Northwestern and Minnesota don't make a lot of major headlines in the Big Ten football world, but they both won bowl games on Friday to extend some long bowl winning streaks. The Gophers have won nine a row, the second-longest NCAA streak ever. Northwestern has now won six straight.
Friday was a good day for the Big Ten. Northwestern and Minnesota both won bowl games, raising the league's postseason record to 4-0 so far.
Northwestern forced four turnovers and scored touchdowns after every mistake, cruising to an easy 34-7 victory over Central Michigan in the GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich. on Friday.
It was the sixth straight bowl win for the Wildcats, dating back to 2015. The victory also gave them a winning season in 2025, finishing with a 7-6 record.
“If you look back on our preparation over the course of the last month and the way our guys operate, I couldn’t have been more confident,” Northwestern coach David Braun told reporters after the game. “For us to win and win the way that we did today is a reflection of our seniors, our guys in their preparation, and just so honored and excited to send that group off the right way.”
Here's the game story from Northwestern Roundtable publisher Gavin Dorsey.
Minnesota (8-5, 5-4 in Big Ten) needed overtime to beat New Mexico 20-17 in the Rate Bowl at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz. The Gophers came up with the game-winner on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Drake Lindsey to Jalen Smith. New Mexico got the ball first and kicked a field goal in OT, but the Gophers won it on Lindsey's second TD pass of the night.
New Mexico had tied the game on a 100-yard kickoff return and two-point conversion in the fourth quarter after Minnesota's go-ahead score.
It was the ninth straight bowl win for Minnesota, tied for the second-longest streak ever. Florida State has the longest bowl winning streak at 11, from 1985 to 1995 under legendary coach Bobby Bowden. The Gophers' nine straight wins is the most ever by a Big Ten school. (USC won their nine straight before joining the Big Ten in 2024.)
“It's all about the players — the resolve, the resiliency, the scrap they have,” said Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck, who has won seven straight bowl games at the school. “I'm proud to be their coach for what they've done and what they continue to do
"We didn't play our best football game, didn't play as complementary as we wanted to play going into the game. However, found a way. That was the whole mission. These guys, we don't believe in momentum. It didn't matter. If the kickoff return went back, didn't matter. These guys just kept rowing the boat. We've been saying that forever. I love coaching these young players and these people. We've got amazing, amazing people inside our organization. Just proud of our culture tonight, because it showed on a big stage.''
Washington won the league's first bowl game of the season on Dec. 13, and Oregon won a College Football Playoff first-round game last week over James Madison.
The Big Ten looks to get to 5-0 on Saturday Penn State takes on Clemson in New York. The full bowl schedule is below.
Longest bowl game winning streaks
11 — Florida State, 1985-1995
9 — Minnesota, 2015-present
9 — USC, 1923-1945
9 — Utah, 1999-2009
8 — Alabama, 2015-2022
8 — Boston College, 2000-2007
8 — UCLA, 1982-1991
7 — Georgia Tech, 1947-1956
7 — Marshall, 2009-2018
7 — Syracuse, 1988-1996
7 — Ohio, 2017-present
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Tom Brew is the National Editor-in-Chief at Roundtable Sports. You can follow him in Twitter (X) @tombrewsports
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