The Origin of the Shame Mask

In olden days, or at least as they are presented to tourists in Europen museums about the history of torture and punishment, the powers that be in a community would punish some crimes with public humiliation. One device for this was the shame mask. For example, if a man were found to be pig-headed, then he would have an iron mask shaped like a pig locked on his head for a period of time. A woman found to gossip too much might be foreced to wear an iron mask with a very long tongue.

It in this spirit that I examine the late 1970s vintage Northwestern University Wildcats football team. Prior to 1975, Northwestern had had a few ups but mostly downs on the gridiron, but the program entered an especially dark period in 1976, when they went 1-10. They did play a relatively tough schedule with their only win being a 42-21 home win over their weakest opponent Michigan State, but the Spartans were still 4-6-1 that year and with out of conference games at 9-3 North Carolina and home games against 9-3 Notre Dame and 5-6 Arizona. But they were out scored 134-273.

The following season, the Wildcats again went 1-10, but they did play an even tougher schedule, with out of conference games at 9-3 Arizona State and hosting 8-3-1 North Carolina. Their only win again was over their weakest opponent: 3-8 Illinois in the season final. It took a while for Northwestern to get their offense going--they did not score in double digits until the 7th game of the season, and they were outscored 102-337.

It got worse in 1978, though. The season started with a scoreless tie at Illinios, and went down from there for an 0-10-1 final mark. They were out scored 92-440.

Northwestern rebounded with a 1-10 record in 1979. The one win was 27-22 win at home over Wyoming (4-8) during week 2. The following week however, when the Syracuse Orangemen paid a visit to Evanston and left with a 54-21 win, Northwestern began the longest losing streak in the history of Division I-A, the highest level of NCAA football. They did however improve their net points though and were only outscored 115-386.

The losing continued throughout 1980, when the Wildcats lost all 11 games and were outscored 151-444.

The 1981 campaign though has to be one of the most miserable seasons ever put together. Northwestern started with a 21-20 loss to 3-8 Indiana, and while they did play a tough schedule with non-conference games against 8-2-1 Utah and at 8-4 Arkansas, they again lost all their games and were outscored by the astonishing margin of 82-505! This included an amazing streak in the middle of the season where they were shut out in 5 of 6 games.

I say that this season was bad enough that it generated a shame mask that must be worn by Northwestern until a team did not beat them.

The 1981 season proved to be the nadir for the Wildcats. They lost their first three games of the 1982 season to run their losing streak to 34 games. In week 4, on September 25, they beat Northern Illinois 31-6. Northwestern went on to win two more games that season. This meant that in 1982, they won as many games as they did in their previous six seasons combined! Six years with a combined record of 3-62-1!

And Northern Illinois lost to this team. This cannot go unpunished. This six years of 3-62-1 and this 34-game losing streak is too big to just vanish. It lives. It breathes. It continues to shame the sport and any team that does not beat a team that did not beat the team that did not beat the team...that did not beat the team that lost to this Northwestern team.

Therefore, in this blog, I will follow the trail left behind as this Shame Mask works its way through Div. I-A like the alien's acidic blood through the decks of the Nostromo.