The 1995 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

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 The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

, earning their first winning season since

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events J ...

, their first conference championship since

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

, and their first 10-win season in school history. They also broke several long-standing losing streaks to regular opponents, including a 22-game losing streak to

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

, a 19-game losing streak against

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

, 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, who they upset 17-15, propelling into the AP poll at #25. An upset loss to the

Miami Redhawks The Miami RedHawks are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Miami is a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Divis ...

in the second game of the season caused the Wildcats to drop out of the rankings. However, subsequent wins over ranked

(19-13),

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

(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 since

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

. In the Rose Bowl, the Wildcats'

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season came to a conclusion with a 41–32 loss to the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ''Trojans'', the women's athletic teams are referred ...

, 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 The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...

Steve Schnur,

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Th ...

Darnell Autry Harrington Darnell Autry (born June 19, 1976) is a former American football player who played college football at Northwestern University. In his sophomore season, he helped lead the 1995 Northwestern Wildcats to the Big Ten Conference Champi ...

, and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

Pat Fitzgerald, who was named Big Ten and national defensive player of the year.

Schedule

Roster

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 Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán ( anglicized as '' Shaun/Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...

. 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 The American Heart Association (AHA) Paul "Bear" Bryant Awards are an annual awards banquet that is hosted each year in January, in Houston, Texas, by the AHA.For a list of American Heart Association offices, by state, go to: There are two aw ...

Walter Camp Coach of the Year The Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award is given annually to the collegiate American football head coach adjudged by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) head coaches and sports inf ...

, Big Ten Coach of the Year *Linebacker Pat Fitzgerald:

Chuck Bednarik Award The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to the defensive player in college football as judged by the Maxwell Football Club to be the best in the United States. The award is named for Chuck Bednarik, a former college and professional Ameri ...

Bronko Nagurski Trophy The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to be the best in the National Collegiate Athl ...

Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Coaches and media of the Big Ten Conference award the following individual honors at the end of each football season. In addition, the '' Chicago Tribune'' awards the Chicago Tribune Silver Football to the most valuable football player of the conf ...

1995 team players in the NFL

D'Wayne Bates D'Wayne Lavoris Bates (born December 4, 1975 in Augusta, Georgia) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League. Bates played three seasons with the Chicago Bears (1999-2001) and two with the Minnesota Vikings (200 ...

References

{{Big Ten Conference football champions Northwestern Northwestern Wildcats football seasons Big Ten Conference football champion seasons

Northwestern Wildcats football The Northwestern Wildcats football team represents Northwestern University as an NCAA Division I college football team and member of the Big Ten Conference based near Chicago in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern began playi ...