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WATCH: Pat Fitzgerald gave emotional, motivational post-game speech after Northwestern won the West

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

The moment in the locker room after a huge win is always special. And for Northwestern, which locked up its first division title in program history on Saturday, the atmosphere after the game was memorable.

After the game, Pat Fitzgerald had an emotional and motivational speech, congratulating his team on claiming a division crown. It was an incredibly special occasion.

“There’s been no group I’ve been around that’s faced more adversity and looked it right in the eye and hasn’t flinched,” Fitzgerald said after the game.

Northwestern has faced its share of adversity this season.

Clayton Thorson started the year on a pitch count after suffering an ACL injury in last year’s Music City Bowl. Jeremy Larkin was forced to retire only a few weeks into the season due to medical condition. Other players have battled injury. Younger guys have had to step up.

Oh, and the Wildcats started the year 1-3. And, somehow, they’ve found a way to respond.

Fitzgerald’s message was fitting and was one of the more memorable moments of the college football season in the B1G.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB