SMQ: 3 college football FBS records fell in Week 10
By Zach Bigalke
1. Northwestern first FBS team in history to win three straight OT games
Overtime games have only been a part of FBS football for two decades. Prior to 1996, when the overtimes rules first implemented a quarter-century earlier by the Kansas High School Activities Association were introduced permanently to the top division of college football. Prior to that point, games with a deadlocked score after 60 minutes went into the official record as ties.
Back then, the concept of overtime was a relative novelty after decades of ending games with ties. Setting aside the benefits that can derive from ending a game after the end of regulation, the idea of overtime is almost certainly here to stay.
Yet in the first two decades since it became the standard in college football, we have never before seen a team go to overtime in three straight games — much less win all three. That changed this weekend when Northwestern broke that record with its third straight extra-time victory to reach bowl eligibility.
The nuts and bolts of the streak
Before 1996, the Wildcats would be 3-3-3 in the standings. Instead, they are now 6-3 and qualified to play in the postseason this year thanks to a change in the rules that, if it was a human rather than a quirk in the rulebook, would have only just turned old enough to buy a beer this season.
October 21: Northwestern 17, Iowa 10 (OT)
The overtime victory streak began on October 21 at Ryan Field in Evanston. That afternoon, Northwestern hosted Iowa in a divisional showdown. The Hawkeyes took a 7-0 lead into the locker room at halftime, but a second-half push allowed the hosts to pull back the deficit and end regulation at 10-10. Thanks to the Kansas Plan, Northwestern headed to overtime against Iowa.
The Wildcats had the ball first, and Clayton Thorsen ran in a one-yard touchdown on the fifth play of the series. Charlie Kuhbander‘s extra point made it 17-10, and then the Northwestern defense got to work. Giving up just seven yards on Iowa’s series, the Wildcats prevailed to move to 4-3 on the year after Nathan Stanley‘s pass fell incomplete on 4th-and-3 from the 18.
October 28: Northwestern 39, Michigan State 31 (3OT)
The following week, Northwestern welcomed a Michigan State team ranked No. 16 in the AP Top 25 to Ryan Field. Mark Dantonio‘s Spartans couldn’t put away the Wildcats, as the two teams were tied 10-10 at halftime and 17-17 at the end of regulation.
Two Clayton Thorsen passes were all Northwestern needed to take a 24-17 lead in the first overtime. Michigan State answered on Brian Lewerke‘s six-yard scoring pass to Felton Davis. In the second overtime period, the Spartans had the ball first after two more Lewerke completions got them into the endzone.
Northwestern scored on its next two possessions. First, they forced a third overtime by tying it up 31-31 on Justin Jackson‘s three-yard touchdown run and Kuhbander’s extra point. Then Thorsen hit Flynn Nagel for a 22-yard touchdown in the third overtime before finding Cameron Green on the next play for a two-point conversion. The pressure was then on the Spartans to answer, and Northwestern’s defense came through with a critical stop to end the game at 39-31.
November 4: Northwestern 31, Nebraska 24 (OT)
Once again in their road win over Nebraska, Northwestern was forced to play extra time. Just like their first two overtime wins in the streak, the Wildcats got the ball first. Marching on a seven-play drive, Clayton Thorsen punched the ball over the goal line on fourth-and-goal from the one to go ahead 31-24.
That was all the Wildcats needed, as the defense sacked Tanner Lee on second down and then tackled Tyler Hoppes in the open field to force fourth-and-12. Kyle Queiro knocked down Lee’s desperation pass on the final play of the game to preserve the 31-24 win over the Huskers.
Likelihood the streak will continue: Less than five percent
Winning one overtime game is complicated and usually requires some luck on the part of the victor. Winning two in a row is pure kismet. And racking up three straight wins in overtime sounds like a movie script.
Northwestern ends the season with Purdue, Minnesota, and Illinois on the docket. All three are winnable contests that should not require overtime. As a result, the Wildcats will inevitably lose this streak.