25 years ago today: Northwestern 27 Minnesota 17
WildcatReport is looking back on each game of Northwestern's magic 1995 Big Ten championship season as part of the team's 25th anniversary celebration.
Northwestern was coming off of a monstrous win over Michigan and ranked 14th in the country when they took on Minnesota in Minneapolis on Oct. 14, 1995.
The Wildcats were hoping that this time around they would follow up a road win over a Top 10 team better than they had the first time. After knocking off No. 9 Notre Dame in the season opener, Northwestern did a face-plant, losing to Miami (Ohio) at home. Now, they were facing a stern Big Ten test in the Metrodome against the Golden Gophers.
But the Wildcats proved they had learned a lesson about handling success. They fell behind early but, behind a big day from Darnell Autry and some well-timed takeaways, rallied for a hard-fought 27-17 victory.
"Our players were more relieved than excited," said Gary Barnett after the win. "They don't realize, coming off that huge win at Michigan, how hard it was to win here tonight."
Indeed, the Golden Gophers made Northwestern earn this one.
Minnesota was the first team to score a first-quarter touchdown against the Wildcats that season. After Sean McMenomy blocked a Paul Burton punt and Chris Darkins scored a touchdown, the Gophers had themselves a 14-3 lead and the Wildcats were on their heels.
But two Minnesota fumbles got the Wildcats right back into the game.
First, Chris Martin recovered Rodney Heath's muffed punt at the Minnesota 18 to lead to a Sam Valenzisi 30-yard field goal.
Then, a William Bennett hit forced Darkins to fumble the ball, and Eric Collier pounced on it at the Minnesota 39. Autry cashed that one in for an 18-yard touchdown run, and an NU two-point conversion tied the game at 14 with 5:42 left in the half.
Autry added a 10-yard touchdown in the third quarter, and Northwestern was still holding onto that 21-14 lead with 12:21 left in the game. That's when Autry dealt the death blow to the Gophers.
The sophomore sensation broke through the right side of the line, cut back to the middle and then just outran everyone to the corner of the end zone for a 73-yard touchdown that provided the final margin.
Game. Over.
In addition to the two fumble recoveries and a Chris Martin interception late in the game, Northwestern's defense shut down Darkins. Minnesota's star running back, who ran for 294 yards the previous week against Purdue, was held to just 75 yards on 25 carries against the Wildcats.
As a team, the Gophers rushed for just 51 yards, while Northwestern rang up 192.
Minnesota quarterback Corey Sauter did have success through the air, completing 29 of 50 passes for 303 yards. The trade off was that he was sacked six times, including two apiece by Matt Rice and Tim Scharf.
The win gave Northwestern its fifth win of the season, the most for the program since 1971, when the Wildcats finished 7-4. One more win, and these Wildcats would clinch the school's first bowl berth since the 1949 Rose Bowl.
“This is very special to me,” said Martin, who lost 24 games his first three seasons at NU. “I’ve been here when we’ve been down, and to step up like this is a great feeling.”