Remember, Northwestern football is ancient. The team predates Ohio State, Alabama, USC, Penn State, and most of the other blue bloods. Don’t let anyone tell you differently, Northwestern has been playing football since nearly the beginning, and the past cannot be rewritten.
https://youtu.be/ID100iFeZ5M?list=PLE95C3105E9F5ED5A
The first Northwestern football team was one of the first four college football teams to be established west of the Appalachian Mountains, playing its first intercollegiate game against Lake Forest in 1882.
Roy F. McCampbell's Blog 