[NU Sports] Improbable Comebacks

[Jim Bendat]

I agree with John's list 100%.  This one topped Michigan '96 because of 
the factors John spelled out:  Think about it:  Iowa had the ball with 
3:50 left and a 13-point lead.  In that Michigan game, yes, we came back 
from 16 down, but we began that comeback very early in the 4th quarter 
with a TD and a 2-point conversion.  Throughout that 4th quarter against 
Michigan, it was clear that we had the momentum.  That wasn't true 
against Iowa -- not until the very, very amazing end.

My order would be :  Iowa '05, Michigan '00, Wisconsin '96, MSU '01, 
Michigan '96 and Minnesota '00.  And, for the old-timers, I'll also 
throw in the 1967 Miami of Florida game, where we trailed late, then 
pulled off a trick RB-to-QB pass play (probably similar to the '82 play 
against MSU that Harry mentioned) to pull out a 12-7 upset over the 
Hurricanes.

Jim B.

John Labbe wrote:

> After giving it some thought, Saturday's win over Iowa ranks at the 
> top of my list of Northwestern improbable come-from-behind victories.  
> The description "improbable" incorporates a number of factors 
> including the size of the deficit overcome and the lateness in the 
> came that the comeback occurred.
>
> The Iowa victory ranks at the top of my list because we overcame a 13 
> point deficit in the final 3:30 with no timeouts remaining.  In those 
> final minutes, we required 124 yards of offense and recovery of an 
> onside kick to perfect the victory.
>
> The following are the runners-up on my list:
>
> 2) Michigan 1996
> We trailed to Michigan 16-0 entering the fourth quarter and won by 
> scoring 3 field goals and a TD with a 2-point conversion.  We scored 
> the final field goal with 13 seconds remaining.
>
> 3) at Minnesota 2000
> Down 35-14 late in the fourth quarter, we rallied to score 4 straight 
> touchdowns, including the game winning score (victory-right) with no 
> time remaining.  The final TD was an exclamation point on this 
> improbable comeback, but even without it we would have gone to OT, and 
> had we won in OT, this still would have been an improbable comeback.  
> We converted on numerous fourth downs in the fourth quarter to keep 
> essential drives alive.
>
> 4) Michigan State 2001
> After we scored what appeared to be the game-winning TD with 29 second 
> remaining, MSU returned the ensuing kickoff for a TD, leaving us with 
> only 18 second.  But once again employing victory-right, we quickly 
> got into field goal range and kicked a 47-yarder with no time remaining.
>
> 5) at Wisconsin 1996
> The game appeared to be over and Wisconsin was running out the clock, 
> until Ron Dayne fumbled with under a minute to play.  There was just 
> enough time for a couple more plays capped off by a 20-yard Schnur to 
> Bates TD pass.
>
> 6) Michigan 2000
> This game appeared over after Damien Anderson couldn't pull in a TD 
> pass with 1:30 remaining.  But then the A-Train fumbled with just 46 
> second remaining, setting up the winning TD.
>
> Am I overlooking any?  My Northwestern football memory only goes back 
> to the mid-90s.
>