Northwestern’s Jack Mitchell is B.M.O.C. tonight. He drilled a 45 yard field goal to send today’s contest into overtime; then nailed a 41 yarder to pull off the 18 point upset. #18 Notre Dame (7-3) suffered their first loss at home. The Northwestern Wildcats (4-6) boast wins over Big Ten foes Penn State (less impressive than it sounds), Wisconsin (pretty impressive actually, as the Badgers may have won the Big Ten West division now) and now Notre Dame this season.
Here’s video of the game-winning kick:
Special thanks to Wes Evans (@WesEvans) of Internet FM.com for the footage.
Saturday marked the 48th game between Notre Dame and Northwestern, but the first meeting since Sept. 2, 1995, when the Wildcats upset the Fighting Irish in the season opener. Yes, the game that was the start of a re-birth for the program. Notre Dame football boasts a 37-9-2 advantage in the all-time series, dating back to 1889.
Jack Mitchell on his mindset after being “iced.” (You know, “ice the kicker”)
“Staying as calm as possible. Staying away from everyone. Just staying loose. Stretching and staying warm. I rushed the practice kick a little bit. I was just getting into my steps as they were calling the timeout. I knew I had to rush and just get a swing in. I felt comfortable after that.”
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and very often writes The Sports Bank.net ,which is partners with Fox Sports. Read his features stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks). His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2