What are the greatest games in Northwestern football history?  If every fan were asked to list his or her top 25 games, no two lists would match.  Do you list just those games you actually attended?  What about games you saw, live or televised?  Just games in your lifetime?  And how do you rate the games?  Do you look at margin of victory, entertainment value, overall team effort, the importance of the game to the program or to the season, or other criteria altogether?  Even if each fan used the same judging criteria, I believe each list would still be unique. 

Below I've included three lists of the greatest games NU has ever played.  The first list is mine, and includes games from all eras.  I tried to account for most of the usual criteria: buildup to the game, importance of the game (to the season and to the future of the program), the quality and excitement of NU's play, and the strength of its opponent.  I have listed my top 25 and have ranked them, with #1 being the greatest game of all time.  If you disagree, let me know!

The second list is by  Chicago Tribune columnist Bill Jauss, from the November 13, 1999 football program for the NU-Michigan State game.  As an end-of-the-century wrap-up,  Jauss gave his list of the 10 greatest games of the 20th century.  It is unranked and lists the games chronologically.

I do not know who wrote the third list.  It appeared in the 1982 NU football media guide.  As part of the 100th anniversary of NU's first intercollegiate football game, the athletic department gave lists of the greatest games, teams, players, coaches, and rivalries of the first 100 years of NU football.  The list below gives the athletic department's picks for the 23 greatest games from 1882-1982, also in chronological order.

The HailToPurple.com List:
The Top 25 Wildcat Games of All Time

1. 1995 NU at Notre Dame.  NU 17 - Notre Dame 15.   Greatest upset in NU history (NU was a 28 point underdog) and the game that signaled the Wildcats' renaissance.  The Chicago Tribune ranked the game #13 in its list of the greatest moments ever in all of Chicago-area sports-- that includes every Bears game, every Bulls game, every Notre Dame game, every Cubs or Sox game-- all of them. NU was concluding a four-game series with the Irish by opening its season at Notre Dame Stadium.  The Wildcats had not won a season opener since 1975.  Notre Dame had not lost an opener since 1986.  The details of the game are now part of NU legend, especially Gary Barnett's instructions to his team before taking the field in South Bend: "Don't carry me off the field after we win.  Act like you've done this before." Darnell Autry, a drama major, had no problem acting like he had done this before... The Wildcats led the entire game.  NU's 17 points came from a Steve Schnur pass to Dave Beazley, a Sam Valenzisi 35-yard field goal, and a 26-yard touchdown pass to D'Wayne Bates-- Bates' first Wildcat reception.  The Irish were held to only 15 points thanks in part to the outstanding defensive work by Pat Fitzgerald, Matt Rice and Casey Dailey.  Throughout the season they, along with Autry, would become Wildcat legends, but this one game ensured that their names would be written in stone in the history of Northwestern football.  What they, and the rest of the team, did on September 2, 1995 simply cannot be overstated: before that game almost no one outside of the team believed that success was possible for Northwestern, and the team itself played by faith-- belief without evidence-- and faith alone.  From this moment on, there was evidence.  Wildcat teams after this game benefitted from that evidence, but this was the game, and these were the players to provide it.  NU had been rebuilding under Barnett for three years before this game: the Dark Ages lifted in 1992.  But it is the '95 Notre Dame game that will forever be the moment known as Day One, the first day of the new Wildcats. The heroes of the day: NU's incredible defense. [All three photos from AP]

2. 1949 Rose Bowl Vs. California.  NU 20 - Cal 14. The Rose Bowl Championship.  Among the most dramatic and controversial games in Rose Bowl history.  Did NU lose the ball before crossing the goal line?  Regardless, the result produced bonfires in Fountain Square, hundreds of snake dancing fans in downtown Chicago, and one of the great, legendary events of NU sports.

3. 2000 Michigan at NU.  NU 54 - Michigan 51.  The '96 Mich. game, only with every aspect doubled: intensity, excitement, scoring, and emotion.  This time, NU had to score the winning touchdown twice.  The 'Cats notched more offense against Michigan than any other team ever.  The most thrilling game in Dyche/Ryan history, and the one that set up NU's Y2K championship.

4. 1995 NU at Michigan.  NU 19 - Michigan 13. The Notre Dame win?  Not a fluke.  100,000 very silent football fans.  For the first time in 25 years, NU football was being taken seriously on a national level.  Very seriously.  The game itself was one of the best-played in Wildcat history, and sealed Barnett's reputation as a coaching power.

5. 1936 Minnesota at  NU.  NU 6 - Minnesota 0. Ended defending national champion Minnesota's 27-game winning streak and gave NU outright the Big Ten title, a national #1 ranking, and an argument for a share of the national crown.

6. 1962 Notre Dame at NU.  NU 35 - Notre Dame 6. A Dyche record 55,752 fans watch NU's rise to the top of the AP poll.  Myers to Flatley is the call of the day, and Notre Dame drops its 4th straight to NU.

7. 1996 Michigan at NU.  NU 17 - Michigan 16. Back-to-back wins vs. Michigan seemed impossible in the fourth quarter, when Michigan had a 16-0 lead.  The 'Cats had not really threatened any time in the previous three quarters, but managed to assemble a TD and two field goals before having the ball at midfield with just over 1 minute left.  With 4th down out of field goal range, Musso made a miracle catch for 1st down.  Gowins executed a perfect kick which was recalled by the refs, who weren't ready to restart the clock.  Forced to kick again, Gowins repeated flawlessly, giving NU the win with 8 seconds left.

8. 1925 Michigan at NU (home game at Soldier Field).  NU 3 - Michigan 2. Only points scored against Michigan all season.

9. 1995 Penn State at NU.  NU 21 - Penn State 10. Prime time under the lights at Dyche.  NU controlled the game.

10. 1924 NU at Chicago.  Chicago 3 - NU 0. The Wildcat Game.  One of only three true "moral victories" in NU's history.

11. 1943 Wisconsin at NU.  NU 41 - Wisconsin 0. Otto Graham runs for 4 TDs, throws 1 more TD, and kicks 3 PATs.

12. 1996 Rose Bowl vs. USC.  USC 41 - NU 32. The Rose Bowl ending to the Dream Season.  Even though a loss, this was the third of NU's three true "moral victories," and it was a spectacular game: Schnur's Rose Bowl record-setting performance, and Darnell Autry, Gowins, and Musso's heroics as NU took a (sorrowfully brief) lead in the fourth quarter.  Plus, how many bowl games' TV coverage starts with a dramatic introduction by Charlton Heston?

13. 1924 Notre Dame at NU (home game played at Soldier Field).  Notre Dame 13 - NU 6. The second NU "moral victory."  Was supposed to be a rout.  Rockne had the Four Horsemen.  But NU's Moon Baker stole the show, and NU football began its climb to dominance.

14. 2004 Ohio State at NU.  NU 33 - Ohio State 27 (1 OT) The "33" game.  Northwestern broke a 33-year losing streak to OSU, beating the sixth-ranked Buckeyes in overtime in a night game at Ryan Field.  In overtime Noah Herron (#33), on his 33rd carry, scored the game-winning touchdown (and NU's 33rd point).  Overall, one of the best-played NU games ever, with every position on the field having performed spectacularly.

15. 1982 Northern Illinois at NU.  NU 31 - NIU 6. Broke The Streak, sent the goal posts swimming.

16. 1935 NU at Notre Dame.  NU 14 - Notre Dame 7. One week after Notre Dame beat Ohio State in the original "Game of the Century."

17. 1959 Oklahoma at NU.  NU 45 - Oklahoma 13. NU rocked the dominant power of the day.  Oklahoma had recently set the NCAA record winning streak (which still stands).  NU had been on the rise for two years.  This game served as a call that NU had returned to elite standing.

18. 1991 Illinois at NU.  NU 17 - Illinois 11. An angry NU team (dressed for the first time in over a decade in all purple) turned in one of the most dramatic and emotional games in recent history against the defending Big Ten champs.  Probably the best-played game of the Dark Ages.  Peay's swan song.

19. 1930 Minnesota at NU.  NU 27 - Minnesota 6. Win over the national power paved the way to Big Ten title #3 for the Wildcats.

20. 1892 Michigan at NU (home game played in Chicago).  NU 10 - Michigan 8. First Meeting with Michigan, at the time the most powerful team in the Midwest.

21. 2000 NU at Wisconsin.  NU 47 - Wisconsin 44 (2 OT). Road win against the highest-ranked opponent (7th AP / 6th Coaches) in decades.  An exciting game from start to finish, and a possible defining moment for the 21st Century Wildcats.

22. 1926 Chicago at NU.  NU 37 - Chicago 7. Just two years after NU's valiant effort against Chicago in the "Wildcat Game," the tables had turned and NU was the dominant team in Chicago.  The game dedicated Dyche Stadium, put an end to the Chicago-NU series forever (Chicago's Coach Stagg, knowing his team would never again overpower NU, refused to schedule them again, out of pride), and secured the Big Ten championship for the Wildcats.

23. 2000 NU at Minnesota.  NU 41 - Minnesota 35. "Victory Right" Hail Mary and last-second win cap the greatest comeback in NU history.  The Wildcats had been down 21 points (in 2007 NU tied this comeback record by coming back from 21 down to win against... Minnesota).

24. 1967 Miami, FL at NU.  NU 12 - Miami 7. Season opener knocked off the #1 team in the country.

25. 1896 Chicago at NU.  NU 46 - Chicago 6. NU comes this close to taking the inaugural Big Ten title as it swamps its old-time traditional rival.

Honorable Mention:

2001 vs. Michigan State: Instant Classic II.  First 57 minutes: a good, defensive struggle.  Last 3 minutes: some of the most exasperating, thrilling, and entertaining football ever played at Dyche/Ryan.

1997 vs. Michigan State: Anwan Jones blocks MSU's "game winning" FG.

1992 at Illinois: NU, down by 20, tears back to win.

1971 at Ohio State: NU's last win against the Bucks until 2004