7/31 - NU Alltime Best Games - #3 - "The Real Deal"

The Game: NU vs Penn State "The Real Deal"

Dateline: November 4, 1995

Ranking: 3 (of 24)

The Setup: For those of you who have been following "the countdown" you'll remember my reference to my spring 1995 "Sign of the Acopalypse - NU style". My buddies and I created a list that spring in response to the fact that The Daily Northwestern reported students would begin being charged $5 per ticket. You would have thought our tuition had doubled. Students went nuts. I promise you if you check the letters to NU from that spring, you'll see several variations on "you bring us to Pasadena, I'll write the check". This sparked an NU football list of things, that if they happened in our lifetime, would be the true sign of the acopalypse. Not coincidentally, NU gracing the cover of SI (and no, the Sidd Finch-esque version of "Cubs win World Series, Northwestern wins Rose Bowl didn't count!) was one of them.

Among others:

• A sold out Dyche Stadium (check - see Wisconsin '95)


• A sold out Dyche Stadium with NU fans


• A bowl game (check - we entered the game with 7 wins)


• A win over Michigan (check)


• A win over a Top 10 team (check- see above)


• A top 10 ranking


• Keith Jackson calling a game on ABC at Dyche Stadium


• The Rose Bowl


• A Heisman Trophy Winner


• The cover of SI


• Being ranked higher than FSU and/or Nebraska at season's end
  

Well, as you know, this Penn State game was about to "check" many of the signs - and we knew impending doom was on the line. Keith Jackson - in Evanston? Furthermore, JoePa spent the week doing GB's recruiting with statements like "They remind me a lot of my good teams" and "They'd be my kind of team". Gulp. JoePa - about us? He's noticed? Holy smokes - we've been blessed by the Godfather of football himself. The tailgating was electric - there was a buzz, but no one was getting buzzed - everyone headed inside 30 minutes before kick-off. The portable lights were in place, "Whoa, Nellie" was crammed in the crackerjack press box and my feet were frozen before kick-off. All I could think was an NU sell out (with all purple!), Keith Jackson, ABC -we're all gonna die. All was not lost in the sports universe - we were underdogs (they were 3-2, we were 5-0 in conference)- again.

The Game: GB went classic GB - he won the coin toss and received. Darnell led the Cats promptly downfield for a 7-0 lead with a 2-yard TD. Bedlam. Absolute insanity. The rent-a-lights glistened off the Penn State nameless unis and signature white helmets. It was as if they had a special spotlight from the sky on JoePa making it even more surreal. End 1 - NU 7 - PSU 0.

Darnell was a workhorse and scored on a 10-yarder in the 2nd to put the Cats up 14-0. No way, we are not going to smoke Penn State - it is too good to be true. It was. Wally Richardson finally responded with a 5-yard pass to TE Keith Olsommer. Halftime - NU 14- PSU 7. Flashbulbs galore capturing the moment in time when we were 7-1 and up 14-7 in the loudest din at Dyche in memory. Upstairs, Mr. Jackson was saying things that sounded like prose..."Their names are Autry...Schnnnnnnurrr and Bates. Musso...Fitzgerald and Martin...they are a tough bunch of nuts". God -where is the podcast?!!!

Anyhow, 3rd quarter - a nailbiter. Defensive dominance, crisp hard hitting action, but no points. PSU had the ball for nearly 11 minutes, but could not punch it in. That is until Brett Conway nailed a chippy from 25 to make it NU 14 - PSU 10. End of 3rd.

The Cats allegedly had had enough. They had a "gimme the damn ball" attitude and wanted to end it. Now. So, after gaining possession after a controversial missed PSU field goal, the Cats got the ball on the 17. Barnett called a team meeting and the Cats were determined to get 7. The ensuing 9-play drive was highlighted by a 1st and 19 reverse to Dave Beazley who blitzed Penn State for 25. Autry eventually recorded a hattrick - his 3rd TD, a dive, was poorly lit and hard to see - and you only knew he was in by the pulsating screams of Dyche. NU 24 - PSU 10. The "D", as it had all season, held court the rest of the way. Autry had 139 yards on 36 carries, Fitz had 20 tackles and the crowd was screaming Heisman when Darnell had it and Rose Bowl when PSU had it. The sky was about to fall as the check marks were multiplying like rabbits on my apocalyptic scale. And my feet were frostbitten - I think. I didn't care.

Indelible Moment: Beazley's reverse from D Bates. It was only 1st down, but near midfield, and with 19 yards to go, seemed insurmountable. Once he split the "D", there was no doubt we were going to win.

You Bleed Purple If...: You have the November 13, 1995 SI issue - "The Real Deal - Darnell Autry Leads Powerful Northwestern Past Penn State" hanging on your office wall. Like me.

Why It Ranks: Completed the improbable trifecta of beating Notre Dame, Michigan and Penn State in the same season. You gotta love the schedule we had that season. Would not have had the same effect on the country if it included non-conference wins over Nevada, Duke and EMU, right?

Lasting Legacy: Vaulted Darnell into the Heisman race, in which he would finish 4th in the balloting behind Eddie George (almost check). And oh, yeah, we passed FSU in the standings. Another check. Also proved that Northwestern is capable of filling a stadium of 49,000 with 90% NU fans. Now keeping them there on a week to week basis....well, that will be Fitz' legacy.