NU Alltime Best Games - #23 - The Pigskin "Not so" Classic

The Game: NU vs Oklahoma at Soldier Field "The Pigskin Classic"

Dateline: August 23, 1997

Ranking: 23 (of 24)

The Setup: Coming off back-to-back Big Ten titles (albeit co-titles) our beloved Cats were selected as the headliner for the official kick-off game for the '97 season. Forget the fact that Oklahoma was coming off a 3-8 debacle, their worst season in 35 years - a "w", we knew, would play out nicely in future leafing through the media guide.

The Game: The worst of the 24 greatest games. Hands down. Two Gowins field goals were the only points through most of the game before the Cats "o" wore down the Sooners and Faraji Leary and Levelle Brown punched in two late rushing TDs.

Indelible Moment: D'wayne Bates going down with a severely sprained ankle early in the game. And, the disappointing feeling of seeing the opening ABC pan of Soldier Field with more yellow empty seats than fans. The 35,000+ in attendance proved that while the reigning Big Ten champs had been adopted nationally as worthy of the audience, it underscored the Cats inability to draw.

You Bleed Purple If...:You remember the timely Keith Lozowski pick inside the 10 to stave off an OU touchdown and set-up the dagger TD for the Cats.

Why it Ranks: It is hard to remember, but the now defunct "Classic" was truly an honor for college football teams (remember the Michigan-UVA classic?). This makes the list not so much for the game, but the symbolism of being selected as a national stamp of legitimacy for the program. Unfortunately, the 5-7 season (3-5 Big Ten) didn't do much to keep it there.

Lasting Legacy: None, really. Lessons learned - until Ryan Field sells out regularly, never play a home game at another venue.