit Michigan. They executed, and we didn’t.”

On offense, the Cats may be without junior receiver Austin Carr, who Fitzgerald said is running during practice but remains “day-to-day” with an undisclosed injury. Carr is not listed on this week’s two-deep depth chart, with senior Cameron Dickerson currently slated to start in his place.

But NU will benefit from the return of senior offensive lineman Geoff Mogus, who slides back into the left tackle position after suffering a hit to the head against Ball State and being held out of the Cats’ contests against Minnesota and Michigan. He’ll be leaned on to spark an offense that failed to do much of anything against the Wolverines.

Fitzgerald largely blamed bad execution for the poor performance.

“We put ourselves in third and long almost the entire day, which with their defense is a recipe for disaster,” he said. “We can’t put ourselves in that situation.”

Fitzgerald said the offense ran the ball often against Michigan to avoid those long-yardage situations but had little success. This may again be an issue against an Iowa unit that ranks fifth nationally against the run. Regardless, the coach seems confident he’ll have his team ready for a “very physical” Hawkeyes squad that walloped the Cats 48-7 a season ago.

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