25 years ago today: Northwestern 30 Air Force 6
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.
Who are these Wildcats?
That was the question Northwestern fans were asking heading into Northwestern's matchup with Air Force on Sept. 23, 1995.
Were they the team that knocked off mighty Notre Dame in the opener? Or were they the team that blew a 21-point fourth-quarter lead and lost to Miami of Ohio in their second game?
The answer was revealed in the Wildcats' 30-6 demolition of the Falcons. They were the former. The latter team would never appear again all season.
Northwestern gave Air Force a dose of their own medicine by pounding the ball on the ground. Darnell Autry carried the ball 37 times for 190 yards and two touchdowns, part of the Wildcats' total of 249 rushing yards.
As center Rob Johnson said in The Foundation: Expect Victory episode, "We got back to basics. Hand the ball off to Darnell. Hand the ball off to Darnell. Hand the ball off to Darnell."
Meanwhile, the Wildcats' defense played almost flawless assignment football in throttling Air Force's triple-option attack. The Falcons managed just 137 rushing yards -- 200 below their average coming into the game -- and two field goals. They eked out just 3.5 yards per carry.
It was redemption for a Northwestern defense that was rocked the week before by their fourth-quarter collapse against Miami.
"Our defense took the Miami loss to heart," said linebacker Pat Fitzgerald. "We were embarrassed. I took it as motivation."
Autry had a 46-yard run and a 37-yard gain off of a screen pass to give the Wildcats two of their biggest plays. But he had plenty of help from Steve Schnur, who completed 16 of 22 passes for 206 yards.
Northwestern jumped out to a 3-0 lead on its first possession. Eric Collier then forced a fumble that was recovered by William Bennett at the Air Force 20 to set up Autry's first touchdown and give the Wildcats a 10-0 edge in the first quarter.
The Wildcats pushed their lead to 13-3 in the second quarter after another one of Valenzisi's three field goals on the day. Coach Gary Barnett then caught the Falcons off-guard by calling an onside kick that the Wildcats recovered and led to another Valenzisi three-pointer.
Still, the score was just 16-6 in the third quarter when Fitzgerald stepped in front of a Beau Morgan pass to set up the Wildcats' offense on a short field. Autry's second touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter increased the lead to 23-7 and essentially put the game on ice.
The other Autry -- Adrian -- added a TD to close the scoring. One week after getting blanked 23-0 in the final period, the Wildcats outscored Air Force 14-0 in the fourth quarter this time around.
The victory over Air Force gave Northwestern its legs back and restored confidence in the fan base. The year before, the Wildcats barely edged the Falcons, 14-10, in Colorado Springs.
Maybe this team was really as good as they appeared to be in knocking off Notre Dame three weeks before.
"That’s a good ball club that we just played," said Valenzisi after the game. "I think you just saw a whole week’s worth of people being mad, unleashed."
The Foundation: Expect Victory, Episode 2 Part 2: Air Force