Even though it was the second gambling scandal in less than a year at a school known more for the fierceness of its College Bowl team than its appearances in the Rose Bowl, there was little stir on the Evanston, Ill., campus today. ''It didn't really upset me that much,'' said Jeff Esser, a student who was preparing for next week's exams. ''People who come to school here are more focused on academics than what the football or basketball teams are up to.''

The indictments, though, were announced on the afternoon of the annual banquet for Northwestern's football team. After winning the Big Ten title in 1995, earning a rare trip to the Rose Bowl, the team has declined into its usual mediocrity. It finished 5-7 last year and slid to 3-9 this season, without a victory in the conference.

Gary Barnett, who came to Northwestern as the football coach in 1992 with the goal of ''taking the Purple to Pasadena,'' said he had never questioned the integrity of the players charged. He added: ''It doesn't indict a program. It doesn't indict the school. It indicts the individuals. The stain is on the individuals, not on the school.''

The football scandal was unusual in at least three respects.

Point-shaving in basketball is believed to be more common than in football, where it is harder for a single player to affect the outcome of a game.

Point-shaving also usually involves a favored team playing poorly to win by less than the point spread. The Northwestern football and basketball players were underdogs accused of betting on their teams to lose by more than the spread.

And unlike the Northwestern basketball players, the football players were not charged with receiving bribes to fix the outcome of games. Prosecutors said the basketball players received money from gamblers, while the football players put up their own money.

The basketball and football scandals at Northwestern are connected by a former football player, Brian Ballarini. He has admitted that after injuring his knee he became a bookmaker, taking wagers from student-athletes. He pleaded guilty last summer to gambling charges and told investigators that he knew of Northwestern football players who placed bets with him against their team. At his sentencing, Ballarini said he was a gambling addict and lashed out at Northwestern officials for not helping him. Northwestern officials said that they would have helped him but that Ballarini had denied gambling.