Northwestern Wins First Bowl Game Since 1949

After nine bowl defeats spanning 64 years, Northwestern finally wins the Gator Bowl 34-20 over Mississippi State. (Stephen Morton)

On January 1, 1949, Northwestern won their first bowl game, a Rose Bowl victory against Cal. The Wildcats did not make another bowl appearance until 1996 when they returned to the "Granddaddy of Them All." Star linebacker Pat Fitzgerald did all he could, but a 42-31 loss to the University of Southern California started a downward spiral for the program.

In 2006, Fitzgerald returned to Northwestern as head coach and rebuilt the team into a solid program. Unfortunately, he couldn't solve the Wildcats' bowl game troubles as they dropped four straight under his leadership. This brought Northwestern's losing streak in bowl games to nine. People said the Wildcats simply couldn't win the big one and get the monkey off their back.

This year, Northwestern's season got off to a promising start at 5-0. They became bowl-eligible two weeks later and finished the season with a 9-3 record and a place in both the AP and coaches' poll. The Wildcats' reward was a New Year's Day bowl bid in the Gator Bowl to play Mississippi State.

Northwestern got off to a great start when defensive end Quentin Williams returned an interception 29 yards for a touchdown early in the first quarter. Two field goals by junior Jeff Budzien increased the Wildcats' lead to 13-0. Things started to not look so good when Mississippi State tied the score up on a 47-yard field goal by freshman Devon Bell.

However, this season's Northwestern team showed resiliency by scoring on a rushing touchdown just over a minute later. They added another score on the ground just before the end of the third quarter to increase their lead to 27-13. Early in the fourth quarter, Mississippi State cut the lead in half on a 14 yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Tyler Russell to sophomore tight end Malcolm Johnson.

The Wildcats had an answer again. With 8:10 left in the game, junior Venric Mark ran the ball in from three yards out. The lead was 14 once again. From that point on, the Northwestern defense took over. Mississippi State was never even able to score to mount a comeback.

It took 64 years to the day, but the Wildcats finally got its second bowl win. The curse of nine straight bowl defeats was finally over. The team had an actual stuffed monkey that they kept as inspiration. Of course, Fitzgerald let his team tear the thing to shreds in the locker room following the win.

"I'm just ecstatic for our entire football program," Fitzgerald said in the postgame interview. "This was the one last negative we needed to erase."

Alabama, Michigan, & Nebraska All Choke and Fall

Alabama made the plays to beat the number one team in the land and rival LSU, but just couldn't put the ball in the endzone. Instead they settled for six field goal attempts and missed four of them, including one in overtime. LSU kicker Drew Alleman connected on his field goal attempt in overtime giving #1 LSU the 9-6 victory. The game was defensive dominated in most every aspect and featured many fine defensive plays, including a beautiful play where LSU safety Eric Reid took a jump ball away from Alabama tight end Michael Williams to prevent a touchdown. LSU is now in the driver seat to a berth in the SEC Championship Game and BCS National Championship Game.

Iowa was coming off a humiliating loss to Minnesota 22-21. In order for them to have a chance at a Big Ten championship, the Hawkeyes would most like win out the rest of the season. Their first opponent was the Michigan Wolverines. Michigan's defense didn't seem to have an answer for the Hawkeyes offense. Iowa quarterback James Vandenberg hooked up with wide receiver Marvin McNutt for nine catches and 101 yards. Marcus Coker ran for 132 yards and touchdowns. Offensively, Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson overcame some first half turnover mistake to do all he could through the air to lead the Wolverines to a comeback win, but came up just short. Were there many possible missed calls toward the end that went against the Wolverines? Yes, there were some close calls. However, Michigan never should have put themselves in that spot. Now, they are a game behind Michigan State in the Legends Division. Iowa now sits a game back as well. The Hawkeyes get another tough opponent at home next week in Michigan State. If they can pull the upset though, they will have completed a miraculous comeback that would propel them into first place in the division.

Who is Kain Colter? Everyone at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska were just shocked to find out. Nebraska fans had to be a little concerned when their Huskers 7-0 nearing half-time, but that's when Northwestern starting quarterback Dan Persa was injured, so back Kain Colter was brought in. Colter took over the second half. He completed only 4 passes, but they were for 115 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 57 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-25 upset win over #10 Nebraska. Nebraska played poorly early and their comeback came up just short when the Wildcats recovered an onside kick to help seal the victory. The Huskers now sit a game behind Michigan State in the Legends Division. They have tough road trip next week to Happy Valley, where they have to take on Penn State, the only team who is still undefeated in Big Ten play.