VOTE: Who was the best Northwestern kicker over the last 25 years?

It's been 25 years since Northwestern's magical run to the Rose Bowl in 1995. WildcatReport is celebrating that Silver Anniversary by finding out who's been the best player at each position since that legendary team revitalized Wildcat football.

BEST IN 25 YEARS SERIES

OFFENSE: QB Dan Persa l RB Justin Jackson l WR D'Wayne Bates l TE Drake Dunsmore l T Zach Strief l G Ryan Padgett l C Rob Johnson

DEFENSE: DE Corey Wootton l DT Matt Rice l MLB Pat Fitzgerald l OLB Napoleon Harris l CB Sherrick McManis l S Ibraheim Campbell

SPECIAL TEAMS: PR Venric Mark l KR Solomon Vault

Northwestern has had its share of good kickers over the years.

Brian Gowins was first-team All-Big Ten and hit a second consecutive 39-yard field goal with 13 seconds left to beat Michigan in 1996, after the first one was waved off due to a timeout before the snap. Jack Mitchell kicked two of the most memorable field goals in recent history to beat Notre Dame in 2014: a 45-yarder with 19 seconds left to tie the game, and a 41-yarder in overtime to win it.

But when you're trying to identify the best Wildcat kicker over the last quarter century there are really only two guys to consider: Sam Valenzisi and Jeff Budzien. You can find both of their names on the facing of the upper deck at Ryan Field, spots they earned after being named first-team All-Americans.

Read about the careers of our two candidates below, and then vote for the kicker you think was the best over the last 25 years on the WildcatReport Football Board. You'll find the link at the end of this story.

Reason he deserves it: Valenzisi went from a walkon to an All-American during his career, but more than that, he was a captain of the 1995 Rose Bowl team.

The skinny: Think about it. How many kickers do you know were elected a team captain? And this isn't any team we're talking about here, it's the most storied team in program history.

Valenzisi was the heart-and-soul of the legendary 1995 Wildcats. He made several clutch kicks that year and was both a first-team All-Big Ten and All-America selection.

Valenzisi first earned a spot on the Northwestern team during an open tryout in January of 1992. He became the first-team kicker in 1993 and hit 24 field goals during his sophomore and junior seasons. In 1994, he became the only kicker in Northwestern history to hit two 50-plus yard field goals in the same season.

A naturally charismatic leader, Valenzisi earned enough respect to be voted a captain by his teammates before the 1995 season. He wound up hitting 15 of 16 field goals that season, including a school-record 13 in a row, as the Wildcats won the Big Ten for the first time in 59 years. He went 4-for-4 in the Wildcats' upset of No. 7 Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Unfortunately, Valenzisi's season came to an end in a freak injury in Week 7 in 1995. He jumped up to celebrate a kickoff near the end of the Wildcats' 35-0 blowout win over Wisconsin and tore his ACL when he landed. His career was over.

Valenzisi was inducted into the Northwestern Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.

Reason he deserves it: Budzien was the most accurate kicker in NU history, a two-time All-Big Ten pick and a first-team All-American who virtually owns the Northwestern kicking record book.

The skinny: Budzien is not only Northwestern's all-time scoring leader, but he is also the most accurate kicker in school history. If statistics are your thing, Budzien is your man.

Here are the career Northwestern kicking records that Budzien holds: career points (280), career field goal percentage (.872), most consecutive made field goals (17), most PATs (136). He ranks second all-time in field goals with 48.

Maybe Budzien's most remarkable career achievement is this one: he never missed an extra-point attempt, going a perfect 136-for-136 as a Wildcat. The guy was automatic.

Budzien holds a slew of single-season records, too, including field goals made (23, in 2013), kicking points (107, in 2012) and accuracy (19-of-20 or 95.0% in 2012).

He also co-owns the school record for most field goals in a game, hitting five against Boston College in 2012.

Budzien was the first-team All-Big Ten kicker in both 2012 and 2013, and a first-team All-America pick in 2013. He also won two Bakken-Amersen Big Ten Kicker of the Year Awards, after the 2012 and 2013 seasons.

Go to our Football Board to cast your vote. You can vote for Valenzisi or Budzien, or you can vote for "Other" and identify your write-in candidate in your reply the message.

Hurry! The poll will close on Monday at noon.

Ready? CLICK HERE TO VOTE