Jan. 17, 2005
2004 Northwestern Football Season Wrapup
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Thrilling, relentless and nerve-wracking are just some of the adjectives that will be used to describe Northwestern's 2004 football team. As far as 6-6 teams go, one would be hard-pressed to find a .500 team that kept its fans on the edge of their seats week-in and week-out like the 2004 'Cats did.
Playing an NCAA-record four overtime games validated Northwestern's Cardiac 'Cats' moniker. Three of those four extra-session games came at Ryan Field--all against Big Ten foes. And Northwestern pulled out all three games, which helped produce a 5-1 home record, the best home mark since the 2000 Big Ten championship season. The only overtime defeat came in the season opener, a 48-45 double-overtime loss at TCU.
"I like our chances when this football team takes a game to the 15th round," repeated head coach Randy Walker throughout the season.
Northwestern finished with a winning Big Ten record (5-3) for the fourth time since 1995, and only the eighth time in the last 50 years. The 5-3 finish gave the 'Cats sole possession of fourth place in the final Big Ten standings.
The season highlight came in early October when the Wildcats upended fifth-ranked Ohio State in front of a capacity crowd at Ryan Field. Northwestern posted a 33-27 overtime win to end a 33-year drought against the Buckeyes. It also was the 'Cats' first home victory over Ohio State since 1958.
In addition to the Ohio State win, the Big Ten season was highlighted by a 13-10 come-from-behind win over Purdue, the Wildcats' first win against the Boilermakers since 1996. NU also notched its first win at Penn State's Beaver Stadium, defeating the Nittany Lions 14-7. The Wildcats had lost their first four meetings in Happy Valley.
Northwestern also retained possession of the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk Trophy by defeating Illinois -- in overtime -- for a second straight year.
The obvious disappointment for the Wildcats was not earning a repeat trip to a bowl game. Heading into its final regular-season game at Hawaii, Northwestern was bowl-eligible at 6-5, but needed to win its finale in order to retain its postseason eligibility. But in a similar fashion to the way the season started (the 48-45 loss at TCU), the Wildcats lost a heartbreaking 49-41 decision to the Warriors, which dashed their bowl hopes.
"There's no doubt it was a disappointing finish to a very rewarding season," said Walker. "For the second straight year, this football team overcame a tough start and played well throughout the Big Ten season. I was extremely proud of the way the senior class led this team."
Individually, running back Noah Herron (Mattawan, Mich./Mattawan) and linebacker Tim McGarigle (Chicago, Ill./St. Patrick) led the 'Cats on their respective side of the ball. Herron totaled a Big Ten regular-season most 1,381 rushing yards and 1,732 all-purpose yards. Along with Purdue's Taylor Stubblefield, he also scored a Big Ten-best 15 touchdowns, four of which were game-winners. McGarigle led the Big Ten in tackles (151) and led the nation in solo tackles (102).
Northwestern notched six or more victories for the second successive year -- only the third time that has happened since 1932. With a solid nucleus returning in 2005, the Wildcats will attempt to win six or more games for a third straight year -- something that has not been done since 1929-31.