It pays to be petty. Northwestern football certainly knows that.

After upsetting Penn State in Happy Valley on Saturday, the Wildcats took to social media to gloat about the win, mocking a post on X, formerly Twitter, that then-Nittany Lions head coach made. Captioning a video, Franklin wrote, “Northwestern, Northwestern, Northwestern!! #WeAre.”

Well, after a 22-21 upset, the referenced team decided to have a little fun: “Northwestern. Northwestern. NORTHWESTERN,” the Wildcats' athletics department's X account posted with a photo of the football team celebrating its win.

The troll is even more poignant now, too, considering Franklin, who suffered a second straight shocking defeat and third consecutive loss overall, was fired as Penn State's head coach. Franklin had been the Nittany Lions' coach since 2014 and had compiled a 104-45 record in that time, which included a Big Ten championship in 2016 and a College Football Playoff berth last season.

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That's not Northwestern's problem, though, and the Wildcats may still be celebrating as they settle back into Evanston, where they will host Purdue next Saturday.

Northwestern, which began the season with two losses in its first three games, has won each of its last three, including against UCLA, which stunned Penn State last week in Pasadena. With Saturday's victory, Northwestern has already matched its four-win total from the entire 2024 season, and in their last three outings, the Wildcats have allowed fewer than 11 points per game.

After its matchup with Purdue, Northwestern will be on the road for its next two games, with a bye in between. On Oct. 25, the Wildcats are in Lincoln to play currently ranked Nebraska, and on Nov. 7, Northwestern will be out west to play at USC, which is currently 20th in the nation.

Northwestern will finish its regular season with three straight weeks in the state of Illinois; the ‘Cats host Michigan and Minnesota in back-to-back weeks before facing Illinois in Champaign.