On the back of last week’s upset win over Penn State, Northwestern will once again play one of its most meaningful games of the season so far, for a litany of reasons.
Saturday’s meeting with Purdue (2-4, 0-3 Big Ten) has picked up major postseason significance for the Wildcats (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten), as victory would put the team one win away from definite bowl eligibility.
NU’s stint in the Friendly Confines in the final weeks of the season also makes this mid-October battle the ’Cats’ on-campus finale — and the team’s last game on the lakeshore with the new Ryan Field set to open in 2026.
However, it takes a look back into the annals of NU history to understand why neither of those reasons may be the most significant heading into game day.
Thirty years ago, the ’Cats etched their name into the storybook of college football. The 1995 Rose Bowl team, to this day, remains a quintessential example of the lovable underdog that so often captivates the hearts and minds of sports media and fans across the country.
NU struggled mightily in the ’70s and ’80s, never finishing in the top half of the Big Ten and at one time losing 34 games in a row, an FBS record that stands to this day. And then came 1995.
There was no buzz around the ’Cats as they kicked off their season, as the program that hadn’t won its opening game once in the past 20 years played its first game on the road against No. 9 Notre Dame.
Despite being four-touchdown underdogs, NU never trailed, and the ’Cats’ 17-15 victory was the first of many in what turned out to be a magical year.
The team won double-digit games for the first time since the Wright Brothers achieved powered flight. NU ranked as high as No. 3 in the AP poll and played in the second bowl game of its over-100-year history.
It was a storybook season for the ’Cats. The team wouldn’t get its fairy-tale ending — as NU lost 41-32 to USC in the Rose Bowl — but the journey completely changed the trajectory of NU Football.
In the 20 years leading up to that season, NU won under 18% of its games. In the following 20 years, it won more than half and played postseason football 10 times.
When then-coach Gary Barnett first arrived in Evanston, looking for any source for a competitive edge he could find, he turned to his son’s advice that the ’Cats should wear black jerseys. In his first game as NU’s head coach — against Notre Dame in 1992 — Barnett had his players warm up in their purple jerseys, then had them change before kickoff to debut the team’s revamped black threads.
The ’Cats stuck with them throughout Barnett’s time in Evanston. Three years later, Barnett got his revenge against the Fighting Irish, sparking the team’s run to the Rose Bowl. NU wore black for its final game in Pasadena, and the jerseys Barnett helped introduce have since become a symbol of that now-legendary season.
With this season now marking its 30th anniversary, NU will honor the successes of the ’95 squad as the team reunites for Saturday’s game against the Boilermakers. The ’Cats will debut their throwback uniforms, an all black set reminiscent of the program’s iconic past, as Martin Stadium hosts a Black Out football game for the final time.
“It’s one of the most iconic teams in all of college football history,” coach David Braun said ahead of Saturday’s festivities.
Braun cited Barnett as a source of inspiration for how he approaches coaching at Northwestern, and his remarks following the Penn State game were reminiscent of the famous “Expect Victory” motto that Barnett coined during that season.
For NU’s head coach, commemorating that team is all about the play on the field.
“The best way that we can honor that group is having a great week of preparation and preparing ourselves to accomplish our mission,” Braun said during Monday’s press conference.
Accomplishing that mission will mean utilizing the lessons Braun learned from Barnett.
Still, he emphasized how important it is for the ’Cats and the program’s fans to give their flowers to the members of the Rose Bowl team in attendance for Saturday’s reunion.
“The best programs that I’ve been around have a certain level of reverence for what has come before them, and that’s something I never want to lose at Northwestern.”
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated when Northwestern wore black jerseys against Notre Dame. The Daily regrets this error.
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