EVANSTON- Northwestern may not win another game this season. They may end up winning the Big Ten West.
Almost all of the Wildcat players and coaches might be back next season. Or they might be gone in the portal or the coaching carousel.
It doesn't really matter. Every Wildcat player and coach will forever be bound together by Saturday's thrilling 37-34 comeback win over Minnesota in overtime.
Because as wins go, that one was as improbable and memorable as has been seen at Ryan Field. And that’s saying something.
Interim head coach David Braun has been talking about the character of the players in the Wildcat locker room since he first talked to the media back in July. He said that they would do something special this season.
On Saturday night, we saw that something special.
Trailing by a seemingly insurmountable 31-10 deficit, the Wildcats rallied to score three unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Then, after Minnesota opened overtime with a field goal, Ben Bryant hit Charlie Mangieri for a 25-yard touchdown pass on the first play to claim the victory.
The players mobbed Mangieri in the back of the end zone. What was left of the sparse crowd rushed the field. It might have been the first field storming where the players outnumbered the fans.
The student section had been packed to start the game, but about 80% of them cleared out at halftime with the Wildcats trailing 24-7. By the end of the game, just a few rows’ worth remained.
There were dozens, not hundreds or thousands of people for the players to celebrate with. And there weren’t many watching on television, either. Most college football fans had been tuned in to Ohio State vs. Notre Dame or, if not that, Penn State vs. Iowa.
It was all so very Northwestern, pulling out a win for the ages when no one is paying attention.
But I can guarantee you that none of the Wildcat players or coaches cared. They don't need any external validation. This one was all about them.
This win was the reward for staying at Northwestern and not transferring after the hazing scandal broke and beloved head coach Pat Fitzgerald, the man who recruited each and every one of them, was fired in early July.
This was the prize for continuing to work hard in practice, day in and day out, while former players were suing the program, and fans and social media ridiculed them as they got drummed in their first two games against Power Five competition by a combined 41 points.
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MORE: Cats rally in fourth quarter for wild OT win over Minnesota l Takeaways: Northwestern 37, Minnesota 34 (OT)
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Even against Minnesota, as they fell behind by three touchdowns, they just kept fighting and, as corny as it sounds, kept believing.
"I kept going up and down the sideline and this is what I keep coming back to with this team," said an emotional and spent Braun after the game. "For the first time since I've been here, you look in their eyes, you looked at their body language and they weren't flinching.
"Because we got this. We've got this. We talk about four quarters or however long it takes. There was belief. They expected victory tonight."
The Wildcats overcame two 21-point deficits. They overcame 198 rushing yards and two touchdowns by Minnesota’s Darius Taylor. They overcame Gopher quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis completing 74% of his passes. They overcame eight penalties for 87 yards.
Braun overcame being thrust into his first head coaching job two months before the season. He gave the program one of the greatest comeback victories in school history for his first Big Ten win.
Bryant overcame questions about whether he should be the starter after last week’s demoralizing loss to Duke. He threw for 396 yards, the most of his six-year career, and four touchdowns. He went 13-for-16 passing and accounted for every one of the Wildcats’ 169 yards on their last three scoring drives of the game.
Wide receiver Bryce Kirtz overcame four knee surgeries over the last four years to enjoy a career night that even all-time Northwestern greats like D’Wayne Bates and Austin Carr never approached. He caught 10 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns, the most receiving yards for a Wildcat since 1980.
Unbelievably, safety Coco Azema overcame the shooting death of his 23-year-old brother, Cameron, last month just to suit up for the Cats this season. He led the Wildcats with 10 tackles against the Gophers and spoke emotionally after the game about his connection with this team and Braun.
"I lost my brother a month ago," Azema said. "First things first, [Coach Braun] was like, ‘Hey, do you need to go home? What do you need? Do you need me to come there, do you need me to come to the funeral?’
"Then he sent [safeties] coach [Matt MacPherson] to come to the funeral with me. Seeing that guy care for us so much, it's never wavering. No matter what happens, he didn't blink, and he got down to his role. I want to go fight for somebody like that."
Northwestern has a much bigger fight on its hands on Saturday, when No. 7 Penn State comes to town. The Wildcats will probably be three-touchdown underdogs and could easily lose by 40 points.
But don’t tell the players they can’t win. They just rallied from 21 points down with a little over 12 minutes left to beat Minnesota. After going 1-11 last season, they are now 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten. They feel like they’re just getting started.
When you already overcame a summer from hell just to be here, the prospect of playing an elite national title contender isn’t all that daunting.
As we saw on Saturday night, the Wildcats don’t need a lot of fans, a large television audience or any attention from the media. They just need each other.
