In a back and forth affair, Northwestern topped no. 23 Pitt in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl 31-24 Wednesday afternoon. The victory constitutes only the third bowl title in Northwestern program history (its first since 2012) so, naturally, the Wildcats’ win garnered a good deal of excitement across the internet.
It all started with a simple birthday request from Seth Meyers:
Despite entering the contest as 5.5 point underdogs, the Wildcats fought hard to fulfill Meyers’ wish. And as soon as Kyle Queiro iced the game with an interception of Pitt quarterback Ben DiNucci with just over a minute remaining in the fourth quarter, the celebration was underway:
On a day where Clayton Thorson set the Northwestern program record for passing touchdowns in a season (22) and Pat Fitzgerald earned the second bowl victory in his coaching career, Justin Jackson was the story.