Around 8:00 p.m. CST on December 31, 2018, many Northwestern football fans were in crisis mode. Not only were the Wildcats being obliterated at halftime by Utah in the Holiday Bowl, but rumors continued to swirl regarding their head coach. The Green Bay Packers, led by former Northwestern athletic director Mark Murphy, were searching for a new coach of their own, and Pat Fitzgerald’s name had been mentioned by many with knowledge of the process.
Fortunately, this marked the lowest point of the evening. Northwestern erased a 17 point deficit with an unbelievable 28-0 run to close things out.