Pat Fitzgerald gathered his players into a circle and hollered: “Wisconsin lost! Purdue lost!”
And before he could deliver the breaking news — Northwestern is going to Indianapolis for the Big Ten title game — he began leaping and getting mobbed by his jubilant players.
“Pretty cool moment,” quarterback Clayton Thorson said.
“Amazing,” added defensive end Joe Gaziano.
A team that ranks among the nation’s worst in yards per play, a group that entered Saturday as 10½-point underdogs to skidding Iowa, is headed to Indy.
A team that went 0-3 in nonconference games, gave up 36 second-half points to Akron and needed a 99-yard touchdown drive to send the Nebraska game to overtime will play in the conference’s signature game Dec. 1.
Northwestern outslugged Iowa on Saturday, getting an all-world touchdown grab by Ben Skowronek in its 14-10 victory that boosted it to 6-1 in Big Ten play and a rather inconsequential 6-4 overall. It marked the Wildcats’ 10th straight win over Big Ten West foes and a program-record seventh straight road victory.
Northwestern hasn’t won the Big Ten since 2000. Hasn’t been to the Rose Bowl since Jan. 1, 1996. Has never played at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Now the third is happening, making the first and second possible.
How?
How has this team positioned itself to have a chance to win the bleepin’ Big Ten?
“The brotherhood in the locker room,” Fitzgerald said.
More specifically, from Saturday …
It’s all-Big Ten-caliber cornerback Montre Hartage going down with a hamstring injury, and nickelback Roderick Campbell breaking up a potential touchdown pass three plays later.
It’s a defense that forced two fumbles in the final five minutes and held Iowa to 10 points despite two midfield Thorson interceptions.
It’s freshman tailback Isaiah Bowser reviving a rushing attack that went dead after Jeremy Larkin had to retire for medical reasons. Bowser the Bulldozer carried 31 times Saturday for 165 yards.
He scored from 34 yards for NU’s first touchdown, following a path cleared by the pulling combination of center Jared Thomas and right tackle Rashawn Slater.
“I don’t think I got touched,” Bowser said.
It’s Thorson knowing exactly how much he needs for a first down on third-and-5 and reaching the ball across as he’s being tackled.
“They tell us never to reach the ball out, but it was my 49th game,” Thorson said coyly. “I think Coach Fitz trusts me.”
It’s Chad Hanaoka, the 5-foot-6 former so-called “video guy,” gaining the first down on a stunning third-and-9 call in the fourth quarter.
And then, on the next play, it’s Skowronek, fully outstretched at 6-4, diving to haul in a 32-yard touchdown grab. Skowronek kept the ball tucked in his left arm as he, shall we say, survived the ground.
Told it would go down as the most memorable play on what will go down as one of the greatest days in program history, the junior receiver replied: “I don’t want it to be remembered as my play. I want it to be remembered as a great team win because that’s truly what it was.”
Skowronek, by the way, said he was surprised Thorson threw it because “that play is not really designed to go to me.”
When Thorson heard that he grinned and said: “Ben better check himself. He is the first read on that one. We’ll go over that.”
Northwestern has time on its side.
The Wildcats play at Minnesota on Saturday and play host to Illinois in the final week of the season — the regular season. So they can be patient with injured players — Hartage and fellow defensive backs Trae Williams and Jared McGee plus linebacker Nate Hall.
In the days leading up to the Iowa trip, Fitzgerald told his players: “If some things happen, we could be putting a trophy in the case with two weeks to play. Anybody want to sign up for some of that?”
Players boarded a bus back to Evanston wearing a black cap with blue-and-white lettering: 2018 BIG TEN WEST DIVISION CHAMPS.
Fitzgerald won two Big Ten titles as an NU linebacker, and his team will take on either Michigan or Ohio State for a spot in the Rose Bowl.
To mark the occasion, the South Side native quoted former White Sox broadcaster Hawk Harrelson: “Don’t stop now, boys!”
tgreenstein@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @TeddyGreenstein
