2010 Northwestern Wildcats football team

2010 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference Big Ten Conference
2010 record 7–6 (3–5 Big Ten)
Head coach Pat Fitzgerald
Offensive coordinator Mick McCall
Offensive scheme Spread
Defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz
Base defense Multiple 4-3
Captain Dan Persa
Captain Al Netter
Captain Quentin Davie
Captain Corbin Bryant
Home stadium Ryan Field (Capacity: 47,130)
2010 Big Ten football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#7 Wisconsin †§   7 – 1         11 – 2  
#5 Ohio State ‡   0* – 1         0* – 1  
#14 Michigan State §   7 – 1         11 – 2  
Iowa   4 – 4         8 – 5  
Illinois   4 – 4         7 – 6  
Penn State   4 – 4         7 – 6  
Michigan   3 – 5         7 – 6  
Northwestern   3 – 5         7 – 6  
Purdue   2 – 6         4 – 8  
Minnesota   2 – 6         3 – 9  
Indiana   1 – 7         5 – 7  
† – BCS representative as conference champion
‡ – BCS at-large representative
§ – Conference co-champions
  • *All wins for Ohio State (12–1, 7–1) in the 2010 season are vacated
    As of January 11, 2011; Rankings from AP Poll[1][2]

The 2010 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University in the Big Ten during the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Pat Fitzgerald, in his fifth season at Northwestern, was the team's head coach. The Wildcats home games were played at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. The annual rivalry game against the University of Illinois was played at Wrigley Field on November 20.

The Wildcats finished the season 7–6, 3–5 in Big Ten play and was invited to the inaugural TicketCity Bowl where they were defeated by Texas Tech 38–45.

Previous season

Last season, the Wildcats finished the season 8–5 (5–3 in Big Ten play) and lost in the Outback Bowl 35–38 in overtime against Auburn.

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
September 4 6:30 PM at Vanderbilt* Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, TN CSNC W 23–21   37,210[3]
September 11 11:00 AM Illinois State* Ryan Field • Evanston, IL BTN W 37–3   25,471[4]
September 18 6:00 PM at Rice* Rice Stadium • Houston, TX W 30–13   15,562[5]
September 25 11:00 AM Central Michigan* Ryan Field • Evanston, IL BTN W 30–25   30,075[6]
October 2 11:00 AM at Minnesota TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN ESPN W 29–28   49,228[7]
October 9 6:30 PM Purdue #25 Ryan Field • Evanston, IL BTN L 17–20   33,847[8]
October 23 11:00 AM #8 Michigan Statedagger Ryan Field • Evanston, IL ESPN L 27–35   41,115[9]
October 30 11:00 AM at Indiana Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN BTN W 20–17   37,818[10]
November 6 2:30 PM at Penn State Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA ABC/ESPN2 L 21–35   104,147[11]
November 13 11:00 AM #13 Iowa Ryan Field • Evanston, IL ESPN W 21–17   47,130[12]
November 20 2:30 PM vs. Illinois #25 Wrigley Field • Chicago, IL (Land of Lincoln Trophy) ESPNU L 27–48   41,058[13]
November 27 2:30 PM at #5 Wisconsin Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI ABC/ESPN L 23–70   80,011[14]
January 1 11:00 AM vs. Texas Tech* Cotton Bowl • Dallas, TX (TicketCity Bowl) ESPNU L 38–45   40,121[15]
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Regular season

Vanderbilt

1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 10 0 7 6 23
Commodores 0 9 6 6 21
Overall Record Last Meeting Result[16]
0–1–1 1952 Tie, 20–20


Illinois State

1 2 3 4 Total
Redbirds 3 0 0 0 3
Wildcats 14 16 0 7 37
Overall Record Last Meeting Result[17]
0–0 First Meeting


Rice

1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 3 10 14 3 30
Owls 0 3 3 7 13
Overall Record Last Meeting Result[18]
1–4 1998 NU, 23–14


Central Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total
Chippewas 6 7 0 12 25
Wildcats 6 7 10 7 30
Overall Record Last Meeting Result[17]
0–0 First Meeting


Minnesota

1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 14 0 6 9 29
Golden Gophers 7 14 0 7 28
Overall Record Last Meeting Result[19]
30–50–5 2009 Minn, 35–24


Purdue

1 2 3 4 Total
Boilermakers 0 10 3 7 20
#25 Wildcats 7 3 7 0 17
Overall Record Last Meeting Result[20]
27–49–1 2009 NU, 27–21


Michigan State

1 2 3 4 Total
#8 Spartans 0 7 7 21 35
Wildcats 7 10 7 3 27
Overall Record Last Meeting Result[21]
16–34 2009 MSU, 24–14


Indiana

1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 0 10 7 3 20
Hoosiers 3 7 0 7 17
Overall Record Last Meeting Result[22]
43–34–1 2009 NU, 29–28


Penn State

1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 7 14 0 0 21
Nittany Lions 0 7 21 7 35
Overall Record Last Meeting Result[23]
3–10 2009 PSU, 34–13


Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total
Hawkeyes 0 3 14 0 17
Wildcats 7 0 0 14 21
Overall Record Last Meeting Result[24]
22–46–3 2009 NU, 17–10

Northwestern won a thriller by scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats led in the first two periods, but the Hawkeyes scored twice to take the lead in the third quarter.


Illinois

1 2 3 4 Total
Fighting Illini 21 6 7 14 48
#25 Wildcats 14 10 0 3 27
Overall Record Last Meeting Result[25]
46–52–5 2009 NU, 21–16

The Wildcats, one week after upsetting a ranked Iowa team, fell flat in Wrigley Field, losing 48-27 to the Fighting Illini. Illinois RB Mikel LeShoure ran wild on Northwestern's defense for 330 yards on 33 carries (for an average of 10.0 yards per carry), with a pair of touchdowns. The loss snapped a two game Northwestern winning streak over Illinois and sealed a bowl berth for Illinois, regardless of the outcome of their season finale against Fresno State next week. Northwestern falls to 3-4 in Big Ten play and 7-4 overall. The Wildcats face the 10-1 Wisconsin Badgers next week in Camp Randall Stadium, where they have not won since the 2000 season.


Wisconsin

1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 3 14 6 0 23
#5 Badgers 14 35 21 0 70
Overall Record Last Meeting Result[26]
33–55–5 2009 NU, 33–31


TicketCity Bowl

Texas Tech

1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 0 6 18 14 38
Red Raiders 10 14 14 7 45
Overall Record Last Meeting Result[17]
0-0 First Meeting N/A


Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final 
AP NR NR RV RV RV RV RV RV NR RV NR RV NR NR NR NR 
Coaches' RV RV RV RV RV 25 RV RV RV RV NR 25 RV NR NR NR 
Harris Not released RV RV RV RV RV RV RV NR NR Not released 
BCS Not released NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR Not released

Roster

2010 Northwestern Wildcats roster[27][28]

Quarterbacks

  • 7 Dan Persa (C) – Junior
  • 13 Trevor Siemian – Freshman
  • 14 Kain Colter – Freshman
  • 18 Evan Watkins – Freshman

Running Backs

  • 4 Adonis Smith – Freshman
  • 19 Arby Fields – Sophomore
  • 20 Scott Concannon – Junior
  • 25 Stephen Simmons – Senior
  • 28 Tim Hanrahan – Freshman
  • 29 Mike Trumpy – Freshman
  • 34 Tyris Jones – Sophomore
  • 39 Jacob Schmidt – Junior

Wide Receivers

  • 2 Lee Coleman – Senior
  • 5 Sidney Stewart – Senior
  • 6 Charles Brown – Junior
  • 8 Demetrius Fields – Sophomore
  • 11 Jeremy Ebert – Junior
  • 12 Tony Jones – Freshman
  • 17 Rashad Lawrence – Freshman
  • 80 Mike Jensen – Freshman
  • 81 Jimmy Hall – Freshman
  • 83 Jaleel Reed – Freshman
  • 84 Drew Moulton – Freshman
  • 85 Venric Mark – Freshman
  • 86 Brendan Barber – Sophomore
  • 88 Torin Dupper – Freshman

Superbacks

  • 9 Drake Dunsmore – Junior
  • 40 Brett Nagel – Sophomore
  • 45 Aaron Nagel - Junior
  • 47 Christian Flores – Freshman
  • 82 John Plasencia – Freshman
  • 89 Josh Rooks – Senior
  

Offensive Line

  • 52 Evan Luxenburg – Sophomore
  • 62 Taylor Paxton – Freshman
  • 63 Keegan Grant – Senior
  • 64 Doug Bartels – Junior
  • 65 Ben Burkett – Junior
  • 66 Brandon Vitabile – Freshman
  • 68 Hayden Baker – Freshman
  • 70 Patrick Ward – Sophomore
  • 72 Brian Mulroe – Sophomore
  • 73 Colin Armstrong – Junior
  • 74 Chuck Porcelli – Sophomore
  • 75 Al Netter (C) – Junior
  • 76 Brian Smith – Freshman
  • 78 Paul Jorgensen – Freshman
  • 79 Neal Deiters – Sophomore

Defensive Line

  • 42 Kevin Watt – Junior
  • 55 Bo Cisek – Sophomore
  • 60 Jake Gregus – Freshman
  • 61 Andrew Struckmeyer – Junior
  • 67 Sean McEvilly – Freshman
  • 88 Quentin Williams – Sophomore
  • 90 Jack DiNardo – Junior
  • 91 Brian Arnfelt – Sophomore
  • 92 Will Hampton – Freshman
  • 93 Niko Mafuli – Junior
  • 94 Vince Browne – Junior
  • 95 Davon Custis – Freshman
  • 96 Anthony Battle – Freshman
  • 97 Tyler Scott – Freshman
  • 98 Corbin Bryant (C) – Senior
  • 99 Chance Carter – Freshman
  

Linebackers

  • 31 Stone Pinckney – Sophomore
  • 33 David Nwabuisi – Sophomore
  • 35 Ben Johnson – Junior
  • 41 Quentin Davie (C) – Senior
  • 43 Tim Riley – Freshman
  • 44 Nate Williams – Senior
  • 46 Damien Proby – Freshman
  • 48 Roderick Goodlow – Sophomore
  • 50 Timmy Vernon – Freshman
  • 51 Bryce McNaul – Junior
  • 53 Chi Chi Ariguzo – Freshman
  • 54 Collin Ellis – Freshman
  • 56 Will Studlien – Freshman
  • 57 Luke Reppe – Freshman

Defensive Backs

  • 15 Daniel Jones – Freshman
  • 24 Ibraheim Campbell – Freshman
  • 36 Mike Eshun – Freshman
  • 39 Joe Cannon – Freshman

Cornerbacks

  • 3 Jeravin Matthews – Junior
  • 13 C.J. Bryant – Freshman
  • 20 Tim Weak – Sophomore
  • 21 Mike Bolden – Junior
  • 22 Demetrius Dugar – Sophomore
  • 26 Jordan Mabin – Junior
  • 28 Justan Vaughn – Senior
  • 38 James Kurzawski – Sophomore
  • 47 Ricky Weina – Junior

Safeties

  • 7 Hunter Bates – Sophomore
  • 10 Brian Peters – Junior
  • 16 Davion Fleming – Freshman
  • 27 Jared Carpenter – Sophomore
  • 32 David Arnold – Junior
  • 49 Scott Lilja – Senior
  

Punters

  • 1 Stefan Demos – Senior
  • 49 Brandon Williams – Freshman

Kickers

  • 1 Stefan Demos – Senior
  • 34 Steve Flaherty – Sophomore
  • 37 Jeff Budzien – Freshman

Long Snappers

  • 58 John Henry Pace – Senior
  • 59 Pat Hickey – Freshman
Head coach
  • Pat Fitzgerald
Coordinators/Assistant coaches
  • Randy Bates – Linebackers Coach
  • Jerry Brown – Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Backs Coach
  • Adam Cushing – Offensive Line Coach/Recruiting Coach
  • Mike Hankwitz – Defensive Coordinator/Safeties Coach
  • Bob Heffner – Superbacks Coach
  • Kevin Johns – Wide Receivers Coach/Passing Game Coach
  • Marty Long – Defensive Line Coach
  • Matt MacPherson – Running Backs Coach
  • Mick McCall – Offensive Coordinator/QB's Coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Redshirt

Depth chart

Defense
FS
Brian Peters
Hunter Bates
⋅
WLB MLB SLB
⋅ Nate Williams ⋅
Damien Proby David Nwabuisi ⋅
⋅ ⋅ ⋅
SS
Jared Carpenter
David Arnold
⋅
CB
Jordan Mabin
Demetrius Dugar
⋅
DE DT DT DE
Vince Browne Jack DiNardo Corbin Bryant Kevin Watt
Tyler Scott Brian Arnfelt Niko Mafuli Quentin Williams
⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅
CB
Justan Vaughn
Mike Bolden
⋅
Offense
Z-Receiver
Sidney Stewart
Rashad Lawrence
⋅
Y-Receiver
Jeremy Ebert
Charles Brown
⋅
LT LG C RG RT
Al Netter Brian Mulroe Ben Burkett Keegan Grant Patrick Ward
Chuck Porcelli Doug Bartels Colin Armstrong Brian Smith Neal Deiters
⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅
Superback
Drake Dunsmore
Josh Rooks
⋅
X-Receiver
Demetrius Fields
Tony Jones
⋅
QB
Dan Persa
Evan Watkins
Kain Colter
RB
Adonis Smith
Stephen Simmons
Mike Trumpy
Special Teams
PK Stefan Demos
PK Jeff Budzien
P Brandon Williams
P Stefan Demos
KR Venric Mark
PR Venric Mark
LS John Henry Pace
H Brandon Williams

[29]

References

  1. ↑ "Big Ten Conference Standings - 2010". ESPN. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  2. ↑ "2014 NCAA Football Rankings - Week 16". ESPN. December 7, 2010. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Northwestern Wildcats at Vanderbilt Commodores Box Score". ESPN. September 4, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Northwestern Wildcats vs Illinois State Redbirds Box Score". ESPN. September 11, 2010. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Northwestern Wildcats vs Rice Owls Box Score". ESPN. September 18, 2010. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Northwestern Wildcats vs Central Michigan Chippewas Box Score". ESPN. September 25, 2010. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Northwestern Wildcats at Minnesota Golden Gophers Box Score". ESPN. October 2, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Northwestern Wildcats vs Purdue Boilermakers Box Score". ESPN. October 9, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Michigan State Spartans vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. October 23, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Northwestern Wildcats at Indiana Hoosiers Box Score". ESPN. October 30, 2010. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Northwestern Wildcats at Penn State Nittany Lions Box Score". ESPN. November 6, 2010. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Iowa Hawkeyes Box Score". ESPN. November 13, 2010. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Illinois Fighting Illini Box Score". ESPN. November 20, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Northwestern Wildcats at Wisconsin Badgers Box Score". ESPN. November 27, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. January 1, 2011. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  16. ↑ DeLassus, David. "Northwestern vs Vanderbilt (TN)". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 DeLassus, David. "Northwestern Records by Team". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  18. ↑ DeLassus, David. "Northwestern vs Rice (TX)". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  19. ↑ DeLassus, David. "Northwestern vs Minnesota". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  20. ↑ DeLassus, David. "Northwestern vs Purdue (IN)". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  21. ↑ DeLassus, David. "Northwestern vs Michigan State". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  22. ↑ DeLassus, David. "Northwestern vs Indiana". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  23. ↑ DeLassus, David. "Northwestern vs Penn State". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  24. ↑ DeLassus, David. "Northwestern vs Iowa". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  25. ↑ DeLassus, David. "Northwestern vs Illinois". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  26. ↑ DeLassus, David. "Northwestern vs Wisconsin". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  27. ↑ "2010 Northwestern Football Roster". Northwestern University Department of Athletics. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  28. ↑ "Northwestern Announces Team Captains for 2010 Season". Northwestern University Department of Athletics. August 27, 2010. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
  29. ↑ "2011 TicketCity Bowl Guide" (PDF). Northwestern University Department of Athletics. Retrieved December 28, 2010.