As unbelievable as it seems, a post-game quote upstaged a bowl win for Northwestern.

The Wildcats had just blitzed Utah with 28 unanswered points and four takeaways in the third quarter to win the Holiday Bowl 31-20 on New Year’s Eve. The stunning third-quarter barrage – without a doubt, one of the most dominant quarters of football Northwestern has ever played – erased a 20-3 halftime deficit and gave the Wildcats their third straight bowl win and fourth in their last five.

But as sweet as that victory was, what came directly after it that will have a much longer lasting effect on the Northwestern program.

Head coach Pat Fitzgerald stood on the winner’s podium for the trophy presentation after the game. His trademark gray-and-black Northwestern hoodie was soaked in a V-pattern – first from the rain, then from the water that was dumped on him by his players on the field.

It was on that hastily-assembled podium that Fox Sports Joel Klatt asked Fitzgerald to address his future.

Multiple media outlets had reported earlier in the week that the Green Bay Packers, one of the elite organizations in the NFL, was going to request an interview with Fitzgerald for their head coach job. He is a hot commodity, having just won the Big Ten coach of the year award for leading the Wildcats to the school’s first-ever Big Ten West division championship. The story had been looming in the background all week during bowl preparations in San Diego.

Fitzgerald could have easily stuck by his standard policy of not commenting on rumors, as he had on Sunday, during a Holiday Bowl press conference. But this time, with his team assembled around him, a national FS1 television audience watching and the whole stadium listening on the PA, Fitzgerald ended the rumors with a response as emphatic as his team’s had been in the third quarter.

“Hashtag Go Cats, man. I'm not going anywhere,” he said, drawing a roar from the Northwestern faithful still in the stands. “This is home forever.

“Listen, these are my guys. ... I'm a Wildcat for life. I'm so thankful for these guys. ... We're just getting started.”

In other words, thanks, but no thanks, Green Bay, I’m staying in Evanston. It was the same response Fitzgerald had delivered to Michigan and Notre Dame and other schools that were never disclosed over the years.

That sound bite sounded sweeter than the strains of Go U, Northwestern to the Wildcats fans at SDCCU Stadium. First, Fitzgerald delivered them a bowl win. Then, he delivered a promise.

After making his verbal commitment, Fitzgerald went on to credit his seniors, the winningest class in Northwestern history, with 36 victories over four years and three of the school’s five all-time bowl wins. That class includes Holiday Bowl offensive MVP Clayton Thorson.

Thorson, who finished 21 of 30 for 241 yards passing, with two touchdowns and one interception, became Northwestern’s all-time leading passer during the game. He wound up with 10,731 career yards, breaking Brett Basanez's mark of 10,580, and putting Thorson fourth on the all-time Big Ten list. It came in his 53rd start, the most by a quarterback in Big Ten history.

Just like his team, Thorson also came back from a big hit to deliver the win. He left the game halfway through the fourth quarter after taking a hard shot on the sideline. When asked after the game about his health by Klatt, Thorson shot back, “I came back to finish the game, didn’t I?”

Touche.

Fitzgerald was giddy after the game, even praising the dismal weather in southern California. His program has three goals every season: win the Big Ten West, win the Big Ten championship and win their bowl game. Monday night’s win meant that this Wildcat team had accomplished two of the three objectives, and they got to play for the third but fell short at the Big Ten title game on Dec. 1.

Fitzgerald again praised his seniors for putting them in that position.

“They have set the bar now at a whole new level for our program and we couldn't be more excited about our future,” he said.

With Fitzgerald a permanent part of that future, Northwestern’s fans are excited, too.