PASADENA, California -- Gary Barnett, the Northwestern football coach, came to Pasadena to discuss the season that catapulted the Wildcats into the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1949.


"We are living proof that history does indeed repeat itself," he said, grinning. Northwestern had had 23 consecutive losing seasons.


Appearing with USC coach John Robinson at the Rose Bowl's annual kickoff event, the opening news conference at Pasadena's Tournament House, Barnett said he saw the first signs of what would be a 10-1 season last spring.


"After spring practice, I felt we'd put ourselves into a position to step up a level defensively, that we could now stop the run in the Big Ten," he said Wednesday of a program that was 2-9 in 1993 and 3-7-1 last year.


"And I could see that we'd have a good overall defense and very good special teams. With those two things going for you, you have a chance against anybody. But to get to the Rose Bowl, you need luck and a lot of other things."


Barnett said another major factor was the ability of his players to perform at a high level in the suddenly supercharged football environment of Evanston.


It wasn't long ago that Wildcat rooters, seeing Iowa thrash their team, began chanting:


"That's all right, that's O.K., we will own your farms one day."


Then, this season, an amazing chant burst forth at Dyche Stadium, during a Nov. 11 victory over Iowa:


"Rose Bowl! Rose Bowl!"


Said Barnett: "The atmosphere around our campus has been as electric as anything I've ever seen. Remember, this is a school where not long ago we'd be greeted at the airport by coaches' wives and players' girlfriends.


"After we beat Purdue [Nov. 18], 3,000 people were at the airport. I enjoyed our locker room after the Purdue game, the joy on my players' faces.


"It was the first time I kind of stepped back and watched them enjoy it all. I felt like a father, seeing his children do something they didn't think they could do."


Evanston, Illinois, is today clearly a different place. Blue and white flags decorate homes in the campus district. Vendors selling Wildcat garb are everywhere along Central Avenue on game days, at 49,000-seat Dyche Stadium.


The first three home games drew less than 30,000. Then, after the team came home from beating Michigan and Minnesota, Northwestern finished to three sellouts.


And please, don't ask for Rose Bowl tickets.


"There's plenty of room left on our bandwagon," Barnett said, "but we don't have any more tickets."


And no, he wasn't surprised by the 31-23 Michigan victory over Ohio State that put his team in the Rose Bowl, Barnett said.


"I felt all along Michigan had a great chance to win, and my players felt the same way," he said.


"It was a win-win situation for us ... We were going to a major bowl, no matter what.


"Ohio State won all year with a very powerful offense. I felt if they got behind and had to catch up ... I didn't know if they knew how to do that. They faced that adversity against Michigan and they couldn't do it."


Pat Richter, the Wisconsin athletic director, talked Sunday about what it means for a school to play in the Rose Bowl after a long absence. The Badgers' 21-16 victory over UCLA in the '94 game was Wisconsin's first Rose Bowl appearance since 1963.


He said Northwestern athletic director Rick Taylor will find a strange sight when he reports for work one day soon.


"He's going to find his office full of merchandising people, waiting to see him," Richter said.


"Financially, the merchandising part of the Rose Bowl game is significant to a football program, particularly if you haven't had a Rose Bowl team for a long time.


"Before we went in '94, we were averaging about $320,000 a year in merchandising income. The year after the Rose Bowl, it was up to $1.4 million. I'm talking about the Rose Bowl and Wisconsin names on everything from clothing to stationery to Christmas tree ornaments.


"A Rose Bowl sweatshirt that wholesales for $20 -- we got $1.20 from that. It's a major source of revenue. Potentially, it's enormous."