As college football flips the calendar to November, Northwestern is officially in grind-it-out season. And the Wildcats are sitting one win away from checking a major box.

Fresh off one of the loudest shockers of the year, that Week 7 stunner at Penn State Nittany Lions. Northwestern enters the Bowl season, needing just one more W to punch a postseason ticket. Do that, and it’s bowl eligibility for the second time in the David Braun era in Evanston.

Hit six wins, and the Wildcats would be bowling again for the first time since their 8–5 run in 2023. Sounds simple? Not in college football. 

Bowl eligibility is a weekly street fight, and historically, it’s been even tougher sledding for Northwestern.

Since fielding its first team back in 1876, Northwestern Wildcats have made just 17 bowl appearances, every one earned the hard way.

With November football here and everything on the line, let’s tap into the history books and rank every bowl win the Wildcats have stacked so far.

Final: Northwestern 35, Auburn 19

The No. 14 Wildcats rolled into Orlando as chalk, and played like it. This was a defense-first outfit, surrendering just 15.9 points per game (fifth-best in FBS), and they set the tone early. Two TD strikes from Peyton Ramsey spotted NU a quick 14–0 lead.

Auburn made it interesting with a couple field goals and a 57-yard bomb from Bo Nix, trimming the margin to one in the third. That’s when the Wildcats slammed the door. Three straight scores later, it was 35–13 and ballgame.

Ramsey earned MVP honors after carving up the Tigers for 291 yards and three TDs. It also marked the final bowl win of the Pat Fitzgerald era before his dismissal in July 2023.

Final: Northwestern 34, Mississippi State 20

About time. The No. 20 ’Cats finally broke through, jumping out to a 13–0 second-quarter lead thanks to three interceptions of Bulldogs QB Tyler Russell.

Northwestern’s QB combo of Trevor Siemian and Kain Colter had some turnover hiccups of their own, but the ground game bailed them out. NU racked up 161 rushing yards and punched in three second-half TDs to ice it.

The win snapped a brutal nine-game bowl losing streak, tied with Notre Dame for the longest in NCAA history. And delivered Fitzgerald his 50th career win, pushing him past Pappy Waldorf atop the program’s leaderboard.

Final: Northwestern 20, California 14

Northwestern’s first bowl appearance ever, and still one of its grittiest. The ’Cats entered as 6.5-point favorites over an unbeaten Cal squad and found a way despite getting outgained.

Frank Aschenbrenner gashed the Golden Bears for 119 yards, including a then–Rose Bowl record 73-yard TD. Later, NU went old-school, snapping the ball directly to Ed Tunnicliff for a go-ahead score.

With Cal driving late, Pee Wee Day sealed it with a game-ending interception. Not pretty, just seven first downs… but iconic.

Final: Northwestern 31, Utah 20

On paper, this looked rough. Utah came in packing an elite defense, allowing just 19.4 points per game and ranking fourth nationally against the run. Instead, Northwestern flipped the script.

The ’Cats turned full chaos mode in the third quarter, scoring 21 points off three Utah turnovers. Safety Jared McGee put the exclamation point on it with an 82-yard scoop-and-score.

Utah was a seven-point favorite. Northwestern didn’t care. This was a defensive clinic with a side of havoc.

Final: Northwestern 31, Pittsburgh 24

If you’ve seen one Justin Jackson takeover, you’ve seen them all, except this one hit different. Under the Bronx lights, Jackson went full workhorse, torching Pitt for 224 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries.

He scored twice early to build a 14–3 lead, answered Pitt’s punch with a 40-yard house call, then watched the defense close it out with 10 unanswered points in the fourth. MVP was never in doubt.

Final: Northwestern 24, Kentucky 23

After QB Clayton Thorson went down early, it was next-man-up time. And once again, Jackson answered the call. He posted 157 rushing yards and two scores, earning MVP honors for the second straight bowl.

Backup RB Jeremy Larkin added serious juice with 112 yards on just nine carries. Defensively, the ’Cats bowed up when it mattered, holding Kentucky to just 65 rushing yards despite NU ranking bottom-10 nationally against the run that season.