2012 Northwestern Wildcats football team

2012 Northwestern Wildcats football

Gator Bowl Champions
Gator Bowl vs. Mississippi State, W 34–20
Conference	Big Ten Conference Legends Division
Ranking
Coaches	#16
AP	#17
2012 record	10–3 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Pat Fitzgerald
Offensive coordinator	Mick McCall
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Mike Hankwitz
Base defense	Multiple 4–3
Captain	Brian Arnfelt
Captain	Kain Colter
Captain	Brian Mulroe
Captain	David Nwabuisi
Home stadium	Ryan Field (Capacity: 47,130)


2012 Big Ten football standings
Team	W		L	W		L
Legends Division
#25 Nebraska ^x	7	–	1	10	–	4
#24 Michigan	6	–	2	8	–	5
#17 Northwestern	5	–	3	10	–	3
Michigan State	3	–	5	7	–	6
Iowa	2	–	6	4	–	8
Minnesota	2	–	6	6	–	7
Leaders Division
#3 Ohio State* ^x	8	–	0	12	–	0
Penn State*	6	–	2	8	–	4
Wisconsin ^y†	4	–	4	8	–	6
Purdue	3	–	5	6	–	7
Indiana	2	–	6	4	–	8
Illinois	0	–	8	2	–	10
Championship: Wisconsin 70, Nebraska 31
† – BCS representative as conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Ohio State and Penn State ineligible for conference championship game and post-season bowl games due to NCAA sanctions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2012 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Pat Fitzgerald, in his seventh season at Northwestern, was the team's head coach. The Wildcats home games were played at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. They were members of the Legends Division of the Big Ten Conference. The Wildcats won their first bowl game since the 1949 Rose Bowl against California by defeating Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl 34–20.^[1] They finished the season 10–3 (5–3 Big Ten).

Previous season

In 2011 the Wildcats had a 6–7 record, ending the season with a 33–22 loss to Texas A&M in the 2011 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas.

Preseason

Recruiting

Northwestern signed 21 recruits to letters-of-intent on National Signing Day on February 1, 2012.^[2]

Transfers

Wide receiver Kyle Prater transferred to Northwestern from USC on January 28, 2012, after being injured during most of the 2011 season and redshirting in 2010.^[3] The Wildcats requested a waiver to allow Prater to play immediately in 2012, as he transferred to a school close to home in order to care for a family member.^[4] Sophomore running back Adonis Smith, who was thought to be a candidate for the starting running back job in 2012 after rushing for 266 yards in 2011, announced his intent to transfer from Northwestern on February 22.^[5] He decided to transfer to UNLV.^[6] Defensive back Quinn Evans transferred to Northwestern after graduating from Stanford in June 2012. After missing the entire 2011 season because of injury, he chose to attend Northwestern as a graduate student with a year of college football eligibility remaining.^[7]

Schedule

The schedule is as follows:^[8]

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	11:00 AM	at Syracuse*		Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY	ESPN2	W 42–41	37,830^[9]
September 8	7:00 PM	Vanderbilt*		Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	BTN	W 23–13	31,644^[10]
September 15	2:30 PM	Boston College*		Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	BTN	W 22–13	32,597^[11]
September 22	2:30 PM	South Dakota*		Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	BTN	W 38–7	28,641^[12]
September 29	11:00 AM	Indiana		Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	BTN	W 44–29	33,129^[13]
October 6	11:00 AM	at Penn State	#24	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	ESPN	L 28–39	95,796^[14]
October 13	11:00 AM	at Minnesota		TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	ESPN2	W 21–13	49,651^[15]
October 20	2:30 PM	Nebraska		Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	ABC/ESPN2	L 28–29	47,330^[16]
October 27	11:00 AM	Iowa		Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	ESPN2	W 28–17	44,121^[17]
November 10	11:00 AM	at Michigan	#24	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	ESPN	L 31–38 ^OT	112,510^[18]
November 17	11:00 AM	at Michigan State		Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	ESPN2	W 23–20	75,101^[19]
November 24	11:00 AM	Illinois		Ryan Field • Evanston, IL (Land of Lincoln Trophy)	BTN	W 50–14	32,415^[20]
January 1	11:00 AM	vs. Mississippi State	#21	EverBank Field • Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	ESPN2	W 34–20	48,612^[21]
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

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	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	RV	RV	NR	RV	RV	RV	RV	22	21	17
Coaches'	NR	RV	RV	RV	RV	22	RV	RV	RV	RV	21	RV	RV	20	17	16
Harris	Not released						RV	RV	RV	RV	24	RV	RV	21	20	Not released
BCS	Not released							NR	NR	NR	24	NR	NR	22	20	Not released

Game Notes

Syracuse

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Northwestern	7	14	14	7	42
Syracuse	6	7	14	14	41

Date: September 1
Location: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY
Game start: 11:00 a.m. CDT
Elapsed time: 4:00
Game attendance: 37,830
Game weather: 80°F at kickoff, reaching 95°F inside the dome by the 2nd half
Referee: John O'Neill
TV announcers (ESPN2): Beth Mowins (Play-by-play), Joey Galloway (Color) & Jenn Brown (Sideline)

Sources:^[9]^[22]

Scoring summary

1	10:47	SYR	Ross Krautman 22 yd field goal	SYR 0–3

1	3:57	SYR	Ross Krautman 33 yd field goal	SYR 0–6

1	0:23	NU	Venric Mark 82 yd punt return (Jeff Budzien kick)	NU 7–6

2	10:58	SYR	Prince-Tyson Gulley 14 yd run (Ross Krautman kick)	SYR 7–13

2	6:53	NU	Venric Mark 21 yd pass from Kain Colter (Jeff Budzien kick)	NU 14–13

2	3:49	NU	Christian Jones 14 yd pass from Kain Colter (Jeff Budzien kick)	NU 21–13

3	13:32	NU	Chi Chi Ariguzo 33 yd fumble return (Jeff Budzien kick)	NU 28–13

3	7:34	NU	Kain Colter 1 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)	NU 35–13

3	2:21	SYR	Marcus Sales 7 yd pass from Ryan Nassib (Ross Krautman kick)	NU 35–20

3	0:00	SYR	Jeremiah Kobena 50 yd pass from Ryan Nassib (Ross Krautman kick)	NU 35–27

4	6:42	SYR	Jeremiah Kobena 7 yd pass from Ryan Nassib (two-point conversion failed)	NU 35–33

4	2:40	SYR	Christopher Clark 20 yd pass from Ryan Nassib (Prince-Tyson Gulley run for two-point conversion)	SYR 35–41

4	0:44	NU	Demetrius Fields 9 yd pass from Trevor Siemian (Jeff Budzien kick)	Nu 42–41

Overall Record	Last Meeting	Result^[23]
4–5	2009	SYR 37–34

The game got off to a slow start with some notable miscues on Northwestern's special teams play. All of which was quickly forgotten when Venric Mark scored an 82-yard touchdown on a punt return, the first return touchdown of his career. Northwestern continued to dominate offensively on the work of Mark and Kain Colter, taking a 35–13 lead in the middle of the 3rd quarter. The Orange then scored 4 straight touchdowns to lead 41–35 by attacking the young Northwestern secondary with deep passes to the outside. With under 3 minutes left and needing a score to win, Northwestern changed quarterbacks. Trevor Siemian came on to lead a 75-yard drive that scored the go-ahead touchdown. Northwestern survived to win and remain 7–0 in season openers under Pat Fitzgerald.

Vanderbilt

	1	2	3	4	Total
Vanderbilt	7	3	0	3	13
• Northwestern	3	0	3	17	23

Date: September 8
Location: Ryan Field, Evanston, IL
Game start: 7:03 p.m. CDT
Elapsed time: 3:15
Game attendance: 31,644
Game weather: 71°F, mostly cloudy, 9mph-NW wind
Referee: Matt Laeffler
TV announcers (BTN): Eric Collins (Play-by-play), Derek Rackley (Color) & Lisa Byington (Sideline)

Sources:^[10]^[24]

Scoring summary

1	10:11	Vandy	Jordan Matthews 22 yd pass from Jordan Rodgers (Carey Spear kick)	Vandy 7–0

1	7:14	NU	Jeff Budzien 40 yd field goal	Vandy 7–3

2	12:38	Vandy	Carey Spear 32 yd field goal	Vandy 10–3

3	10:16	NU	Jeff Budzien 37 yd field goal	Vandy 10–6

4	9:28	NU	Venric Mark 7 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)	NU 10–13

4	5:21	Vandy	Carey Spear 26 yd field goal	Tied 13–13

4	2:01	NU	Jeff Budzien 18 yd field goal	NU 13–16

4	1:24	NU	Kain Colter 29 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)	NU 13–23

Overall Record	Last Meeting	Result^[25]
1–1–1	2011	NU 23–21

Boston College

	1	2	3	4	Total
Boston College	3	7	0	3	13
• Northwestern	6	6	3	7	22

Date: September 15
Location: Ryan Field, Evanston, IL
Game start: 2:43 p.m. CDT
Elapsed time: 3:19
Game attendance: 32,597
Game weather: 75°F, sunny, 8mph-NE wind
Referee: Gary Patterson
TV announcers (BTN): Josh Lewin (Play-by-play), Jon Jansen (Color) & Evan Fitzgerald (Sideline)

Sources:^[11]^[26]

Scoring summary

1	12:25	NU	Jeff Budzien 42 yd field goal	NU 0–3

1	8:03	BC	Nate Freese 21 yd field goal	Tied 3–3

1	3:36	NU	Jeff Budzien 20 yd field goal	NU 3–6

2	13:21	NU	Jeff Budzien 29 yd field goal	NU 3–9

2	1:38	BC	Johnathan Coleman 31 yd pass from Chase Rettig (Nate Freese kick)	BC 10–9

2	0:02	NU	Jeff Budzien 41 yd field goal	NU 10–12

3	2:50	NU	Jeff Budzien 19 yd field goal	NU 10–15

4	14:50	BC	Nate Freese 34 yd field goal	NU 13–15

4	1:37	NU	Mike Trumpy 27 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)	NU 13–22

Overall Record	Last Meeting	Result^[27]
3–1	2011	NU 24–17

South Dakota

	1	2	3	4	Total
South Dakota	0	0	7	0	7
• Northwestern	14	14	7	3	38

Date: September 22
Location: Ryan Field, Evanston, IL
Game start: 2:42 p.m. CDT
Elapsed time: 2:58
Game attendance: 28,641
Game weather: 55°F, mostly sunny, 15mph-WNW wind
Referee: Todd Geerlings
TV announcers (BTN): Wayne Larrivee (Play-by-play), Jon Jansen (Color) & Evan Fitzgerald (Sideline)

Sources:^[12]^[28]

Scoring summary

1	11:29	NU	Venric Mark 3 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)	NU 0–7

1	7:28	NU	Tyris Jones 5 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)	NU 0–14

2	8:16	NU	Venric Mark 6 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)	NU 0–21

2	0:52	NU	Venric Mark 4 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)	NU 0–28

3	11:33	NU	Treyvon Green 33 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)	NU 0–35

3	4:10	SD	Josh Vander Maten 4 yd run (Kevin Robb kick)	NU 7–35

4	10:00	NU	Steve Flaherty 39 yd field goal	NU 7–38

Overall Record	Last Meeting	Result^[29]
4–0	1927	NU 47–2

Indiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Indiana	0	0	21	8	29
• Northwestern	7	13	17	7	44

Date: September 29
Location: Ryan Field, Evanston, IL
Game start: 11:01 a.m. CDT
Elapsed time: 3:18
Game attendance: 33,129
Game weather: 66°F, partly cloudy, 6mph-WNW wind
Referee: Mike Cannon
TV announcers (BTN): Kevin Kugler (Play-by-play) & Chris Martin (Color)

Sources:^[13]^[30]

Scoring summary

1	5:52	NU	Kain Colter 8 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)	NU 0–7

2	11:41	NU	Jeff Budzien 44 yd field goal)	NU 0–10

2	7:59	NU	Kain Colter 8 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)	NU 0–17

2	0:56	NU	Jeff Budzien 34 yd field goal)	NU 0–20

3	11:52	NU	Kain Colter 15 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)	NU 0–27

3	9:24	IU	Stephen Houston 20 yd run (Mitch Ewald kick)	NU 7–27

3	7:28	IU	Kofi Hughes 35 yd pass from Nate Sudfeld (Mitch Ewald kick)	NU 14–27

3	4:43	NU	Venric Mark 1 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)	NU 14–34

3	4:29	IU	Tevin Coleman 96 yd kickoff return (Mitch Ewald kick)	NU 21–34

3	1:16	NU	Jeff Budzien 29 yd field goal	NU 21–37

4	14:06	IU	D'Angelo Roberts 2 yd run (Kofi Hughes run for two-point conversion)	NU 29–37

4	5:07	NU	Kain Colter 22 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)	NU 29–44

Overall Record	Last Meeting	Result^[31]
45–34–1	2011	NU 59–38

Penn State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#24 Northwestern	0	14	14	0	28
• Penn State	3	7	7	22	39

Date: October 6
Location: Beaver Stadium, University Park, PA
Game start: 11:00 AM CDT
Elapsed time: 3:20
Game attendance: 95,769
Game weather: 54–56°F, cloudy and cool, 12mph-W wind
Referee: John O'Neill
TV announcers (ESPN): Dave Pasch (Play-by-play), Brian Griese (Color) & Jenn Brown (Sideline)

Overall Record	Last Meeting	Result^[32]
3–12	2011	PSU 34–24

Roster

2012 Northwestern Wildcats roster^[33]^[34]

Quarterbacks

2 Kain Colter (C) – Junior
10 Zack Oliver – Freshman
13 Trevor Siemian – Sophomore
15 P.J. Carollo – Freshman
18 Christian Salem – Freshman

Running Backs

3 Tyris Jones – Senior
5 Venric Mark – Junior
20 Malin Jones – Freshman
21 Jordan Perkins – Freshman
22 Treyvon Green – Sophomore
25 Jordan Perkins – Freshman
27 Mike Panico – Freshman
28 Tim Hanrahan – Sophomore
29 Stephen Buckley – Freshman
32 Mike Trumpy – Junior
34 Michael Odom – Freshman

Wide Receivers

6 Tony Jones – Sophomore
8 Demetrius Fields – Senior
8 Jack Mitchell - Freshman
11 Pierre Youngblood-Ary - Freshman
12 Cermak Bland – Freshman
14 Christian Jones – Sophomore
17 Rashad Lawrence – Junior
19 Cameron Dickerson – Freshman
21 Kyle Prater – Sophomore
80 Mike Jensen – Junior
82 Andrew Scanlan - Freshman
83 Mike McHugh – Freshman
84 Drew Moulton – Junior
89 Austin Carr – Freshman

Superbacks

40 Dan Vitale - Freshman
41 Doug Diedrick - Freshman
43 Tim Riley - Junior
81 Evan Watkins – Junior
85 Mark Szott – Freshman
86 Jack Schwaba - Freshman
87 Brian Smith - Junior

Offensive Line

53 Geoff Mogus – Freshman
57 Matt Frazier – Freshman
61 Alex Pietrzak – Freshman
62 Taylor Paxton – Junior
63 Ian Park - Freshman
65 Hayden Baker – Sophomore
66 Brandon Vitabile – Sophomore
70 Patrick Ward – Senior
71 Shane Mertz – Freshman
72 Brian Mulroe (C) – Senior
73 Adam DePietro – Freshman
74 Chuck Porcelli – Senior
75 Jack Konopka – Sophomore
76 Eric Olson – Freshman
77 Kenton Playko – Freshman
79 Neal Deiters – Senior
81 Paul Jorgensen – Sophomore

Defensive Line

1 Bo Cisek – Senior
67 Sean McEvilly - Sophomore
68 Connor Mahoney - Freshman
88 Quentin Williams - Senior
89 Max Chapman - Freshman
90 C.J. Robbins – Freshman
91 Brian Arnfelt (C) - Senior
92 Will Hampton - Junior
93 Greg Kuhar - Freshman
94 Dean Lowry - Freshman
95 Davon Custis - Junior
96 Anthony Battle - Junior
97 Tyler Scott - Junior
98 Deonte Gibson - Freshman
99 Chance Carter - Sophomore

Linebackers

18 Ifeadi Odenigbo - Freshman
33 David Nwabuisi (C) – Senior
35 Eric Wilson - Freshman
44 Chi Chi Ariguzo – Sophomore
45 Collin Ellis – Sophomore
46 Damien Proby – Junior
48 Roderick Goodlow – Senior
50 Timmy Vernon – Junior
51 Jaylen Prater - Freshman
54 Eric Hauser - Freshman
55 Drew Smith – Freshman
56 Will Studlien – Junior

Defensive Backs

3 Sean Oliver - Freshman
4 Jarrell Williams - Freshman
9 Jimmy Hall - Sophomore
15 Daniel Jones – Sophomore
16 Davion Fleming – Junior
23 Nick VanHoose - Freshman
24 Ibraheim Campbell - Sophomore
36 Mike Eshun - Sophomore
39 Joe Cannon - Sophomore
47 Troy Sheppard - Freshman

Cornerbacks

2 Dwight White - Freshman
13 C.J. Bryant – Sophomore
22 Demetrius Dugar – Senior
31 Quinn Evans - Senior

Safeties

7 Hunter Bates – Senior
10 Traveon Henry – Freshman
26 Terrance Brown - Freshman
27 Jared Carpenter – Senior
42 Joseph Jones - Freshman

Punters

31 Chris Gradone – Freshman
39 Zak Kucera - Freshman
49 Brandon Williams – Junior

Punters/Kickers

33 Matt Micucci - Freshman

Kickers

34 Steve Flaherty – Senior
37 Jeff Budzien – Junior
38 Arthur Omilian – Freshman

Long Snappers

52 Chris Fitzpatrick - Freshman
59 Pat Hickey – Junior

Head coach

Pat Fitzgerald

Coordinators/Assistant coaches

Randy Bates – Linebackers Coach
Jerry Brown – Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Backs Coach
Adam Cushing – Offensive Line Coach
Mike Hankwitz – Defensive Coordinator
Bob Heffner – Superbacks Coach
Marty Long – Defensive Line Coach
Matt MacPherson – Running Backs Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
Mick McCall – Offensive Coordinator/QB's Coach
Dennis Springer – Wide Receivers Coach

Legend

(C) Team captain
Redshirt

References

↑ Greenstein, Teddy (January 1, 2013). "Northwestern Wins Gator Bowl to End Drought". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
↑ Taylor, John (February 1, 2012). "Northwestern announces 2012 recruiting class". NBC Sports. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
↑ "WR Prater transfers from So. Cal to Northwestern". Sports Illustrated. January 28, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
↑ Greenstein, Teddy (June 27, 2012). "Prater, NU Expect to Hear From NCAA in July". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
↑ Powers, Scott (February 22, 2012). "Adonis Smith Leaving Northwestern". ESPN. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
↑ Taylor, John (March 8, 2012). "Ex-Northwestern RB Headed to UNLV". NBC Sports. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
↑ "Northwestern Announces Addition of Transfer Quinn Evans". Northwestern University Department of Athletics. June 11, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
↑ "2012 Northwestern Football Schedule". Northwestern University Department of Athletics. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
↑ 9.0 9.1 "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Syracuse Orange Box Score". ESPN. September 1, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
↑ 10.0 10.1 "Vanderbilt Commodores vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. September 8, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
↑ 11.0 11.1 "Boston College Eagles vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. September 15, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
↑ 12.0 12.1 "South Dakota Coyotes vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. September 22, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
↑ 13.0 13.1 "Indiana Hoosiers vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. September 29, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
↑ "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Penn State Nittany Lions Box Score". ESPN. October 6, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
↑ "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers Box Score". ESPN. October 13, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
↑ "Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. October 20, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
↑ "Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. October 27, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2012.
↑ "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Michigan Wolverines Box Score". ESPN. November 10, 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
↑ "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Michigan State Spartans Box Score". ESPN. November 17, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
↑ "Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. November 24, 2012. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
↑ "Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. January 1, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
↑ "Northwestern 42, Syracuse 41". Northwestern University Department of Athletics. September 1, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
↑ DeLassus, David. "Northwestern vs Syracuse (NY)". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
↑ "Northwestern 23, Vanderbilt 13". Northwestern University Department of Athletics. September 8, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
↑ DeLassus, David. "Northwestern vs Vanderbilt (TN)". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
↑ "Northwestern 22, Boston College 13". Northwestern University Department of Athletics. September 15, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
↑ DeLassus, David. "Northwestern vs Boston College (MA)". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
↑ "Northwestern 38, South Dakota 7". Northwestern University Department of Athletics. September 22, 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
↑ DeLassus, David. "Northwestern vs South Dakota". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
↑ "Indiana vs Northwestern". Northwestern University Department of Athletics. September 29, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
↑ DeLassus, David. "Northwestern vs Indiana". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
↑ DeLassus, David. "Northwestern vs Penn State". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
↑ 2012 Northwestern Wildcats football roster
↑ 2012 Northwestern Wildcats captains announcement

External links

Media related to 2012 Northwestern Wildcats football team at Wikimedia Commons

Northwestern Wildcats football

Venues	Northwestern Field (1905–1925) Ryan Field (1926–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Illinois (Sweet Sioux Tomahawk, 1945–2008; Land of Lincoln Trophy, 2009–present) Notre Dame (Shillelagh Trophy 1930–c. 1973)

Culture & lore	Willie the Wildcat "Go U Northwestern" Northwestern University Wildcat Marching Band

People	Head coaches NFL draftees

Seasons	1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015