Earning The Nickname "Cardiac Cats"
The Wildcats have been nicknamed the "Cardiac 'Cats" after several seasons with highly contested games, with games decided in the final seconds or in overtime. The team first earned the nickname during the 1996 season, and would go on to apply during the 2004 season, when four of the Wildcats' games went into overtime.
| Opponent |
Location |
Date |
Game |
| Michigan |
Evanston, IL |
October 6, 1996 |
- Northwestern beats #20 Michigan 17-16
- NU scores all 17 points in 4th Quarter.
- PK Brian Gowens 39 yard FG with 8 seconds remaining, but an official's whistle nullified the kick.
- Gowens nailed the kick again with 8 seconds remaining.
- Box score
|
| Wisconsin |
Madison, WI |
October 19, 1996 |
- NU beats Wisconsin 34-30
- Wisconsin had ball with a 30-27 lead with time running out.
- Rather than taking a knee, they hand off to Ron Dayne who fumbles.
- NU recovers the fumble and Steve Schnur throws a 20 yard TD pass to D'Wayne Bates with 37 seconds remaining for the win.
- Box score
|
| Michigan State |
Evanston, IL |
October 18, 1997 |
- NU beats #11 Michigan State 19-17 by blocking a 28 yard FG on the final play of the game.
- Box score
|
| Duke |
Durham, NC |
September 18, 1999 |
- NU beats Duke 15-12.
- Sam Simmons 27 yard TD pass in OT.
- Box score
|
| Iowa |
Evanston, IL |
October 16, 1999 |
- NU beats Iowa 23-21.
- Betts give Iowa a 21-16 lead with a TD with 3:30 to play.
- NU converted two 4th down plays on the final drive .
- On 4th and goal from the 2 with 8 seconds remaining in the game Zak Kustok ran a sweep to the right for the score to win the game.
- Box score
|
| Wisconsin |
Madison, WI |
September 23, 2000 |
- NU beats #6 Wisconsin 47-44 in double OT, scoring 40 points after halftime
- Damien Anderson's 12 yard TD run was the game winner
- Box score
|
| Minnesota |
Minneapolis, MN |
October 28, 2000 |
- NU beats Minnesota 41-35, coming back from trailing 35-21, 5/5 on 4th down conversions
- NU was on the 50 yard line with 4 seconds to go, needing a FG to tie
- Coach Walker called "Victory Right". While being hammered by the D-lineman, Kustok unleashed a bomb to the end zone. Kunle Patrick jumped for the ball among 4 gopher defenders and intentionally tipped the ball over to Simmons who caught the ball for the game winning TD with no time on the clock.
- Box score
|
| Michigan |
Evanston, IL |
November 4, 2000 |
- NU beats #12 Michigan 54-51. With Michigan's defense fresh off back to back shutouts; NU rolled up 654 yards and 54 points.
- Box score
|
| Michigan State |
Evanston, IL |
September 29, 2001 |
- NU beats #24 MSU 27-26.
- Trailing 26-24, NU muffed the kickoff and had to fall on the ball at the 15 yard line with 15 seconds remaining. Kustok completed a 54 yard bomb to a sliding Schweighardt Jon Schweighardt which was tipped by Patrick. This set up a game winning 47 yard FG by Wasielewski at time ran out.
- Box score
|
| Indiana |
Evanston, IL |
November 2, 2002 |
- NU beats Indiana 41-37
- Brett Basanez plays the game with a broken leg.
- Jason Wright scores his 4th TD of the game with 2:30 remaining to seal the win.
- Box score
|
| Iowa |
Evanston, IL |
November 5, 2005 |
- NU beats Iowa 28-27
- Trailing 27-14 with 3:27 left in the game, NU drove 77 yards for a TD leaving 2:10 on the clock. NU recovered the onside kick and scored the game winning touchdown.
- Box score
|
| Indiana |
Evanston, IL |
October 24, 2009 |
- NU beats Indiana 29-28
- The 25 point comeback is a school record.
- Trailing 28-3 midway in the second quarter, NU completed the comeback by scoring a FG with 21 seconds left.
- Box score
|
| Auburn |
Tampa, FL |
January 1, 2010 |
- NU loses to Auburn 38-35
- After falling behind in the first half, NU scored 4 TD's, including 2 in the last 4 minutes, but missed a last second FG and went to OT.
- Chasing Auburn's OT field goal, NU seemingly lost three times. Auburn recovered a Mike Kafka fumble which was reviewed and ruled as a down instead. This set NU up for a re-tying field goal which hit the upright but was then recalled after a roughing penalty (removing kicker Stefan Demos from the rest of the game). On the third attempt, with their replacement kicker, NU tried a fake FG but was ultimately stopped at the 2 yard line, finally ending the game for real.
- Box score
|
| Syracuse |
Syracuse, NY |
September 1, 2012 |
- NU beats Syracuse 42-41
- After scoring 28 straight points, the NU offense stalls as Syracuse answers with 28 straight points of its own in the second half.
- QB Trevor Siemian leads NU to a TD with 44 seconds left in a game to retake the lead and win the game.
- Box score
|