USD Football 1996

Mila No Monf CONTI N UED

• The Wildcats pulled off improbable upset wins over powerhouses Notre Dame and Michigan. (In fact , North– western's season-opening victory in South Bend produced more "What's Wrong with Notre Dame?" stories than "Here Come the Wildcats" sto– ries.) • Northwestern running back Darnell Autry, a media-friendly theater major, emerged as a Heisman Trophy can– didate, rushing for at least 100 yards in every game. • Graduates of Northwestern's highly regarded journalism school came out of the woodwork, pitching features on the team for every conceivable media outlet available. At halftime of the Rose Bowl (which the Wildcats lost in a thriller to USC), Northwestern alum– ni who were covering the game from the press box were asked to pose for a photo. There were 75 of them. Regardless of how many people cov- ered the story, it was Barnett, his coach– ing staff and the players who provided it.

Schnur (left) and Autry, keys to last year's team, are back to lead the offense.

He visited with Georgia and UCLA, two schools that had coaching vacancies , and was even mentioned for NFL jobs. The attention embarrassed Barnett, who has always maintained he wants whatever is best for his family and his team. The only time it was difficult, Bar– nett says, was when the team returned home from the Rose Bowl and the swarm of media at the airport wanted only to know about his coaching status. "None of them were asking about our team and our players," recalls Barnett. "It was all about me and what I was going to do. And when it got to where I was the show instead of the kids in our program, then I thought it was out of perspective. That's when I was uncomfortable." That's when Barnett announced he was staying in Evanston and working on a new, 12-year contract. The announce– ment stabilized recruiting, and the Wild– cats went on to compile one of their best groups of incoming freshmen ever. The Northwestern recruiting class was– n't ranked among the best in the nation– but then, neither were the classes that produced last year's success . "We did a great job of evaluating talent," says defensive coordinator Ron Vanderlinden, who came with Barnett

Now the question is, can they keep the success going? "It's going to be harder because we're not going to sneak up on anybody," says linebacker Pat Fitzgerald, who was named the 1995 national Defensive Play– er of the Year despite breaking an ankle in the 10th game of the season. "But at the same time, we're older, more mature. We've got a solid nucleus of players coming back that were here [last] year. I think we're going to be OK." Not only do the Wildcats return key players such as Fitzgerald, Autry and quar– terback Steve Schnur, they also have Barnett back. That was in question before, during and after the Rose Bowl, as the 50-year-old coach became the hottest commodity in college football. After Northwestern's [D shockingly successful " )> z [D

llloilf!---~ 1995 campaign,

~ the question now is, :;; 11 § can the Wildcats keep it up?

The 'Cats celebrated often in '95. Above, LB Don Holmes (53) after a big play.