With Northwestern seeking a rare bowl victory, Justin Jackson took the lead — as he had all season.
Jackson ran for 224 yards and three touchdowns to power Northwestern to only its third bowl victory, a 31-24 win over No. 22 Pittsburgh in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday.
Jackson stirred Northwestern’s offense and helped etch the game alongside victories in the 1948 Rose Bowl and the 2012 Gator Bowl in the program’s often futile history.
“Big city, big stage,” Jackson said.
He had scoring runs of 8 and 16 yards in the second quarter and then had a 40-yard burst in the third that left one defender facedown on the turf after a fantastic fake, giving the Wildcats (7-6) a 21-17 lead.