Bowl-bound Northwestern lets loose in comeback win over Minnesota
The Wildcats had an offensive explosion. They got to six wins. They also won their Wrigley Field finale, removing their goose egg at the Friendly Confines.
CHICAGO — What is it about these Minnesota-Northwestern games that so often seem to go off-script?
The old Big Ten West rivals’ last meeting, back in 2023, featured a 21-point fourth-quarter Wildcats comeback and overtime win, a victory that soft-launched the David Braun era. That NU squad had been reeling from the offseason firing of Pat Fitzgerald and the surrounding discord around campus. Braun, who had never worked a single day in FBS football, was tasked with steadying the ship as interim head coach. That fourth quarter against the Gophers in Evanston did just that, turning everything around for the coach and the program.
Northwestern went on to an 8-5 season. Braun won Big Ten coach of the year honors. He lost the interim tag in the process.
Now they were all together once more Saturday, this time at Wrigley Field. The ‘Cats needed a single win to extend their season to a 13th game, and with them likely being in a heavy underdog role in next week’s regular-season finale at Illinois, this contest against the underdog Gophers would be their best chance to get it.