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Northwestern has been competitive in the past 30 years of college football, but for a very long time, the Wildcats were abysmal. They were one of the worst teams in college football in the 1970s and 1980s. They were largely irrelevant for many decades in the Big Ten. USC fans who are at least 40 years old remember the 1996 Rose Bowl in which the Trojans defeated Northwestern. That was one of only two times the Wildcats have played in the Granddaddy.
In order to identify the greatest football moment in Northwestern history, one simply has to refer to the other Rose Bowl the Wildcats played in, because they won that game.
The 1949 Rose Bowl had a rich storyline: Pappy Waldorf had coached Northwestern in the 1930s and — though not making the Rose Bowl — was somewhat successful. He produced a 7-1 season and two 6-2 seasons in a decent but not spectacular career. In 1948, however, Waldorf had relocated to Berkeley had turned Cal into a West Coast power. Sure enough, Cal’s opponent in the 1949 Granddaddy was none other than Northwestern under new coach Robert Voigts.
Northwestern beat Cal, 20-14, to win its only Rose Bowl game. Cal made more Rose Bowls under Waldorf, and then the 1959 game under Pete Elliott. The Golden Bears haven’t been back to the Rose Bowl since then.
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Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/big-ten-primer-northwestern-greatest-232556030.html
Author : Trojans Wire
Publish date : 2024-07-20 23:25:56
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