2018 Northwestern Wildcats football team

The 2018 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wildcats played their home games at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois and competed in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by 13th-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald.

2018 Northwestern Wildcats football
Big Ten West Division champion
Holiday Bowl champion
Holiday Bowl, W 31–20 vs. Utah
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
DivisionWest Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 19
APNo. 21
2018 record9–5 (8–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMick McCall (11th season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorMike Hankwitz (11th season)
Base defenseMultiple 4–3
Home stadiumRyan Field
(Capacity: 47,130)
2018 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
No. 3 Ohio State xy$  8 –1     13 –1  
No. 14 Michigan x  8 –1     10 –3  
No. 17 Penn State  6 –3     9 –4  
Michigan State  5 –4     7 –6  
Maryland  3 –6     5 –7  
Indiana  2 –7     5 –7  
Rutgers  0 –9     1 –11  
West Division
No. 21 Northwestern xy  8 –1     9 –5  
Wisconsin  5 –4     8 –5  
No. 25 Iowa  5 –4     9 –4  
Purdue  5 –4     6 –7  
Minnesota  3 –6     7 –6  
Nebraska  3 –6     4 –8  
Illinois  2 –7     4 –8  
Championship: Ohio State 45, Northwestern 24
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

Northwestern began the year with a 1–3 record after winning its conference road opener against Purdue but falling to non-conference foes Duke and Akron, as well as Michigan in their conference home opener. The team won their next four games, including wins over ranked opponents Michigan State and Wisconsin, before falling to Notre Dame, which secured a winless non-conference slate. Regardless, the Wildcats clinched their first Big Ten West Division title by defeating No. 21 Iowa the following week.[1] They won their remaining two conference games to finish the regular season with a conference record of 8–1. In the 2018 Big Ten Football Championship Game, they lost to East Division champion Ohio State 45–24. The team was invited to the Holiday Bowl to play Pac-12 Conference runner-up Utah. The Wildcats won by a score of 31–20, their third consecutive bowl victory, which was a program first.[2] In the final AP Poll of the season, the Wildcats were ranked 21st.

Quarterback Clayton Thorson led the team's offense, finishing with 3,183 passing yards, third most in the Big Ten Conference, to go along with 17 passing touchdowns and nine rushing touchdowns. Thorson, a fourth-year starter, finished his career as the school's all-time leading passer.[2] Freshman running back Isaiah Bowser led the team in rushing with 866 yards, and wide receiver Flynn Nagel led the team in receiving with 780 yards. On defense, linebacker Blake Gallagher led the Big Ten in total tackles with 127.[3] Fellow linebacker Paddy Fisher was named first team all-conference by the coaches, while defensive back Montre Hartage was named to the first team by the media. Head coach Pat Fitzgerald received the conference's coach of the year award.[4]

Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2017 season 10–3, 7–2 in Big Ten play to finish in second place in the West Division. They received an invitation to the Music City Bowl where they defeated Kentucky 24–23.

Preseason

Award watch lists
Award Player Position Year
Lott Trophy[5] Nate Hall LB SR
Chuck Bednarik Award[6] Joe Gaziano DE JR
Paddy Fisher LB SO
Maxwell Award[7] Clayton Thorson QB SR
Doak Walker Award[8] Jeremy Larkin RB JR
Butkus Award[9] Paddy Fisher LB FR
Bronko Nagurski Trophy[10] Paddy Fisher LB SO
Joe Gaziano DE JR
Outland Trophy[11] Tommy Doles OL SR
Wuerffel Trophy[12] Tommy Doles OL SR
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award[13] Clayton Thorson QB SR

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 307:00 p.m.at Purdue
ESPNW 31–2747,410
September 811:00 a.m.Duke*
ESPNUL 7–2140,654
September 156:30 p.m.Akron*
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
BTNL 34–3940,014
September 293:30 p.m.No. 14 Michigan
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
FOXL 17–2047,330
October 611:00 a.m.at No. 20 Michigan State
FS1W 29–1972,850
October 1311:00 a.m.Nebraska
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
ABCW 34–31 OT47,330
October 2011:00 a.m.at Rutgers
BTNW 18–1532,514
October 2711:00 a.m.No. 20 Wisconsin
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
FOXW 31–1747,330
November 36:15 p.m.No. 3 Notre Dame*
ESPNL 21–3147,330
November 102:30 p.m.at No. 21 Iowa
FOXW 14–1066,493
November 1711:00 a.m.at MinnesotaNo. 24
BTNW 24–1432,134
November 242:30 p.m.IllinoisNo. 20
BTNW 24–1637,124
December 17:00 p.m.vs. No. 6 Ohio StateNo. 21
FOXL 24–4566,375
December 316:00 p.m.vs. No. 20 Utah*
FS1W 31–2047,007
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

Game summaries

at Purdue
1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 14 17 0 0 31
Boilermakers 14 3 7 3 27
See also: 2018 Purdue Boilermakers football team

Duke
1 2 3 4 Total
Blue Devils 0 21 0 0 21
Wildcats 7 0 0 0 7
See also: 2018 Duke Blue Devils football team

[14]

Akron
1 2 3 4 Total
Zips 0 3 23 13 39
Wildcats 7 14 7 6 34
See also: 2018 Akron Zips football team

Michigan
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 14 Wolverines 0 7 6 7 20
Wildcats 10 7 0 0 17
See also: 2018 Michigan Wolverines football team

at Michigan State
1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 7 7 0 15 29
No. 20 Spartans 3 3 13 0 19
See also: 2018 Michigan State Spartans football team

Nebraska
1 2 3 4OT Total
Cornhuskers 7 6 7 110 31
Wildcats 0 14 0 173 34
See also: 2018 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

at Rutgers
1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 7 0 3 8 18
Scarlet Knights 0 12 3 0 15
See also: 2018 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

Wisconsin
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 20 Badgers 7 3 0 7 17
Wildcats 7 7 10 7 31
See also: 2018 Wisconsin Badgers football team

Notre Dame
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 3 Fighting Irish 7 0 14 10 31
Wildcats 0 7 0 14 21
See also: 2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team and Northwestern–Notre Dame football rivalry

at Iowa
1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 0 0 7 7 14
No. 21 Hawkeyes 0 3 7 0 10
See also: 2018 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

at Minnesota
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 24 Wildcats 7 6 0 11 24
Golden Gophers 0 7 0 7 14
See also: 2018 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

Illinois
1 2 3 4 Total
Fighting Illini 3 3 0 10 16
No. 20 Wildcats 7 14 3 0 24
See also: 2018 Illinois Fighting Illini football team and Illinois–Northwestern football rivalry

vs. Ohio State (Big Ten Championship Game)
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 21 Wildcats 7 0 14 3 24
No. 6 Buckeyes 14 10 7 14 45
See also: 2018 Ohio State Buckeyes football team and 2018 Big Ten Football Championship Game

vs. Utah (Holiday Bowl)
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 20 Utes 14 6 0 0 20
Wildcats 0 3 28 0 31
See also: 2018 Utah Utes football team and 2018 Holiday Bowl

Rankings
Further information: 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final 
AP RV RV NR NR NR NR NR NR NR RV RV 24 20 21 RV 21 
Coaches RV RV NR NR NR NR NR NR NR RV RV RV 21 21 22 19 
CFP Not released NR NR 22 19 21 22 Not released

Roster
2018 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
RB 1 Chad Hanaoka  Sr
WR 2 Flynn Nagel Sr
WR 4 Solomon Vault  Sr
WR 5 Charles Fessler  Jr
WR 6 Jelani Roberts Sr
QB 7 Jason Whittaker Fr
WR 8 Kyric McGowen So
QB 10 T. J. Green  Jr
QB 11 Aidan Smith  So
WR 12 J. J. Jefferson Fr
QB 13 Andrew Marty  Fr
WR 15 Jace James So
QB 15 Hunter Johnson (I) So
WR 16 Berkeley Holman  Fr
WR 17 Jalen Brown  Sr
QB 18 Clayton Thorson  Sr
WR 19 Riley Lees  So
RB 20 John Moten IV  Jr
RB 21 Drake Anderson Fr
WR 23 Steven Reese  Jr
RB 24 Alex Bousky Sr
RB 25 Isaiah Bowser Fr
RB 28 Jeremy Larkin  So
RB 36 Jesse Brown  So
SB 44 James Prather  Sr
SB 48 Brian Kaiser Fr
OL 52 Sam Gerak  Fr
OL 57 Cam Kolwich  So
OL 59 J. B. Butler  Sr
OL 61 Jason Goosen  So
OL 65 Jared Thomas  Jr
OL 66 Nik Urban  So
OL 67 Willy Boatman Fr
OL 68 Wyatt Blake Fr
OL 69 Charlie Schmidt Fr
OL 70 Rashawn Slater So
OL 71 Tommy Doles  Sr
OL 72 Blake Hance  Sr
OL 73 Gunnar Vogel  So
OL 74 Payne He'Bert Fr
OL 76 Ethan Wiederkehr  Fr
OL 77 Jesse Meyler  So
OL 78 Sam Stovall Fr
OL 79 Trey Klock  Sr
SB 80 Trey Pugh So
WR 81 Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman  So
SB 82 Alex Oelsner  Fr
WR 83 Will Lansbury  Fr
WR 84 Cameron Green  Jr
WR 85 Jack Tirmonia  So
SB 86 Cody Link  So
WR 86 Raymond Niro III Fr
SB 87 Eric Eshoo  So
WR 88 Ben Skowronek Jr
SB 89 Charlie Mangieri Fr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DB 3 Trae Williams  Jr
DB 7 Travis Whillock  So
DB 9 Roderick Campbell So
DB 10 Alonzo Mayo  Jr
DB 11 A. J. Hampton Fr
DB 13 J. R. Pace So
DB 18 Cameron Ruiz  Fr
DB 22 Bryce Jackson  Fr
CB 24 Montre Hartage Sr
DB 25 Austin Hiller  Fr
DB 26 Brian Bullock  So
DB 27 Jeremiah McDonald Fr
LB 28 Chris Bergin So
DB 29 Greg Newsome II Fr
LB 31 Jaylen Rivers Fr
LB 32 Nate Hall  Sr
LB 33 Grayson Mann Fr
LB 34 Chee Anyanwu  Fr
LB 35 Erik Mueller  Fr
DB 37 Donovan Sermons  Fr
LB 40 Peter McIntyre  Fr
S 41 Jared McGee  Sr
LB 42 Paddy Fisher  So
LB 44 Khalid Jones Fr
LB 45 Nathan Fox  Jr
LB 46 Troy Hudetz So
DL 46 Devin O'Rourke Fr
DB 47 Joe Bergin  Jr
LB 50 Jango Glackin  So
LB 51 Blake Gallagher So
DL 53 Andrew Leota Fr
DL 54 Trent Goens  Jr
DE 55 Mark Gooden  So
DL 75 Ben Oxley  Sr
DT 90 Jake Saunders  So
DL 91 Samdup Miller So
DL 92 Fred Wyatt  Sr
DL 93 Joe Spivak So
DE 94 Tommy Carnifax  So
DL 95 Alex Miller Jr
DE 96 Trevor Kent  Fr
DL 97 Joe Gaziano  Jr
DE 98 Earnest Brown IV So
DL 99 Jordan Thompson Sr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K 14 Charlie Kuhbander So
P 17 Daniel Kubiuk  Sr
P 37 Cody Gronewold  Fr
K, P 38 Drew Luckenbaugh  So
LS 43 Tyler Gillikin  So
LS 48 Peter Snodgrass  Fr
P 49 Jake Collins  Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Lou Ayeni (Running Backs / Recruiting Coordinator)
  • Adam Cushing (Offensive Line)
  • Jeff Genyk (Special Teams Coordinator)
  • Mike Hankwitz (Defensive Coordinator)
  • Bob Heffner (Superbacks)
  • Marty Long (Defensive Line)
  • Matt McPherson (Associate Head Coach / Defensive Backs)
  • Mick McCall (Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks)
  • Tim McGarigle (Linebackers)
  • Dennis Springer (Wide Receivers)
  • Chris Bowers (Director of Player Personnel)
  • Cody Cejda (Director of Football Operations)
  • Darby Dunnagan (Director of Video Operations)
  • Jay Hooten (Director of Sports Performance for Football)
  • Jacob Schmidt (Director of Player Development)
  • Bryan Payton (Director of Recruiting Communications)
  • Jonny Kovach (Director of Recruiting Operations)
  • Todd McShane (Director of Scouting)
  • John Holloway (Assistant Director of Football Operations)
  • Deonte Gibson (Defensive Graduate Assistant)
  • Kevin Koch (Defensive Graduate Assistant)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Roster
Last update: August 16, 2018

Awards and honors
Individual Awards
Player Award Ref.
Pat Fitzgerald Hayes–Schembechler Coach of the Year
Dave McClain Coach of the Year		 [4]
All-Big Ten
Player Position Coaches Media
Paddy Fisher LB 1 2
Montre Hartage DB 3 1
Joe Gaziano DL 2 3
Rashawn Slater OT 3 HM
Blake Gallagher LB HM 3
Cameron Green WR HM HM
Clayton Thorson QB HM HM
Flynn Nagel WR HM HM
J.R. Pace DB HM HM
Nate Hall DB HM HM
HM = Honorable mention. Reference:[4]

Players drafted into the NFL
See also: 2019 NFL Draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionNFL Club
5167Clayton ThorsonQBPhiladelphia Eagles

References
  1. "Northwestern clinches first Big Ten division title with win at Iowa". ESPN.com. Associated Press. November 10, 2018.
  2. Friedman, Caleb (January 5, 2019). "Clayton Thorson left Northwestern better than he found it". InsideNU.com. Vox Media.
  3. "2018 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  4. "2018 All-Big Ten Football Teams and Individual Award Recipients" (PDF). BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. November 28, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  5. "2018 Watch List | Lott IMPACT Trophy | Honoring College Football's Defensive Best". lottimpacttrophy.org. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
  6. "2018 Bednarik Award Watch List - Maxwell Football Club". Maxwell Football Club. 2018-07-16. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
  7. "2018 Maxwell Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  8. "2018 Doak Walker Award Candidates". July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  9. "Butkus Award - 2018 Collegiate Watchlist". The Butkus Award. July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  10. "2018 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  11. "22018 OUTLAND TROPHY WATCH LIST UNVEILED". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  12. "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  13. "Watch List for 2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award ® Presented by A. O. Smith Announced". August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  14. "Duke vs. Northwestern - Game Summary - September 8, 2018". ESPN. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
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