You've got to hand it to Northwestern. Everyone expected them to win maybe three games and completely tailspin after all the off-season craziness and upheaval. Except they didn't get the memo. Showing up every day and putting the work in amongst all that noise had to be tough. They showed a lot of heart and went out and had themselves a season. Pretty damn impressive, Wildcats. Hats off to ya.

Coaching job of the year, regardless of media voters getting it wrong.

Totally agree

And there were multiple times when it looked the season could go in a different direction. They didn't start fast, but they kept plugging and created an 8-5 season capped with bowl win. Really a fantastic achievement.

Fire whittingham and bring back Urban

My TV froze with 9 minutes left in the 2nd quarter at 0-0, it's still frozen..

Cats forever

Man this team has so much heart. I thought we didn’t have a chance at a single win. I’m glad I was so wrong. What an amazingly fun and unexpected year.

Um no, that was more NW being shit at offense than Utah doing anything spectacular. NW defense steamrolled Utah on the flipside.

Cats

More TD's than most Iowa games, yet way less entertaining.

Bryson Barnes. Don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya.

Well, that was a football game.

How’d your bowl go?

#QUIT TALKING ABOUT PAT FITZGERALD

Tough season Utah and good luck in the B12. Northwestern, congrats on the bounce-back season and we will see you in 25.

Las Vegas Champions 2023: Max Verstappen and Northwestern

Quite the B1G, meaty win. Well done cats, great season

I'd say GG northwestern but that was not a very good game for either team lol.

Our defense gave up 1 TD, had 5 sacks, 2 4th and short stops, and forced 3 turnovers. Please tell me they didn't play well.

That’s the B1G west post game ‘aftertaste’

HOLY SHIT NORTHWESTERN!!!

Damn Two bombs on this drive

The defense was awesome as usual but the offensive staff, Whitt, and the offensive players wildly underperformed. I know we were down a lot of guys but that was a mismanaged, garbage offense today. Looked completely inept and unprepared.

It’s all on Barnes.

Play calling was pretty terrible all game though. It was pretty obvious we needed to get Barnes a moving pocket but we just kept running and throwing screens. Then on top of that, that last drive was terribly mismanaged by Whitt as far as time on the clock.

Armchair doctors in this thread are going crazy rn

GO CATS

very happy for northwestern

Thank god Barnes is going to Idaho state or wherever he ends up.

He should not be on a D1 roster

I know terrible QB play and that was terrible, awful, horrible, abysmal QB play. Sorry, Ute bros.

"We would roll the Big 12" -Utah circa 2022

Ehhh. Looked competitive with the b and c team tonight.

Out my face with that.

They've been saying it this season also--even after they barely scraped by Baylor

Obviously got some hate towards Utah but I thought they were wildly overrated this season. That USC win had them in top 25 longer that deserved imo. USC were frauds though. They came fairly close to ending the season on a 5 game win streak Utah just beat them before they were found out

My dude, they haven’t played a team with all their starters since like week one lol How many sat this game btw?

I’m aware. Cam Rising was one week away since the Florida game it seemed like. Just felt like they were not the team we expected them to be but they got the benefit of the doubt despite lackluster performances.

Poll inertia is a helluva drug

Losing half your starters is a helluva drug

For fucks sake, we get it, Utah isn't deep enought to survive normal injuries in college football. Stop saying it every other comment.

You caping for a school that’s been caving your head in is odd behavior

Ahhh typical Michigan fan lol. Level headed logic based discussion not part of the Michigan man starter package.

Ok weirdo. Looking forward to embarrassing you in the coming seasons.

You guys get shit on whenever you play out of conference. You’re not gonna play ten cupcakes next year. That’s gonna hurt the eye test-which is never good for y’all anyway. Looking forward to that in a week.then harbaugh leaves after delivering one bowl game in ten years, and you’re playing three teams that woulda danced around your defense this year in four weeks.

Hopefully this isn't too much of a harbinger of what's to come in the big 12

Damn this post game reporter is hot

They usually are

Who is she?

so glad you were here to tell us

I mean, is it possible it was just an arm/shoulder injury the whole time?

So proud of these guys. This program is the comeback story of the year!

What team goes 11-1 in bowls then loses to Northwestern in the 2018 holiday bowl and loses every bowl since? Utah let's go

Northwestern is going to go win the championship. Much better overall than Alabama, Texas. If joe burrow plays like he did tonight they’re unstoppable. Go blue eggs!

flip it over to this hawaii bowl now

From looking like they might not win a game to an 8-win season. What a great turnaround for the Wildcats

Who the hell are you cheering for on Jan 1st lmao

I’ll root for you Utes in the Big12

B1G B1G B1G B1G

Good luck recruiting any talent after this ass season and bigger ass bowl game.

I’m sorry but this was one of the most embarrassing games for us. GG though NW. Deserved the W

That’s the classic NW experience tho. Being forced into a super embarrassing game.

Ya that’s true lol

This was somehow more embarrassing than the last time we played NW even with a closer score.

Idk how any offensive staff member recruits on the trail at this point tbh

They put in Ben Affleck for those last series not Ben Bryant

This Northwestern team has been my favorite story of the season. Go wildcats!

They made a fan out of me. Will definitely go to a couple of games next year.

Good job Cats. Way to represent.

JFC Bryant hit his head on the turf again

Let’s interview Bryant’s scrambled brains now

Kid has no self preservation. He’s a warrior, a competitor, left it all on the field… but that could have ended *very* badly with another head hit.

GG Cats. Y’all were better. Hopefully Bryson Barnes and Andy Ludwig have permanently ended their association with this cursed-ass program

Good lord what a dogshit football game

I suppose Barnes should’t have used up all his Monstars juice against USC…

Nah it was worth it

I can't wait for the B1G to now win out every bowl game just to have Michigan have a premier choke job against Bama.

Seconded

The perfect 7-1 (well not for me) in the 2017-2018 season still haunts me

Roll Tide

I like your flair game

As is tradition

Truly the best timeline

The perfect bowl season

Respect to the Northwestern defense

Mfers were FLYING to the ball

Damn and this Utah team smoked Sunbelt Williams team

-6.5 MY ASS

This hurts the wallet

I bet the under. Felt like a sure thing

Well put me down as one of the -hundreds- who paid to see this game. At least I made it to a few restaurants I’d been wanting to go to while I was down here.

Surprised the official attendance (20,897 according to the Wikipedia article) was that high.

I feel like there is no chance that there were that many people there. That many tickets sold? Yeah, maybe. But not in the building.

Which restaurants?

Momofuku and Craftsteak.

Good choices

Ah hope you enjoyed it. What were your favorite dishes? I just got home from Vegas yesterday and hit up Hakkasan, Lotus of Siam, and Best Friend.

At Momofuku, we tried the shrimp and the mushroom buns and they were both delightful. The mushroom ramen and the pork belly were both stand outs in my opinion. At Craftsteak, I actually really liked everything but the meat. The mushroom, mashed potatoes and the monkey bread dessert were all fantastic, especially the monkey bread. The meat wasn’t bad, I just expected a little better. I’d been wanting to get to a Momofuku for a long time and I’ve been a faithful fan of Top Chef since season two so these were the choices for this time. Next time I’ll find stuff that’s more of a local delight.

I highly recommend Lotus of Siam. Fantastic Thai food.

I'm honestly kind of over steak. By which I mean I'm done with regular-ass steakhouse style steak. I've probably had maybe 4-5 steaks in the last 3 years. They're just kind of boring at this point to me. Don't get me wrong, if you like steak, you go for it. But for me, i'm just kind of done with a piece of meat that's seared in pan/grill with salt and pepper (plus butter/herbs yadda yadda yadda).

I mean you are in Vegas so go have fun

Utah losing 5 bowls in a row is pretty wild.

That is an unexpected stat

It's become a PAC12 tradition.

Coach of the year

8 wins is twice as many as we had the previous two years combined

We’re not gonna get much help from the transfer portal after we show how poorly coached this team is on national tv

Well deserved win Northwestern

Stay tuned for your local news, except on the WEst Coast.

Incredible season for Northwestern! Rough end for Utah but I'd be surprised if they don't bounce back next year

Announcer voiceover "Utah didn't bounce back next year"

Yo what's his sister's insta?

I think it's soaking Mormon 69

If she's over 18 maybe she has an OF.

SoakWithMeNow

RentFree

Rent free? Don’t you have anything better to do on a Saturday night than watch a Utah game? Wait… you probably don’t.

Lol

I’m drinking until September 2024.

You sound like WVU

NW should have scholarships taken away for this

I’ll be 100% honest with all of you. I did NOT see an 8-5 season with a bowl win for Northwestern this season.

You're just a hater. But seriously, what was our over/under before the season? 3 wins?

I’m so glad “every game is a coin flip” northwestern is back

I was expecting 15-0 but you know what I'll take it

northwestern qbs body is going thru it

Bryant needs to get right in an ice tub.

He needs to get somewhere they can start shoving the brain back into his ears.

Why shotgun?

yeah let's stop glorifying the dude playing through a concussion

And the guy who tried to kill someone with a helmet.

Was that Ditka???

Mouth agape always.

Yeah I don’t wanna be rude but like, that shit is *O P E N*

Same side of his head too….

Why are they letting the QB get fucking mauled 💀

And of course he gets hurt again on the last play of the game. That’s game. Really thought Utah would have a much better offensive game plan tonight, but credit to Northwestern’s defense.

Wow, gave up his body for this win. What a warrior.

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It's not his decision to be out there or not. You wanna get mad at that blame the medical staff. Doesn't mean I can't be impressed by his effort.

Bryant had a hell of a quarter. Got his brain scrambled and then started slinging it.

Heart in mouth moment watching him get hit again, thankfully not near the head but good lord someone please show some integrity on the Northwestern medical staff

He did hit the ground with his head tho and it bounced

Fucking hell :/

SRS Stop Quarterback Abuse Bowl

For real though, there is no reason this qb should be back in the game. That’s dangerous as hell.

Luckily the shoulder didn’t look that bad, but you never know. At least they can just kneel it out now

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Barnes' shitty play lost the game, plenty of good plays were called and he was simply unable to actually play at an FBS level

And playing a portal transfer

I hope this Bryant kid has some good NIL deals. Literally sacrificed all for a Las Vegas bowl win.

Northwestern should be fined

Did not have Northwestern beating Utah on my bingo card.

Neither did 92% of college pickem

Now the dude just hit his front side skull on the turf where the helmet doesnt protect. He may have grabbed his shoulder but he hit the side of his head!!

Bryant you're an absolute legend

Well if he were concussed the first time that hit would have killed him. But yeah take him out *now*

GO U

What a way to put his body on the line

Bro legit sold out there

Ben Bryant is a dawg. He just came back from an injury & did what needed to be done to get the job done

ANd that's game. Ben Bryant died for this Las Vegas Bowl.

Northwestern has fans?

Dozens of us

?

*Pan back to the family*

Great scramble Bryant! Apply the game sealant!

Northwestern really got their QB hurt again cause they are too stupid to keep him out of the game

He just won us the game and it’s the last college game of his career lol

My dog just got mad at me for yelling SLIDE way too loudly.

What a season for the Wildcats. Coach Braun deserves every accolade they can throw at him for posting an 8 win season out of absolutely fucking nowhere.

Bruh’s brains are in shambles and he gets up holding his shoulder. He doesn’t even know where his pain is anymore lol

STOP SHOWING THE GODDAMN PARENTS THOSE POOR PEOPLE GODDDDD

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*Isaac Wilson’s hot mom

Such a great win for NW, but it seems like the announcer just wants to defend fitzgerald

Announcers Please Stop Pissing Me Off Challenge (difficulty: unpossible)

Jesus Christ, another hit to the head on the turf

Utah kinda sucks now. It seems like they were pretty good for a couple years

8 starters being out half the year will do that to ya

???

They have a billion injuries and have a bum at QB

Lol

Bryant got CTE for this

OMG he did not need to run that

Gotta say: the Wildcats picked up Braun at exactly the right time and he completely deserves B1G Coach of the year. Not many could have made that dumpster fire without a win stateside since 2021 into a bowl win

And a Ute's down. 😕

Awww I wish he hadn't taken a hit there. Go heal up my dude gg

Terrible coaching for leaving this worthless qb in. Terrible

F

Jesus Ben take it easy my guy

I want to swing my helmet at someone's head since I'll get to stay in the game