A look back at the Northwestern 9:
Bowl: 1996 Rose
Point spread: USC by 3.*
Result: USC 41, NU 32.
It was over when: USC intercepted Steve Schnur with 6:35 to play.
Name to remember: Brian Musso. Was his knee down on that second-quarter fumble?
Grading NU’s performance: B+. D’Wayne Bates (seven catches, 145 yards) was outstanding, but Keyshawn Johnson (12 catches, 216 yards) dominated.
Quote: Coach Gary Barnett: “We came from nowhere, did some great things, had a good time, but we lost the Rose Bowl. I guess we’ll just have to come back and win it.”
Bowl: 1997 Citrus
Point spread: Tennessee by 9.
Result: Tennessee 48, NU 28.
It was over when: Tyrone Hines’ pick-six gave the Vols a 38-21 lead.
Name to remember: Peyton Manning. All he did was complete 27 of 39 passes for 408 yards and four touchdowns.
Grading NU’s performance: C+. Flu-ridden Wildcats rallied from 21 down to tie it before the defense crumbled.
Quote: Linebacker Pat Fitzgerald, referencing Keyshawn Johnson: “If (Manning) leaves, we’ve created the No. 1 draft choice again.” Manning stayed and went No. 1 a year later.
Bowl: 2000 Alamo
Point spread: Nebraska by 14 1/2.
Result: Nebraska 66, NU 17.
It was over when: The BCS bowls snubbed the No. 8 Cornhuskers.
Name to remember: Nebraska’s Dan Alexander, who rushed for 240 yards on 20 attempts.
Grading NU’s performance: D. Nebraska broke the record for most points in a bowl game. (West Virginia scored 70 last season against Clemson in the Orange.)
Quote: Coach Randy Walker: “We’re not going to internalize this failure, but we’re not going to burn the tape, either.”
Bowl: 2003 Motor City
Point spread: Bowling Green by 71/2.
Result: Bowling Green 28, NU 24.
It was over when: Josh Harris completed his 38th pass — a 3-yard scoring strike to Cole Magner.
Name to remember: NU’s Jason Wright rushed for 237 yards and returned a kick 88 yards.
Grading NU’s performance: B. Bowling Green, ranked 20th entering the game, was no ordinary MAC team. And the Wildcats went just 6-6 in the regular season.
Quote: Wright: “We didn’t have the result we wanted. But we showed Northwestern did belong in a bowl game.”
Bowl: 2005 Sun
Point spread: UCLA by 3.
Result: UCLA 50, NU 38.
It was over when: Brandon Breazell returned NU’s second onside kick for a touchdown . No joke.
Name to remember: See above. And NU’s Brett Basanez, who completed 38 of 70 passes for 416 yards.
Grading NU’s performance: C-. Up 22-0, then down 36-22, the Wildcats played as if they had gotten an early start on New Year’s Eve festivities.
Quote: Coach Randy Walker on the two onside kicks: “Never seen anything like it.”
Bowl: 2008 Alamo
Point spread: Missouri by 14.
Result: Missouri 30, NU 23 (overtime).
It was over when: C.J. Bacher got sacked and fumbled in overtime, setting up a desperation 4th-and-31.
Name to remember: Jeremy Maclin. The Wildcats punted to him four times, one of which he returned 75 yards to the house.
Grading NU’s performance: A-. NU’s defense intercepted Chase Daniel three times, held a top-10 offense to 311 yards and Bacher was terrific (27-for-43, 304 yards).
Quote: Fitzgerald: “We fought hard and fought valiantly … but there are no moral victories in our program.”
Bowl: 2010 Outback
Point spread: Auburn by 9.
Result: Auburn 38, NU 35 (overtime).
It was over when: NU’s do-or-die “fumblerooski,” carried out by Zeke Markshausen, came up two yards short in overtime.
Name to remember: NU’s Stefan Demos narrowly missed a 44-yard field goal at the end of regulation.
Grading NU’s performance: B. Mike Kafka threw for 532 yards — but Auburn picked him off five times.
Quote: After separate penalties and a replay review extended the game, Auburn coach Gene Chizik said: “I don’t know that I’ve ever gone into a game with seven wins and come out with 10. I’m exhausted.”
Bowl: 2011 TicketCity
Point spread: Texas Tech by 10.
Result: Texas Tech 45, NU 38.
It was over when: Evan Watkins’ desperation heave was intercepted.
Name to remember: This was Kain Colter’s coming-out party. He rushed for 105 yards and two scores, completed three passes and hauled in a 32-yarder.
Grading NU’s performance: C. Jordan Mabin’s fourth-quarter pick-six kept it close, but Taylor Potts attempted 56 passes — and got sacked zero times.
Quote: NU safety Brian Peters after NU’s bowl losing streak stretched to eight games: “I’m sick of this.”
Bowl: 2011 Meineke Car Care
Point spread: Texas A&M; by 9 1/2.
Result: Texas A&M; 33, NU 22.
It was over when: Trailing by eight inside three minutes, the Wildcats could not stop the Aggies on a third-and-6.
Name to remember: Dan Persa (25-for-37) ended his career as Division I football’s all-time leader in completion percentage at 72.7.
Grading NU’s performance: C. The Wildcats got outsacked 8 to 1 and helped Ryan Tannehill (27-for-40, 329 yards) get rich.
Quote: Persa: “We let everybody down, but hopefully we laid the foundation of hard work.”
*Point spreads courtesy of Kevin Vedder of HailToPurple.com.
